Mallikarjuna Panditaradhyudu (, ) was an Indian philosopher of Veerasaiva school and 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 ...

poet from Andhra region. He was a poet in the court of Velanati Choda king Rajendra Choda II. His was the first independent Telugu work. Being a unique person of his era he contributed in spreading

Saivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the supreme being. It is the second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in ...

throughout Andhra region. He was credited with ending the remnants of Buddhism in Andhra land through his intellect and influence. For his prowess in Telugu language, he was generally referred to as .

Birth and early life

Mallikarjuna was born at

Draksharama Draksharamam or Daksharamam is one of the five Pancharama Kshetras that are sacred to the Hindu god Shiva and also 12th of Ashtadasha Shakthi Peetams. The temple is located in Draksharamam town of Konaseema district in the Indian state of A ...

in c. 1110 CE in a Saivite family. His parents were Bhimana pandita and Gouramba. His father was a priest in the Bhimeswara Temple at Drakasharama, which was one of the

Pancharama Kshetras The Pancharama Kshetras () or the Pancharamas, are a group of five ancient Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Siva, located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. These temples are situated at Draksharamam, Samalkota, Amaravathi, Palakollu, and ...

and also locally referred as (lit. Kasi in the South). His family followed Rgveda and of Gautama gotra. His guru was Aradhyadeva of Kotipalli from whom he received knowledge about

. His birth anniversary is observed by some saivites during the month of

Meena Meena () is a tribe from northern and western India which is sometimes considered a sub-group of the Bhil community. It used to be claimed they speak Mina language, a Spurious languages, spurious language. Its name is also transliterated as ' ...

(i.e. mid-March to mid-April) on the day of Sravana

nakshatra Nakshatra () is the term for Lunar mansion in Hindu astrology and Buddhist astrology. A nakshatra is one of 27 (sometimes also 28) sectors along the ecliptic. Their names are related to a prominent star or asterisms in or near the respective s ...

Works

Mallikarjuna wrote which was the first independent work in

. It had 489 short verses and contains information about the Saivism preached by him. He later translated that work into

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

. It is one of the earliest Satakas in Telugu literature. His works are placed in the 'Siva Kavi era' of Telugu literature which roughly corresponds to the period between 1100 CE and 1250 CE. The trio of Nanne Choda, Mallikarjuna and Somanatha are referred as (i.e. Trio of Saivite Poets). These trio along with Piduparthi poets and Yathavakkula Annamayya pioneered Veera Saiva movement in Andhra region. Some other works by Mallikarjuna include , , and .

Contribution to Saivism

Mallikarjuna was influenced by Basaveswara. He seems to be the very first Telugu poet who laud Basaveswara in Andhra region. He contributed to the emergence of ''Aradhya sect'' which encompasses elements from Vedic traditions and Veerashaivism. Mallikarjuna, and (also known as Sivalenka) are prominent among founders of Panditaradhya saivite sects during Middle Ages in Andhra region. These three were referred as (i.e. Trio of Scholars) in Veera Saiva tradition. These three were disciples of Basava. The descendants of Mallikarjuna came to be known as Aradhya Saivites. However, Mallikarjuna differs from Basava on the aspects of the authority of Vedas and Varna system. Nevertheless, few centuries later the amicable relations between Aradhya saivism of Mallikarjuna and Lingayatism of Basava became a necessity in the wake of Islamic invasions from the North (i.e.

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

Biography

Veerasaivite poet

Palkuriki Somanatha Palkurike Somanatha was a poet in Telugu, Kannada and Sanskrit languages and penned several classics in those languages. He was a Veerashaiva a follower of the 12th century social reformer Basava and his writings were primarily intended to pro ...

wrote '' which contains a legendary biography of Mallikarjuna. This work belongs to the genre of

Telugu literature Telugu literature includes poetry, short stories, novels, plays, and other works composed in Telugu. There is some indication that Telugu literature dates at least to the middle of the first millennium. The earliest extant works are from the ...

that contains generally legendary biographies of a notable personality. With an initiative by

Andhra Patrika ''Andhra Patrika'' was an Indian Telugu-language newspaper founded by Kasinathuni Nageswara Rao on 9 September 1908. It was initially a weekly publication and later transformed into a daily newspaper. It played an influential role in India� ...

founder and freedom fighter

Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao Kasinadhuni Nageswararao, better known as Nageswara Rao Pantulu, (1 May 1867 – 11 April 1938) was an Indian journalist, nationalist, politician, businessman, and a staunch supporter of Khaddar movement. He participated in the Indian indepen ...

, the historian and Telugu scholar

Chilukuri Narayana Rao Chilukuri Narayana Rao was a Telugu writer, lexicographer, historian and scholar. He was born to Bheemasenarao and Lakshmamma in 1890 in Visakhapatnam District, British India. His notable works include Amba, Upanishattulu, Musalamma, Vaade, B ...

edited this work by Somanatha after referring to some ancient palmleaf manuscripts. It was later published under the name in 1939.

Notes

References