How Telugu Literature became, what we know today

Writings in Telugu can be traced back to the 10th century. Telugu literature flourished in the 16th century under the Vijayanagar empire. In the 19th century, new literary experiments were made in the form of novels, borrowing from Western influences. The history of Telugu literature is diverse and unique.

Telugu Script Source : Shutterstock

Telugu literature is defined as literature written in Telugu, a Dravidian language, mainly spoken by a cultural group in Southern India. Telugu has the biggest linguistic unit in India, after Hindi. Linguistically stated, the language bears traces of marching in the path of deviation from other South Indian languages, coming under the Dravidian family of languages. It is also one of the ancient languages with its origin dating back to the 1st century A.D. or to 700 B.C.

The evolution of Telugu literature can be divided into six periods: The pre-Nannaya period (up to A.D. 1020), the Period of Puranas (1020 - 1400), the Period of Srinatha (1400 - 1510), the Period of the Prabandhas (1510 - 1600), The Southern period (1600 - 1820) and, The Modern Period (since 1820).

The earliest period of Telugu literature had only inscriptions. The Nannaya period, an adaptation of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, marked the beginning of Telugu literature. But scholars do not dismiss the possibility of the existence of literary works before this period. However, it is certain, that in this period, Telugu poets mainly translated Sanskrit poems into Telugu. The literary works were mostly narrative poems, which had a rigid stylization, completely alienated from the contemporary spoken form. The 12th and 13th centuries saw the rise of the Lingayata school or Virasaivism, which distributed bhakti toward Shiva for spiritual guidance. This greatly influenced Telugu literature. Saiva poets started to pen down memorable works in campu style. Palakuriki Somanatha was a torchbearer in devising new genres like gadya, ragada, sataka and udaharana during this period. The next period in the history of Telugu literature is marked by the influence of the foremost poet, Srinath, who popularized the Prabandha style of composition. This was the golden era of Telugu literature and was often known as the Vijayanagara period (1336-1565 A.D.). In the next century, Telugu literature thrived under the Qutub Shahi dynasty. In its gradual evolution, each genre of Telugu literature was backed by each progressing king, which helped it to flourish. A colossal number of poets from amongst the rulers, women, and non-Brahmins also began to popularise the literature. When the Mughals conquered the Deccan, Telugu literature could not flourish, but it stayed to witness the transition period from the 1850s to the 1900s. During the 1900s, the Telugu poets were greatly influenced by the English Romantic poets and wrote bhava-kavitvam or the 'poetry of imagination'. The acclaim and recognition for authoring the first novel in Telugu go to Narahari Gopala Krishnamma Chetti, who penned Rangarajacharita in 1872.

Telugu literature followed the most unique pattern of evolution among all Indian regional literature. Indeed, so very distinct was its evolution, that each era had carried with it a new and innovative message for its readers, propagated under each genre of novel, play, prose, poetry, or short story. Beginning in the pre-Christian period and still continuing in modern times, Telugu literature was also free from influences from its Indo-Aryan language counterpart. Modern Telugu literature bears the mark of its past glory and continues to create enriching literary works of every form and genre.