ANDHRA’S CONTRIBUTION TO CULTURE

Rich and varied is the contribution of the Telugu language and literature to Indian thought and culture. But how many know about it ? Abroad, barring a few ideologists and other specialists in allied fields, scarcely anyone in aware of even the existence of our language. Though hurtful- it certainly hurt me much – this is the plain, blunt truth. Since most foreigners still believe that India is a Tower of Babel with hundreds of strange dialects, much attention may not, perhaps, be paid to their ignorance of our national languages and their relative importance. But are people in other parts of our own country any better? Unfortunately, No. Of course, quite a large number of them are now coming to know that everyone south of the Vindhyas is not a “Madarasi”, that all “Madarasis” do not speak one and the same language. Still, as for the origin and development f Telugu language, the rise and progress of Telugu literature, and the nature and significance of the contribution of Telugu men of letters to our national thought and culture, their ideas are at best rather hazy.
And yet there was a time when Telugu could claim the position and prestige of an international language. True, we cannot now say exactly how or when Telugu spread to a large number of Asian nations, yet it did spread and influence them greatly. As was pointed out by the late Dr. C.R.Reddy, an eminent scholar and educationist, “it spread through the Eastern Pacific, embracing within its scope the lands and islands east and south of Burma right up to the intrepid emigrants from Andhra who dared the uncharted seas in their tiny and frail craft.
As a living monument to the cool courage of these colonist we have a community called Tegalogs in the Philippines. They constitute the bulk of the population of those islands. It is quite possible that their name is derived either from Telaga, that is, the sub-caste which goes by that name, or from Telugu. What is infinitely more important is the fact that a large number of Telugu words are current in the Philippino language. A Jesuit Father, it appears, has compiled a dictionary of Telugu and Sanskrit terms found in the language of the Filippinos. Dr. C.R. Reddy, to whom we owe all this information, bemoaned the loss of this dictionary from his personal library. How I wish that attempts are made to locate a copy and reprint it. The Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi can, and should, take up this matter seriously. I may perhaps, also venture to suggest that the Government of Andhra Pradesh should provide funds to the State Sahitya Akademi to depute a specialist to the Philippine Islands to carry on research to establish further the affinities between the Philippino and Telugu languages.
My keenness to state the claim of the Telugu language for an international status has, I am afraid, carried me too far afield. Well, even if this particular claim is disputed, no fair-minded man can belittle the contribution of the Telugu language and literature to our common national heritage. It is, of course, well known that all the Dravidian languages, including Telugu, have freely borrowed Sanskrit words, but what is less known is the fact that this was not altogether a one-way traffic.
Sanskrit and its direct offshoots that constitute the Aryan group of languages north of the Vindyas did take over many words of Dravidian origin. Not being a special student of linguistics, I cannot by myself assert that the Sanskrit word Sardoolam (tiger) is derived from the Telugu expression charala mekam, but I have the authority of that internationally reputed linguist and Chairman of the Sanskrit Commission, Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji, for making this assertion. Years ago I had the pleasure of calling on him at his residence in Clacutta. In his long and list of Telugu and Tamil words that found their way into Sanskrit. Having lost the notes I made at the time, I cannot, to my regret, give you the full list, but I distinctly remember his mentioning tintrini (the Sanskrit term for tamarind tree) as another term,. Derived from the Telugu word chinta.
My friend and colleague, Vidvan Viswam, tells me that atta, pindi, and bokkanam, three Telugu words which stand respectively for mother-in-law, powered rice, and handbag, are adopted in their original form by Sanskrit. According to him manee (a measure), Paddee (calf) and Kundam (pot) are also loan words from Telugu. Their original forms are respectively manika, padda and kunda. Quite a few Telugu words have likewise passed into Prakrit. Two notable examples are padi and potta.
While the contribution of the Telugu language to Sanskrit and Prakrit may be limited, the contribution of Andhra poets and pundits to Sanskrit and Prakrit literatures is fairly extensive. “The name of many Andhras are familiar to the world of Sanskrit scholars”, says Dr. P.T. Raju in his fine little book, Telugu Literature, and goes on thus :
Mallinatha, the commentator on Kalidasa’s poems, is known to all Sanskrit students. The best and the most popular commentator on Kalidasa’s dramas is King Kataya Vema. Singa Bhupala was a learned and powerful ruler, during whose time Srinatha and Potana flourished. He was so renowned a scholar that for the final test of learning every pandit of the time made it a point to visit his court and undergo his personal examination. He is the author of several Sanscrit works and his Rasanavasudhakara is a well-known work on Sanscrit drama. Vidyanatha’s Prataparudriyam and Jaganatha Pandita’s Rasagangadhara are famous treatise on Sanskrit poetics. The latter work has never been superseded. Bhavabhuti, who went to Kashmir from Vidarbha, is claimed here to be an Andhra, for Vidarbha which borders on Telangana was part of the Andhra. Krishnadeva Raya, in his introduction to Amuktamalyada, tells us that he is the author of half a dozen Sanskrit works. Gunadhya was a minister to a Satavahana emperor and the author of Brihatkatha. There are several less famous writers of whom Vamana Bhattabana, Sivalinga Bhupati, and Lolla Lakshmidhara may be mentioned. Hala’s contribution to Prakrit is quite well known.
Hala’s work, I may add, is of a very high order. Though popularly known as Gathasaptasati, its original name is Sattasai. It is also called Gathakosa and Saptasataka. It consists of seven hundred verses. With rare exceptions each verse is complete in itself. And each verse is cameo of life, generally sensuous, often frank, occasionally humorous or ironical, and always tender. Taken together, they constitute large and variegated canvas which pictures vividly the life of the common men and women of Ancient India. Their life is simple and sweet and yet it is not without sighs and tears, disappointments and disenchantments. It is amazing how Hala, an emperor, had entered so thoroughly into the spirit of the life of the common people and depicted it with so much love, sympathy and understanding. May be it is this sense of amazement which makes some scholars believe that Hala was only a compiler of Gathasaptasati and not its composer. Granted that there is some truth is such a belief, Hala, as Winternitz puts it, was “not merely a compiler of an anthology, but rather a gifted redactor, who made the selection with dexterity and skill probably gave to the stanzas the final poetical form from for the first time.”
Now, though it is not strictly within the scope of my talk, I may be pardoned if I mention in passing the contribution of Andhra to religious and philosophical thought is indeed very great. According to Dr. Raju, whom I quoted a little earlier, Andhra can boast of three of the foremost philosophers of Buddhism – Nagarjuna, Arya Deva, and Dingnaga. “They may not have been born in the country between the Godavari and the Krishna”, he says, “but that the Andhra was the place of their activities none can doubt, and who their parents were it is difficult to establish.” Pushing the Andhra claims further, he declares :
The belief is strong tat Kumarila, Vidyaranya, Sayana and Sayana-Madhava were Andhras. Annam Bhatt and Dharmaraja Adhavarindra are well known to all students of Indian philosophy. Nimbarka and Vallaba who, strangely enough, could not get followers in their own country. Sripati’s commentary on the Brahma –Sutras, called Srikarabashya, written from the Virasaiva point of view, has recently been published. The author hailed from the Guntur District. Chitsukha belonged to the Vizagapatnam District. There are others also whom the Andhras claim as their own.
Some of these claims made by Dr. Raju may be disputed, but we are certain that the forefathers of Basava, the founder of Virasaivism wo lived in the twelth century, were Andhras. Their original home was Vengi or, more specially, Kamme Nadu of the Vengi province. The forbears of four other great figures in Kannada life and literature, namely, Adi Pamma, Nagavarma I, Durgasimha, and Janna, were also from KammeNadu. Attimabbe, originally of Kamme Nadu, was a patron of the Kannada poet Ranna, while his father, Mallappa, patronized Ponna.
The impact of the sons of Andhra on another neighbouring area, that is, Tamil Nad, is equally powerful. To give only one example. Tyagaraja, the greatest master of the Karnatak music, was an Andhra by birth. In fact, all his compositions are in Telugu. Two other famous composers who have contributed richly to the glory of the Karnatak music are Annamayya and Kshetrayya. Others who have built golder bridges between Andhra and Tamil Nad are the Telugu rulers of the Vijayanagarm Empire and the Andhra Nayak Kings of Madura and Tanjore, and the poets, playwritings, musicians, artists, and architects under their royal patronage. And I should not omit to mention that the aphoristic verses of the poet-philosopher Vemana and the many humorous takes in which Tenali Ramalinga figures as the ingenious and impish hero are the common property of all the people of South India.
It is, I hope, obvious even from this very brief account that the contribution of Telugu language and literature to Indian thought and culture is as rich as it is varied. If I have avoided a reference to modern times, it is to leave on scope to the charge that I have made invidious distinctions between contemporary poets, play wrights, novelists and other writers. In the interest of national integration at the intellectual and emotional levels, it is essential that an extensive programme of translation of important literary works in Telugu, ancient, mediaeval, and modern, should be undertaken. The Sahitya Akademi is, no doubt, engaged in this work, but its programme is now very modest. It needs to be greatly expanded. (1962)