Katta Varadaraju

Sahiti Bhoja

Katta Varadaraju
కట్ట వరదరాజ
Born
OccupationPoet
LanguageTelugu
NationalityIndian
Period Prabandha Period
Notable worksSri Ramayanamu
Sriranga Mahatmyam
Parama Bhagavata Charitra
ParentsHaridasaraju (father) Krishnamba (mother)

Katta Varadaraju (Telugu: కట్ట వరదరాజ) (17th century CE) was a Telugu poet.[1]

Biography

Katta Varadaraju was born to Haridasaraju and Krishnamba in a Telugu Balija family[2] at Cuddapah in the Vijayanagara Empire.[3] His grandfather was Rangappa Raju, an ally of the Vijayanagara Emperor Rama Deva Raya.[4] He is a Kshatriya of the solar race and a descendant of the legendary Chola king Karikala Chola.[5]

Notable works

References

  1. ^ M. Kulasekhara Rao, ed. (1988). A History of Telugu Literature. For copies, M. Indira Devi. p. 258. Katta Varadaraju, the writer of one of the Ramayanas in Telugu, was not a king himself, but belonged to an illustrious royal family of famous Kari Kala Chola, who constructed an anicut across river Kaveri, besides ruling vast empire of Chola. Because of the Kaveri anicut, this family was called Katta ( dam ) thereafter. Varada raju's forefathers were related to the family of Vijayanagar kings. Historians feel, according to the available sources, that this poet lived in the seventeenth century A.D around 1660.
  2. ^ Richman, Paula (2001). Questioning Ramayanas: A South Asian Tradition. University of California Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-520-22074-4. ....Yet another was composed, again in Tanjavur, by Katta Varada Raju (circa 1630), another Balija who claims descent from Karikala Chola.
  3. ^ Amaresh Datta, ed. (1987). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A to Devo. Vol. 1. Sahitya Akademi. p. 69. ISBN 9780836422832. Katta Varadaraja Ramayana : Varadaraja is a ' solar ' kshatriya of Cuddapah region.
  4. ^ S. Gopalan, N. Venkata Rao, ed. (1950). Sri Rāmāyanamu: Bala and Ayodhya kandas. The Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras. p. 12.
  5. ^
    • Dr. C. A. Padmanabha Sastry, ed. (1987). "Surnames in Andhra : A Historical Study". The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society (Bangalore). 78–79. Mythic Society: 227. There was a famous poet in Telugu literature called Katta Varadaraju. In the introductory peom, he describes the origin of his surname Katta. According to it Katta, the surname of his family is attributed to Karikala chola, who constructed a dam ( Katta ) for the river Kaveri. The family of the poet belongs to the lineage of Karikala chola and the predecessors of his family cherished the Katta ( a dam or bridge ) to their family to show their gratitude towards Karikala chola.
    • Challa Radhakrishna Sarma, ed. (1978). Ramblings in Telugu Literature. Lakshminarayana Granthamala. p. 14. Katta Varadaraju who is said to have lived during 1600-1650 has written a Ramayana in dvipada metre . In the introduction , he said that he acquired his surname ' Katta ' as he was born in the family of Karikala Chola who constructed banks ( katta ) on Kaveri .