Kasula Purushottama Kavi was a

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

poet who lived during the late 18th century (). His parents were Kasula Appalaraju and Ramanamma. He hailed from the

Diviseema Diviseema is a small and deltaic island in Krishna District of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It comprises three Mandals - Avanigadda, Koduru and Nagayalanka. Etymology The word Diviseema translates as the ''abode of the divine''. Div ...

area of

Krishna District Krishna district is district in the coastal Andhra Region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is the coastal district of Andhra Pradesh. Machilipatnam is the most populated city in the ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. He was a court poet of the then- Raja of Challapalli, Yarlagadda Ankineedu Prasad I (r. 1792–1819) of the Challapalli ''Samasthanam'' and possibly of his father as well. Purushottama Kavi is recognized for composing literary works in Telugu consisting of one hundred poetic stanzas, known as satakams.

Works

Kasula Purushottama Kavi is known for composing the '' Andhra Nayaka Satakam'' on Srikakula Andhra Mahavishnu, apparently when the temple was occupied by raiding Muslim soldiers. The prominent Andhra Maha Vishnu Temple, to whose presiding deity Purushottama Kavi dedicated his ''satakam'' to, is where Vijayanagara Emperor

Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the ...

had a dream compelling him to write the Telugu text '' Amuktamalyada''. From this ''satakam's'' refrain ('killer of false believers'), there is an indication that there was religious conflict in this period. The taunting tone and upbraiding of the deity is a consistent theme of this ''satakam.'' Purushottama Kavi uses three epithets to describe Andhra Mahavishnu in this ''satakam'': 'God of many miracles,' 'darling of women,' and 'Lord of Andhra in Srikakulam.' The twelfth poetic stanza (translated) of this ''satakam'' reads as follows: After hearing a recital of Purushottama Kavi's ''satakam'', the Challapalli zamindar, his patron, is said to have been moved by it and renovated the Srikakulam Andhra Vishnu Temple and restored worship there. Kasula Purushottama Kavi also composed ''Hamsaladeevi Gopala Satakam'', ''Manasa Bodha Satakam'', ''Bhakta Kalpadruma Satakam'', and ''Venugopala Satakam''. Around the central Circar Districts, his ''Manasa Bodha'' has also been quite popular. Front_view_of_Andhra_Vishnu_temple

References

{{authority control Telugu poets 18th-century poets 18th-century Indian people