Ramarajabhushanudu also known as Bhattumoorthi (mid 16th century CE) 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 S ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

and a notable musician. He was one of the Astadiggajas (a collective title for Telugu poets in the

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and carry out the administration of justice in Civil law (common law), civil, C ...

of Krishnadevaraya of the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...

Biography

According to the archeological evidence (Sasanas) available in the Kasanuru village, he was a native of Kasanuru village in Simhadripuram Mandal in

Kadapa Kadapa (colonial spelled Cuddapah) is a city in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the Rayalaseema region, and is the district headquarters of YSR Kadapa district. As of the 2022 Census of India, the city had a popula ...

district. He was adopted to the village. He was also believed to be an apprentice of the

Allasani Peddana Allasani Peddana (15th and 16th centuries CE) was a famous Telugu poet and was ranked as the foremost of the '' Ashtadiggajalu'', the title for the group of eight poets in the court of King Krishnadevaraya, a ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire. ...

in his youth. He was later patronised by Krishnadevaraya and his successors. His real name was Bhattu Murti, though because he was the jewel (Bhushanam) of the royal court of

Aliya Rama Raya Rama Raya (died 23 January 1565 CE), known as "Aliya" (son-in-law in Kannada) was a statesman of the Vijayanagara Empire, the son-in-law of Emperor Krishna Deva Raya and the progenitor of the Aravidu dynasty of Vijayanagar Empire, the fourth and ...

, he later became known as Ramarajabhushanudu. He was also a distinguished musician and played the

Veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps ...

Works

His popular works are ''Kavyalankarasangrahamu'', ''Vasucaritramu'', ''Hariscandra Nalopakhyanamu'', and ''Narasabhupaleeyamu''. He dedicated ''Vasucharita'' to

Tirumala Deva Raya Tirumala Deva Raya (reign 1565–1572 CE) was the first Crowned King of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Aravidu Dynasty. He was the younger brother of Aliya Rama Raya and son-in-law of Krishna Deva Raya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 � ...

and ''Harischandra Nalopakhyanamu'' to Orugnati Narasaraya.

Style

His work ''Vasucharitra'' is the most renowned for its use of

Slesha A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

, or ''double meaning''. These poems were later imitated by many Telugu poets including Chemakura Venkata Kavi. Similar to

Pingali Surana Pingali Suranna (16th century CE) was a Telugu poet and was one of the '' Astadiggajas''. Early life Suranna's exact birthplace is uncertain. He lived in Kanala village near Nandyala. Suranna's parents were Abbamamba (mother) and Amarana (fat ...

, he also wrote a ''dvayarthi'' (

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially a ...

) work called ''Harischandra Nalopakhanam''. Each poem of story narrates to life of the kings

Harischandra Harishchandra () is a legendary king of the Solar dynasty, who appears in several legends in texts such as the '' Aitareya Brahmana'', ''Mahabharata'', the ''Markandeya Purana'', and the ''Devi Bhagavata Purana''. The most famous of these stori ...

and

Nala Nala (Sanskrit: नल) is a character in the '' Vana Parva'' book of the ''Mahabharata''. He was the king of Nishadha Kingdom and the son of Veerasena. Nala was known for his skill with horses and for his culinary expertise. He married princ ...

. As he was also a musician, some of his poetic compositions had a musical flow and rhythm.

Awards and Titles

* He is credited as gem of Ramaraya's court, and hence his name is ''Ramarajabhushana''.

External links

Bhattumurthy

Telugu literature
* K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002)

Telugu people Telugu poets People of the Vijayanagara Empire 16th-century Indian poets Indian male poets Scholars of Vijayanagara Empire Vijayanagara poets {{India-poet-stub