''Sarangadhara'' is an epic story during the reign of

Rajaraja Narendra Rajaraja Narendra () was an Eastern Chalukya king of the Vengi kingdom in present-day Andhra Pradesh. He founded the city of Rajahmahendravaram (Rajahmundry), and his reign is noted for its significant contributions to social and cultural her ...

Gurajada Apparao Gurajada Venkata Apparao (21 September 1862 – 30 November 1915) was an Indian playwright, dramatist, poet, and writer known for his works in Telugu theatre. Rao wrote the play '' Kanyasulkam'' in 1892, which is considered as the greatest pla ...

wrote the story in long poetic form in English and published in "Indian Leisure Hour" in 1883. It is a popular Telugu drama and made into South Indian films.20th Century Telugu Luminaries, Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, 2005

The story

was ruling the

Vengi Vengi or Venginadu ( Telugu: వేంగి) is a historic region located in present-day Andhra Pradesh, India spread over the Godavari and Krishna river deltas. Its capital was located at Pedavegi, near Eluru. Vengi was a prominent city in a ...

country with capital of

Rajamahendri 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 ...

. He had a son by name Sarangadhara with Queen Ratnangi. The king had a second wife Chitrangi towards whom he was very affectionate. He had a bitter enemy, his step-brother, Vijayaditya. One day Chitrangi invited her step son Sarangadhara for feast. As Sarangadhara was leaving for a hunt, he ignored the invitation. His step mother was very upset with him and it was brought to the notice of Vijayaditya by his sources. Vijayaditya made a propaganda of an affair between Sarangadhara and his step mother with the sinister motive of creating conflict in the house of Rajaraja Narendra. Without proper inquiry, Rajaraja Narendra ordered the chopping off the limbs of the innocent Sarangadhara. The king's orders had to be obeyed and so the punishment was meted out to the prince in the mountain forest. Sarangadhara was lying in a pool of blood screaming in agony, drawing the attention of Meghanadha a devotee of Siva, who immediately rushed to Sarangadhara and did what ever he could to alleviate the pain and advised Sarangadhara to pray to Lord

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

and get his blessings. Lord Siva, moved by Sarangadhara's prayer, returned his lost limbs and him a handsome person.

Film and stage adaptations

In his early years as a stage artiste associated with the Rama Vilasa Sabha of Chitoor, actor

V. Nagayya Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya Sarma (28 March 1904 – 30 December 1973), popularly known as Chittoor Nagayya, was an Indian actor, singer, music composer, and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, and Telugu theatre. Nagayya wa ...

secured critical acclaim for his performance in the role of Chitrangi.

Pammal Sambandha Mudaliar Pammal Vijayarangam Sambandham Mudaliar (1873–1964), who has been described as "the founding father of modern Tamil theatre", was a playwright, director, producer and actor of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth centuries. He was a recipi ...

adapted to stage dramas and popularized the story in Tamil. S. G. Kittappa and

M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar Mayavaram Krishnasamy Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar (1 March 1910 – 1 November 1959), also known by his initials as M. K. T. was an Indian actor and carnatic singer. Critics and film historians acknowledge Bhagavathar as the "First superstar of Ta ...

had acted and sang in the various Tamil stage adaptations of ''Sarangadhara''.

1930 film

''Sarangadhara'' is a 1930 silent film directed by Y. V. Rao under the General Pictures Corporation.

1935 Tamil film

''Sarangadhara'' is a 1935 Tamil film directed by V. S. K. Padham under the Lotus Pictures, filmed at

Wadia Movietone Wadia Movietone was a noted Indian film production company and studio based in Mumbai, established in 1933 by Wadia brothers J. B. H. Wadia and Homi Wadia. It was most known for stunt, fantasy and mythological films, including '' Hunterwali'' ...

Studios of JBH and

Homi Wadia Homi Wadia (22 May 1911 – 10 December 2004) was an Indian film director and producer in Bollywood (Hindi cinema). He was the co-founder of Wadia Movietone productions, established in 1933 and later after the closure of Wadiatone, he founded Ba ...

brothers in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. It stars Kothamangalam Seenu and T. M. Saradhambal. Seenu sang songs like ''Vidhiyai VendRavar Yaar'' and songs already popularized by S. G. Kittappa in stage dramas such as ''Vedikkaiyaagave'' and ''Kodaiyile'' in the movie.

1936 Tamil film

''Naveena Sarangadhara'' is a 1936 Tamil film directed by K. Subramaniam under Murugan Talkies. ''Naveena'' in Tamil means modern. The movie was titled thus in order to distinguish it from the earlier versions and to highlight the slight changes made to the original story. The cast includes

and S. D. Subbulakshmi supported by S. S. Mani Bhagavathar, G. Pattu Iyer and Indubala.

Papanasam Sivan Paapanaasam Raamayya Sivan (26 September 1890 – 1 October 1973) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1971. He was also a film score composer in Kannada cinema a ...

had written the lyrics and composed music for M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar songs such as ''Sivaperuman krupai Vendum'', ''Gnana kumarai nadana singari'' and ''abaraatham seithariyen''. The film had a successful run on the big screen.

The story

Film and stage adaptations

1930 film

1935 Tamil film

1936 Tamil film

1937 Telugu film

1957 Telugu film

1958 Tamil film

References