Puttaparthi Narayanacharya
Encyclopedia
Puttaparthi Narayanacharyulu (Telugu: పుట్టపర్తి నారాయణాచార్యులు) (March 28, 1914 - September 1, 1990) was a front-ranking classical poet
, literary critic
, composer
, musicologist
, translator
and polyglot
.
family in Chiyyedu Village in Penukonda
taluq of Anantapur district
. His father Sreenivasacharyulu and mother Lakshmidevi were great Sanskrit-Andhra pundits. He served as a teacher at Ramakrishna High School at Kadapa and Government College at Anantapuram.
He studied many epics including Bhaaratam, Bhaagavatam, Puraanas, Kavyas and music at a very young age. He studied Sanskrit literature up to Siromani at Tirupati Sanskrit College. He learned grammar, meter, figures of speech etc. from great Sanskrit teachers like Kapilasthalam Krishnamacharyulu and D.T. Tatacharyulu. He learned Bharatanatyam
under the guidance of dancer Ranjakam Mahalakshmamma. He learned classical music from Pakka Hanumanthacharyulu.
He has about 50 works of poetry to his credit. Considered an authority on the history and literature of the Vijaynagar period, he has written in Telugu
extensively on Sanskrit
, Prakrit
, Tamil
, Kannada
and Malayalam
literature. He has about 7,000 musical compositions in Telugu and Sanskrit to his credit and 200 of them have been notated by himself. He had the unique and ironic experience of having written a poetic work called Penugonda Lakshmi at the age of 14, prescribed as a text when he took the Vidwan
examination in his thirtees. Shivathandavam (The Cosmic Dance of Shiva), the most representative of his genius, was composed in Agasteswara Temple in Proddatur. His Janapriya Ramayanam won Central sahitya Akademi literary award in the year 1979 .He got the award of Bharateeya Bhasha Parshath Kolkatta for his epic 'Sreenivasa Prabandham'in 1988. His English work "Leaves in the Wind" written at the age of 20 was appreciated by well-known Indo-Anglican poet Sri Harindranath Chattopadyaya. Further, he wrote a playlet named 'The Hero' (with the influence of Milton), Duryodhana as the hero and this work was also critically acclaimed.
He was a polyglot and pundit in many languages. He was fluent in 14 languages, including French
and Persian
. His lifesize bronze statue was installed in Proddatur
town by Puttaparthi Narayanacharyulu Sahithi Peetham in 2007.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, literary critic
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, musicologist
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
, translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
and polyglot
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
.
Life sketch
Narayanacharyulu was born in a SriVaishnava BrahminBrahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
family in Chiyyedu Village in Penukonda
Penukonda
Penukonda or Penu Konda is a small town in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is 70 km away from Anantapur town.-Geography:Penukonda is located at...
taluq of Anantapur district
Anantapur district
Anantapur District , ) is one of the 23 districts in Andhra Pradesh, India. The district headquarters is Anantapur City. It is currently a part of the Red Corridor.- Geography :...
. His father Sreenivasacharyulu and mother Lakshmidevi were great Sanskrit-Andhra pundits. He served as a teacher at Ramakrishna High School at Kadapa and Government College at Anantapuram.
He studied many epics including Bhaaratam, Bhaagavatam, Puraanas, Kavyas and music at a very young age. He studied Sanskrit literature up to Siromani at Tirupati Sanskrit College. He learned grammar, meter, figures of speech etc. from great Sanskrit teachers like Kapilasthalam Krishnamacharyulu and D.T. Tatacharyulu. He learned Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam
Bharata Natyam or Chadhir Attam, is a classical dance form from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, practiced predominantly in modern times by women. The dance is usually accompanied by classical Carnatic music...
under the guidance of dancer Ranjakam Mahalakshmamma. He learned classical music from Pakka Hanumanthacharyulu.
He has about 50 works of poetry to his credit. Considered an authority on the history and literature of the Vijaynagar period, he has written in Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
extensively on Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, Prakrit
Prakrit
Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
, Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
and Malayalam
Malayalam language
Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
literature. He has about 7,000 musical compositions in Telugu and Sanskrit to his credit and 200 of them have been notated by himself. He had the unique and ironic experience of having written a poetic work called Penugonda Lakshmi at the age of 14, prescribed as a text when he took the Vidwan
Vidwan
A vidwan is a person who has vidya of a particular science or art. This term is usually used for Indian Classical Musicians to denote their scholarship and experience in performing classical music concerts. Vidwan may also be referred to as a doctorate in layman's terms....
examination in his thirtees. Shivathandavam (The Cosmic Dance of Shiva), the most representative of his genius, was composed in Agasteswara Temple in Proddatur. His Janapriya Ramayanam won Central sahitya Akademi literary award in the year 1979 .He got the award of Bharateeya Bhasha Parshath Kolkatta for his epic 'Sreenivasa Prabandham'in 1988. His English work "Leaves in the Wind" written at the age of 20 was appreciated by well-known Indo-Anglican poet Sri Harindranath Chattopadyaya. Further, he wrote a playlet named 'The Hero' (with the influence of Milton), Duryodhana as the hero and this work was also critically acclaimed.
He was a polyglot and pundit in many languages. He was fluent in 14 languages, including French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
. His lifesize bronze statue was installed in Proddatur
Proddatur
Proddatur is the second largest town in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh state in India. It is renowned for its gold and cotton business...
town by Puttaparthi Narayanacharyulu Sahithi Peetham in 2007.
Literary works
- Aasha
- Anuraagam
- Bhagawan Buddha (translation from Marathi)
- Chennakesava suprabhatam
- Edabaatu
- Ekavira (translation to Malayalam)
- Kraantisandesam
- Leaves in the Wind
- The Hero
- Oadaarpu
- Pandari Bhagavatam
- Penugonda Lakshmi
- Prabandha Nayikalu
- Saakshaatkaaram
- Smasanadeepam (translation from Malayalam)
- Shivakarnamritam (Sanskrit)
- Shivathandavam
- Smriti
- Tyagarajaswami suprabhatam
- Veedukolu
- Vijayanagara rajya sanghika charitra (Telugu)
Awards
- He was honored with title Saraswatiputra (son of Goddess of Learning) by Sivananda Saraswati in Hrishikesh.
- Padma ShriPadma ShriPadma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
Award by Government of India in 1972. - Honorary DoctorateDoctorateA doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
s by Sri Venkateswara University and Sri Krishnadevaraya University.