Appa-kavi

Kākunūri Appa-kavi (Telugu: కాకునూరి అప్పకవి) was a Telugu language poet and grammarian from present-day southern India, noted for writing the Telugu grammar book Appakavīyamu (1656 CE). He claims to have written the book at the instruction of the god Vishnu, based on a purported Sanskrit language work by the earlier poet Nannaya.

Biography

Appa-kavi belonged to a Brahmin family from Kakunur (near Mahbubnagar) in present-day Telangana. Unlike other notable contemporary or earlier Telugu poets, he did not have any royal patron: his family was apparently independently wealthy. His grandfather and father were scholars like him, and he describes his father Venganna as marata-brahma ("a second creator"). The surviving parts of Appakavīyamu suggest that Appa-kavi had knowledge of Vedic sciences, astrology, Agama literature, poetics, linguistics, and philosophy. The 19th century scholar Chinnaya Suri connected himself to the lineage of Appa-kavi.

Appakavīyamu

It's a joy when a woman or a poem comes naturally to you. If you force them, they bring you grief. — Appa-kavi in Appakavīyamu

In his introduction to Appakavīyamu, Appa-kavi narrates the following legend: when he was living in the Kamepalli village in the Palnadu region (probably in present-day Guntur district ), he had declared his intention to write a book. One evening, in the Shaka year 1578 (1656 CE), he worshipped Krishna and talked to scholars about the Puranas before going to sleep. That night, the god Vishnu appeared in his dream, and told him that the earlier poet Nannaya had composed a Sanskrit-language work on Telugu grammar, with help of Narayana-bhatta. This work, titled Andhra-shabda-chintamani ("Magic Jewel of Telugu Words"), contained five chapters with 82 verses in the Arya metre. Using the rules outlined in this book, Nannaya composed Mahabharata, the first poem in the Telugu language. Bhimana, who was jealous of Nannaya, stole and destroyed Andhra-shabda-chintamani by throwing it in the Godavari River. Since no Telugu grammar rules now survived, a well-known poet from Dakshavati made a rule that a poet should use a word only if it is attested in Nannaya's Mahabharata. The subsequent great poets, such as Tikkana, adhered to this rule. Tatana (Vellanki Tatam Bhattu who wrote Sulakshana-saramu) and Nutana-Dandi (Ketana) covered a little Telugu grammar, but their works were not comparable to that of Nannaya. Unknown to others, King Rajaraja-narendra's son Saranga-dhara, an immortal siddha, had memorized Nannaya's grammar. He gave a written copy of Nannaya's work to Bala-sarasvati near Matanga Hill (at Vijayanagara), and Bala-sarasvati wrote a Telugu gloss (commentary) on the work. Vishnu told Appa-kavi that next morning, a Brahmin from Matanga Hill would visit him and give him a copy of Nannaya's work. Vishnu asked Appa-kavi to elaborate Nannaya's work in Telugu language. Appa-kavi's maternal relatives, who included noted authors, convinced him to write the book. He then composed Appakavīyamu, and dedicated the book to Vishnu. Although Appa-kavi describes his work as a commentary, it is really an original work. Appa-kavi's legend about the loss and recovery of Nannaya's purported work is either an embellished version of the legend mentioned in Bala-sarasvatiyamu or a fuller version of an existing legend. Ahobala-panditiya (also known as Kavi-shiro-bhushana), a Sanskrit commentary on Andhra-shabda-chintamani, also retells this story, and notes the discrepancies between the works of Bala-sarasvati and Appa-kavi.