''Sri Andhra Vignanamu'' was a

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

-language

general knowledge General knowledge is information that has been accumulated over time through various media and sources. It excludes specialized learning that can only be obtained with extensive training and information confined to a single medium. General know ...

encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

, published in seven volumes between 1938 and 1941 from

Kakinada Kakinada (; formerly known as Cocanada) is a Port, port city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Situated along the Bay of Bengal, it serves as the headquarters of Kakinada district and is a prominent economic and c ...

and

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry ( ), officially Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and district headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the fifth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the district of Rajahmu ...

. Edited by Kandukuri Bala Surya Prasada Rao (Prasada Bhupaludu), the

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

of Devidi Estate, the work is recognized as the first fully completed encyclopedia in Telugu. It compiles extensive knowledge across various disciplines, with articles arranged alphabetically and supplemented by a separate volume published in 1941. Though preceded by '' Andhra Vignana Sarvasvam'', an incomplete encyclopedia initiated by Komarraju Venkata Lakshmana Rao in 1912, ''Andhra Vignanamu'' holds the distinction of being the first Telugu encyclopedia to achieve completion.

Contributors

Kandukuri Bala Surya Prasada Rao, also known as Prasada Bhupaludu, the

of Devidi Estate in

Ganjam district Ganjam is a district in the Indian state of Odisha. Ganjam's total area is 8,206 km² (3,168 mi²). The district headquarters is Chhatrapur. Ganjam is divided into three sub-divisions: Chhatrapur, Berhampur, and Bhanjanagar. As of ...

, compiled the articles from various scholars and put them in his own language. Apart from being a compiler and editor, he was also a writer of the encyclopedia.

Content

The articles in the encyclopedia were arranged alphabetically according to the

Telugu alphabet Telugu script (), an abugida from the Brahmic family of scripts, is used to write the Telugu language, a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well as several other neighbouring states. It is one of ...

. A supplement to the encyclopedia, consisting of 184 pages, was published in 1941 to further expand its scope. The preface to the encyclopedia was written by the renowned scholar

Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy Sir Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy (10 December 1880 – 24 February 1951), also popularly known as Sir C. R. Reddy, was an educationist and political thinker, essayist and economist, poet and literary critic. He was a prominent member of the Jus ...

, who praised Prasada Rao for his editorial skills and intellectual contributions. The encyclopedia encompassed a wide range of topics, with particular emphasis on ancient Indian thought. While primarily written in Telugu, some articles on modern scientific subjects were published in English, which limited its accessibility for Telugu readers. Despite this limitation, ''Andhra Vignanamu'' is recognized for its scholarly rigour and comprehensive coverage.

Volumes

Reception

Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature is a multi-volume English language encyclopedia of Indian literature published by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. The idea for the project emerged in the mid-1970s, and three volumes w ...

'' reviewed it noting, "Though it is a one man effort and has all the drawbacks associated with it, and the selection as well the treatment of the entries is more arbitrary than logical, the volumes are, no doubt, serving its designed purpose." M. Sankara Reddy lists ''Andhra Vignanamu'' in his book on Telugu reference sources. C. Dwarakanath Gupta cited it for information on Vysya

gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotr ...

s in his book ''Socio-cultural History of an Indian Caste''.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Andhra Vignanamu'' (Vol. 1–7)
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

Indian encyclopedias Telugu-language literature 20th-century encyclopedias