BridgetteBarthol at 19:41, 23 January 2026

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{{short description|Ancient Telugu epic}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=October 2021}}
{{Copy edit|date=September 2025}}
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{{Use Indian English|date=June 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox religious text
|name =''Andhra Mahabharathamu'' <br>ఆంధ్ర మహాభారతము
| image = Bazaar art print of Bhavadgita, c. mid-1900's.jpg
| caption = Scene of the [[Bhishma Parva]]m of [[Krishna]] telling the [[Bhagavad Gita]] to [[Arjuna]]
| author = [[Nannayya]]<br>[[Tikkana|Thikkana]]<br> [[Yerrapragada|Yerrana]]
| religion = Hinduism
| language = [[Telugu language|Telugu]]
| verses =21,507 Poems
|chapters=18 Parvas
}}

The '''''Āndhrā Mahābhārathamu''''' ({{langx|te|ఆంధ్ర మహాభారతము}}) is the [[Telugu language|Telugu]] version of the ''[[Mahabharata]],'' written by the [[Kavitrayam]] (trinity of poets), consisting of [[Nannayya]], [[Tikkana|Thikkana]], and [[Yerrapragada]] (also known as Errana). The three poets translated the ''Mahabharata'' from [[Sanskrit]] into Telugu over the period of the 11–14th centuries CE, and became idols for all the following poets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://telugubasha.net/en/literatture-telugu |title=Telugu Literature | Telugu Basha |accessdate=2014-03-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328010809/https://telugubasha.net/en/literatture-telugu |archivedate=2014-03-28 }}</ref> Rather than being a stanza-by-stanza translation, the Āndhrā Mahābhārathamu is a Telugu rendering that preserves the Mahabharata's core narrative. Thus, this translation is not a stanza by stanza translation. These three poets wrote Andhra Mahabharatham in the Telugu literature style, but kept the same essence as the Sanskrit Mahabharatham.

[[File:Nannaya Telugu Poet (Stamp of India - 2017 - Colnect 741696 - Adikavi Nannaya Telugu Poet (cropped).jpeg|thumb|AdiKavi Nannaya]]
[[File:Thikkana somayaji.jpg|thumb|Thikkana Somayaji]]
[[File:Errapragada painting .jpg|thumb|Erranna]]

== Adikavyam in Telugu ==

There are doubts about whether Mahabharata is the first work of poetry started by [[Nannaya]] in Telugu. Literary historians are of the opinion that all the mature poetry does not emerge at once, so there must have been some poems before that. However, no other writings have been found, except for references to songs and poems (Nannechodudu) and some verses found in inscriptions. So, Nannaya was adored by the world of Telugu literature as the original poet. Prajnannaya Yugam Dwadasi Nageswara Sastry writes this in concluding the chapter<ref name="dvana">''History of Telugu literature'' - Author: Dwa.Na. Shastri - Publication : Pratibha Publications, Hyderabad (2004)</ref> - "On the whole Telugu language literature existed before Nannaya. Oral literature was more prevalent. Edictal poetry was in use. Telugu language was good in public affairs. But scriptural language could not have been created. Conditions were suitable for such creation. No. It could be the reason for that is the familiarity with Sanskrit Prakrits.
[[File:Rajaraja Narendrudu statue.jpg|thumb|Raja Raja Narendra (1019–1061 CE) who asked Nannaya to write the Mahabharatam in Telugu]]

==Kavithrayam at work==
[[Nannaya]] wrote Adi Parvam, Sabaparvam, and a part of Aranyaparvam between 1054 and 1061 CE, when he died. Later, in the 13th century, [[Tikkana]] left the remainder of Aranyaparvam and wrote 15 parvams from Virata Parvam to [[Svargarohana Parva]]m. After that in the 14th century, [[Errana]] Aranyaparva completed the remainder. Thus, these three poets of that age are worshiped by the Telugu poets as [[kavitrayam]]. This way, Telugu people are fortunate to be able to read Andhra Mahabharatham, written by three poets over a period of two and a half centuries, as a single book, as if a single mahakavi has written it at a time. The Sanskrit Mahabharatha is famous for being a book of 100 parvas and having a breadth of 100,000 verses. Parvanukramanika, told by Nannaya in Adi Parvam, is also close to this point. There are hundreds of main parvas and subparvas together. In it, [[Harivamsa|Harivamsa Parvam]] is included in Bhavishya Parvam. Together, these two are considered an independent text, called Khilavansa Purana. Nannaya does not include the Harivamsa in his genealogy. He arranges one hundred parvas in his Ashtadasa Parva Vibhaktam. The Upaparva section is not followed in Telugu. The Tikkanadus followed Nannaya's decision. [[Errana]] wrote the Harivamsa as a separate treatise. In this way, the Sanskrit Mahabharata of 100 subparvals was transformed into the Andhra Mahabharata of eighteen parvas in Telugu. It is divided into Asvasas in Telugu. The division can be seen in the following table.<ref>G.V. Published in 15 volumes as Kavitrayam Mahabharatam project - edited by Subrahmanyam. - 2008 Publication</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Parvam
! Number of subparvas
! Number of Shlokas<br /> in Sanskrit Mahabharatham
! Number of Asvasas in Andhra Mahabharatham
! Verse Prose no
|-
| 1. [[Adi Parva]]m
| 18
| 9,984
| 8
| 2,084
|-
| 2. [[Sabha Parva]]m
| 9
| 4,311
| 2
| 618
|-
| 3. [[Aranya Parva]]m
| 16
| 13,664
| 7
| 2,894
|-
| 4. [[Virata Parva]]m
| 4
| 3,500
| 5
| 1,624
|-
| 5. [[Udyoga Parva]]m
| 11
| 6,998
| 4
| 1,562
|-
| 6. [[Bhishma Parva]]m
| 5
| 5,884
| 3
| 1,171
|-
| 7. [[Drona Parva]]m
| 8
| 10,919
| 5
| 1,860
|-
| 8. [[Karna Parva]]m
| 1
| 4,900
| 3
| 1,124
|-
| 9. [[Shalya Parva|Salya Parvam]]
| 4
| 3,220
| 2
| 827
|-
| 10. [[Sauptika Parva]]m
| 3
| 2,874
| 2
| 376
|-
| 11. [[Stri Parva]]m
| 5
| 1,775
| 2
| 376
|-
| 12.[[Shanti Parva]]m
| 4
| 14,525
| 6
| 3,093
|-
| 13. [[Anushasana Parva|Anushasanika Parvam]]
| 2
| 12,000
| 5
| 2,148
|-
| 14. [[Ashvamedhika Parva|Ashwamedha Parvam]]
| 2
| 4,420
| 4
| 976
|-
| 15. [[Ashramavasika Parva|Ashramavasa Parvam]]
| 3
| 1,106
| 2
| 362
|-
| 16. [[Mausala Parva]]m
| 1
| 300
| 1
| 226
|-
| 17.[[Mahaprasthanika Parva]]m
| 1
| 120
| 1
| 79
|-
| 18. [[Svargarohana Parva]]m
| 1
| 200
| 1
| 97
|-
| 19. [[Harivaṃśa|Bhavishya Parvam]]
| 2
| (Omitted)
| --
| --
|-
| '''Total'''
| '''100'''
| '''1,00,500'''
| '''63'''
| '''21,507'''
|-

|}

== Nannaya — the Adi Kavi (the first poet) ==
[[File:Nannaya Painting.jpg|thumb|Raja Rajanarendra commissioning Nannaya Battaraka to render Mahabharatha into Telugu.]]
Nannayabhatta (1022–1063 CE – also referred to as Nannaya), started to translate the Sanskrit Mahabharata into Telugu at the request of the East Chalukya king [[Rajaraja Narendra]]. This marks the beginning of Telugu literature, which has yet been uncovered. This work has been interpreted in the Champu style and emotes simplicity and polishing of such high literary excellence that several scholars do not dismiss the possibility of the existence of literary works in Telugu during the pre-Nannaya period.

==Tikkana==
Tikkana (or Tikkana Somayaji) (1205–1288) was a 13th-century [[Telugu language|Telugu]] poet and minister of the [[Nellore Chodas|Nellore Chola]] ruler Manumasiddhi II. Born into a Telugu-speaking [[Niyogi Brahmin]] family, he was the second poet of the "Trinity of Poets ([[Kavi Trayam]])" that translated ''[[Mahabharata]]'' into Telugu. [[Nannaya Bhattaraka]], the first, translated two and a half chapters of ''Mahabharata''. Tikkana translated the final 15 chapters, but did not undertake translating the half-finished ''Aranya Parvamu''. The Telugu people remained without this last translation for more than a century, until it was translated by [[Errana]].

==Yerrana==
Yarrapragada Erranna was a [[Telugu people|Telugu]] poet in the court of King [[Reddi Kingdom|Prolaya Vema Reddy]] (1325–1353). The surname of Erranna was Yerrapragada or Yerrana, which are epithets of the fair-skinned [[Murugan|Skanda]] in the [[Telugu language]], but became attached to his paternal family due it having notable members with fair or red-skinned complexions. He was honoured with the titles ''Prabandha-paramēśvara'' ("Master of historical anecdotes") and ''Śambhudāsuḍu'' ("Servant of Lord Śiva").<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.textbooksonline.tn.nic.in/Books/10/Telugu/Poetry/2%20VaishnavaYaagam.pdf |title=Vaishanava yugamu |access-date=17 August 2022 |archive-date=4 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304030316/http://www.textbooksonline.tn.nic.in/Books/10/Telugu/Poetry/2%20VaishnavaYaagam.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The [[Sanskrit]] [[Mahabharata]] was translated into Telugu over a period of several centuries (from the 11th to 14th centuries CE). Erranna was one of the ''[[kavitrayam]]'' ("Trinity of Poets") who translated the [[Mahabharatam]] from Sanskrit into Telugu. The other two poets were [[Nannaya]] and [[Tikkana]] of the ''Andhra Mahabharatam'' ("Andhra Mahabharat"). Tikkana translated the remaining books starting from the 4th, leaving the third book titled, the ''Aranya Parvamu'' ("Book of the Forest"), half-finished, for Erranna to complete. [[Tikkana]] did not touch this part because it was considered to be inauspicious to translate this book, which was left half-finished by [[Nannaya]]. Erranna started the remaining half of the ''Aranya Parvamu'' with the style of Nannaya and ended it with the style of Tikkana, as a bridge between the parts translated by Nannaya and Tikkana. Just like Nannaya and Tikkanna, he used half [[Sanskrit]] and half [[Telugu language|Telugu]] in his Telugu translation of the Sanskrit Mahabharata. He translated the ''Harivamsamu''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Errapragada |title=Harivamsamu |date=1926 |publisher=Vavilla Ramaswamy Sastrulu and Sons |location=Madras |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.333032/mode/2up |access-date=16 June 2020 |language=te}}</ref> and ''Ramayanamu'' from Sanskrit, dedicating both works to the founder of the Reddy Dynasty, King Prolaya Vemareddy.

''Nrusimhapuranamu'' was his own independent work.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Errapragada |title=Nrisimhapuranamu |date=1960 |publisher=Vavilla Ramaswamy Sastrulu and Sons |location=Madras |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.329346/mode/2up |access-date=16 June 2020 |language=te}}</ref> Erranna received his inspiration for the Nrusimhapuranam from his grandfather Errapotanna. According to tradition, one day when Erranna was meditating, his grandfather appeared and advised him to write the ''Narisimhapuranamu''. This work was based on the ''Brahmandapuranamu'' and the ''Vishnupuranamu''.

According to the ''Viṣṇu Purāṇa'', King Hiraṇyakaśipu was the powerful demonic sovereign of the Earth millions of year ago at the beginning of the ''[[Yuga Cycle]]''. The subjects of the Earth were described as ''Manavas'' ("descendants of Manu"; "humans"). The subjects of King Indra were described as ''Devatas''. King Hiraṇyakaśipu fought a war with King [[Indra]] and, having emerged victorious, took over the heavenly planets. Under the rule of King Hiraṇyakaśipu, most of the Devatas either "converted to" or disguised themselves as Manavas for the fear of King Hiraṇyakaśipu. Another contemporary of King Hiraṇyakaśipu was also gatekeeper of Śvetadvīpa, the Vaikuṇṭha planet in this universe, in a previous life, Śrī-hari who ruled in the ''[[Kshir Sagar|Kṣīra-sāgara]]'' (the "Sea of Milk").

==See also==
{{lang|te|[[:te:శ్రీ మదాంధ్ర మహాభారతం|ఆంధ్ర మహాభారతం]]}}

==External links==
* [https://andhrabharati.com/itihAsamulu/bhAratamu/index.html ''Srimadandhra Mahabharatamu'']

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Works based on the Mahabharata |state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Telugu-language literature]]
[[Category:Works based on the Mahabharata]]

Andhra Mahabharatam - Revision history

BridgetteBarthol at 19:41, 23 January 2026