Sripada Krishnamurty Sastry statue at Rajahmundry

Kaviraz Krishna Murthy Sastry, of Sripada family (29 October 1866 – 29 December 1960), a native of Devarapalli of West Godavari district, was the first

poet laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...

((ఆస్థాన కవి ''Asţhānakavi'')) of

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 composed more than a hundred works in

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 ...

. He composed ‘Sri Krishnasweeyacharitam’, an autobiography in Sanskrit.

Birth

Saastry was born to Sripada Venkata Somayajulu and Venkata Subbamma on 29 October 1866 at Ernagudem, West Godavar district of

.Sri Krishna Kaviraja Jivitamu (Telugu), by Anantapantula Ramalingaswami, Sri Lalitha Mudraksharasala, 1933.

Marriage

He was married to Venkata Ratnamba (వెంకట రత్నాంబ ''Venkataratnāmba''), daughter of Kala Lakshminarayana and Kala Somidevamma of Nadipudi village near Narasapur in West Godavari district. Thus, he became co-brother of French-era politician of

Yanaon Yanaon or Yanam was one of the five principal settlements of French India between 1731 and 1954. Early years Reason for European interests The French in their earlier records do mention of their interest in establishing trade in the Northern ...

Bouloussou Soubramanion Sastroulou Bouloussou Soubramaniom Sastroulou (''Bulusu Subrahmaṇya Śāstrulu''; 1866 – 13 September 1941) was Diwan, Conseiller local and Judge Advocate during French colonial rule in Yanam in the early 20th century. Birth Soubramaniom Sastroulou wa ...

and brother-in-law of

Kala Venkata Rao Kala Venkata Rao was an Indian independence activist and politician. He served as the Minister for Revenue in the governments of the Madras Presidency and Andhra Pradesh. He also served as the Minister of Finance in the latter. A member of t ...

, former minister of

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and

Awards and titles

His awards including Padma Sri in 1958, Suvarna Gandapenderam, Mani Kireetam,

Mahamahopadhyaya Mahamahopadhyaya (Sanskrit: महामहोपाध्याय) is an honorific title given to prestigious scholars by the Government of India. Prior to 1947, the title was bestowed by the British Raj, and before them, by the kings of ancient ...

insignia and medallions are preserved at the

Visakha Museum Visakha Museum (Full name: Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation Museum) is a museum located in the port city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, India, which houses the historical treasures and artifacts of the Kalingandhra region. It was inaugu ...

, at

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

. His titles include *

(మహామహోపాధ్యాయ) * Kavisarvabhauma (కవిసార్వభౌమ) * Kaviraz (కవిరాజు) * Kavibrahma (కవిబ్రహ్మ) * Andhra Vyasa (ఆంధ్రవ్యాస) * Abhinava Srinadha (అభినవ శ్రీనాథ) * Vedavidya Visarada (వేద విద్యా విశారద) * Prasanna Valmiki (ప్రసన్న వాల్మీకి) *

Kala Prapoorna Andhra University (IAST: ''Āndhra Vișvakalāpariṣhat'') is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Maharaja of Jeypore was one of the biggest don ...

(కళాప్రపూర్ణ)

Death

He died in Rajahmundry on 29 December 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sastry, Sripada Krishnamurty Telugu poets 1866 births 1960 deaths People from West Godavari district Poets from Andhra Pradesh Indian autobiographers Indian male poets 19th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian poets 19th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian male writers Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education