Krishnadeva Raya- The Great Poet-Emperor of Vijayanagara

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An Engineer by background, G.Surya Prakash Rao, has been a Software Designer by profession. He has worked for such reputed organisations as IBM and Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad before setting up an IT company, ACS Technologies Ltd., along with a few colleagues in 1980. He served as the Managing Director of the company during 1991-97. He has reduced his professional assignments in order to devote time to writing. He served as the Vice President of Computer Society of India's Hyderabad Chapter and was conferred with the 'CSI Hyderabad Chapter Award' for 1996 for his substantial contributions. He has been to the United States, Europe, Singapore and Malaysia on professional and personal visits.

Writing has been his abiding interest. Several articles of his, covering issues of IT, culture and civic concerns, have been carried by The Hindu, Times of India and Newstime over the years.

His other published works are 'Meghamitra and other poems' and 'The lock at the gate', a collection of short stories. He has also to his credit a collection of short stories for children, 'Appu and his friends'. This has not been published yet.

He lives in Hyderabad with his wife and son. He welcomes comments and feedback on his work and can be reached at 38, Malani Enclave, Trimulgherry, Secunderabad-500 015.

Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University is a unique centre of learning, dedicated to re-search, teaching and publication of the language, literature, culture and arts, including tribal and folk arts, of the Telugu speaking people. It aims at preserving their rich culture and spreading the fragrance of Telugu language to far corners of the world. The University is driven by the noble objective of keeping alive the distinct identity and heritage of the Telugus through its multifarious activities.

Set up to carry forward the laudable work of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Academies of Literature, Music, Dance, Drama, and the Fine Arts, as also that of the International Telugu Centre, the University has emerged as the preeminent center for the preservation and propagation of Telugu culture and its further development. Towards these cherished goals, and to serve the cause of Telugu community scattered the world over today, the University aims to send delegation of scholars and cultural troupes to various continents.

As a part of its publication activity, the University has published several important Telugu classical works. It has engaged scholars to translate, and write erudite commentaries on, many ancient works of poetry. These include Kasi Khandam, Kumarasambhava, Basava Puranam and Sivaratri Mahatyam. Important ancient and modern works have been translated into Sanskrit, English, Hindi and Tamil. It has brought out anthologies of best Telugu short stories, selected by experts. It has to its credit encyclopedias Vishwa Sahiti and Bharata Bharati in Telugu, and History and Culture of the Andhras in English.

The University carries out research for further development and modernization of Telugu language. This includes studies in linguistics, lexicography and history of Telugu and Dravidian languages. With grants from the Department of Social Welfare, Government of Andhra Pradesh, the University has taken up translation into Telugu of Dr B. R. Ambedkar's works in eleven volumes. Of these only the tenth volume remains to be published. The University's literary journal Vangmai is considered one of the best re-searched ones in Telugu. The University has taken up the Vanda Grandhalu scheme for publication of a hundred books with the aid of sponsorships. This publication is under this scheme. The University is now presenting a historical biography of Krishnadeva Raya, undoubtedly one of the great luminaries in the history and culture of south India. His claim to greatness lay not only in his military acumen that took the Vijayanagara empire to its pinnacle of glory, but also in his everlasting contributions to art, culture and literature of the south, notably that of the Andhras. Very few rulers in Indian history have had Krishnadeva Raya's scholarship and cultural leanings. His celebrated court had become a great centre of erudition, where the greatest scholars and theologians of the age were honoured and heard with respect. In the realm of Telugu literature, he stands as a colossus in the company of poets like Srinatha and Allasani Peddana. Telugu literature reached what is generally considered to be a glorious period during his reign that gave a distinct literary and cultural ethos to the people of Andhra that survives to this day. Krishnadeva Raya was a great lover of all forms of art and constructed some of the most impressive temples in South India that took the Vijayanagara style of temple architecture to its peak.

Surprisingly, there are few biographies in English of the great ruler that do justice to his rich, multi-faceted achievements. This book authored by Mr GSP Rao attempts to fill that lacuna. The book's uniqueness lies in bringing together the ruler's contributions to various fields, and weaving and presenting the rich tapestry of Krishnadeva Raya's life. The book has been aimed at general readers and is richly illustrated with many photographs of monuments and temples of the emperor’s period that should make the book highly appealing. It should serve the large English readership with an authentic account of the emperor's life and achievements. It will also be found useful as a reference book by historians and research students.

The 500th anniversary of Krishnadeva Raya's coronation (in the year 1509) is fast approaching and I hope this book will trigger a strong interest among people about the life and times of Krishnadeva Raya, and his enormous contributions to the culture of Telugu speaking people.

The life of Krishnadeva Raya, the great Vijayanagara Emperor, has always fascinated me. His military successes were brilliant that consolidated the empire as never before. He stood up to his aggressive Muslim neighbours in a spirited manner and even pushed their frontiers back, by reclaiming territories lost by his predecessors. He strode across peninsular India gallantly, keeping Hindu pride aflutter and blunting the Muslim aspirations of conquering South. His campaigns in the east against the Gajapati of Orissa had a resounding success and he marched into the Kalinga capital unopposed. He showed great diplomatic tact in his dealings with Portuguese that ensured regular supply of horses so critical in wars in those times. The riches of the empire and economic wellbeing of its people received encomiums from historians and foreign visitors of the time. The capital city of Vijayanagara was considered one of the best-provisioned cities in the world then and visitors sang paeans at its grandeur.

His reign was considered a very benevolent one and, among the Hindu emperors, has been compared to those of Asoka and Harshavardhana. He was a great patron of arts and literature. He was compared to the celebrated Raja Bhoj of ancient times, and he created a similar aura of cultural efflorescence in his court that was thronged by scholars and poets seeking recognition and reward. His period saw the renaissance of Telugu literature and the blossoming of classical Carnatic music.

He stands above the other Hindu monarchs in his remarkable, multifarious interests and achievements. He was an erudite scholar and a poet of considerable merit, whose Amukta Malyada is rated among the five mahakavyas, great poetical compositions, of Telugu literature.

He has expounded on the art of statecraft in that book, which is reminiscent of Chanakya's Artha Shastra. He was good in chitrakala, drawing, and proficient in playing veena. He was knowledgeable in dance and music. And, he is known to have been a keen chess player. He has been called sahiti samarangana sarvabhauma, one equally skilled in literary craftsmanship and warfare. His court music-and-dance teacher, Bandam Lakshminarayana, referred him as sarvakala prayukta, one proficient in all arts.