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NOVEMBER, 1898.]
THE TELUGU LITERATURE.
303
naturalised them. His contemporaries followed his footsteps in this direction also. A critic on his Manucharitra finds fault with him for having plagiarised from the Naishadha and Márkandeya Purana. It is true that he has taken the plot of his poem from the Svárôchisha Manusambhava in the Márkandeya Purana, and that he has imitated in certain methods of expression Mârana, the Telugu translator of the aforesaid purána. From a study of Peddana's poem itself, also, numerous instances can be found, shewing that he had the greatest regard for Srinatha and his Naishadha, and that he, to a major extent, modelled his expression after the fashion of the Naishadha. Srinatha was the first to introduce long Sanskrit samásas into Telugu poetry, and there can be no gainsaying that Peddana stuffed his poem, the fourth dávása excepted, with long-tailed Sanskrit samásas, the result of a careful study of the work of Srinatha. We have no reason, however, on this account, I think, to find fault with Peddana, and charge him with plagiarism. Indeed, the system of borrowing expressions from the older poets is in vogue down to the present day. There are certain stories current of Tenali Ramakrishna finding fault with Peddana for certain stanzas of his, but such stories are far from being credible, considering the times in which both of them flourished, and the reputation the latter enjoyed in and out of the king's court and the way in which he put poetical queries to people who visited the place to receive royal presents.
The poet next in importance was Nandi Timmans. He was a Niyogi Brahmana of the Ápastamba sútra, Kausika gôtra, and the son of Nandi Singana and Timmâmbâ. He was a pure Saiva and the disciple of Aghôragurn. He was the nephew of Malayamâruta, the writer of the Vardha Purana. He was a native of the village called Gannavara. He composed a work called the Párijatápaharana, in which is recorded the story of Sri Krishna procuring the parijáta flower from the garden of Indra through the sage Nârada, for his consort Rukmini. The poem consists of three ásvásas written in a smooth, elegant style, and the images and similes are very bold and striking.
There is a curious story current regarding the circumstances under which the poem was written. It is said that on a certain night after supper the king held court till midnight, and then retired to bed. His wife who remained a long while conversing with her female friends, waiting for her husband, at last retired to bed as it was very late. Her female friends then covered her with a sheet and went their own ways. Krishnaraya then entered the room, and reclined on his bed. Not long after his wife's feet came in contact with his ears. The king immediately rose, surveyed the room, saw the sleeping posture of his spouse, and, bitter with rage, stood pondering thus within himself: "How hard-hearted are women? Perhaps she was angry with me for having delayed so long. It does not matter much if she is angry, but she has tried to insult me. She will not do so in future, if I punish her now." Grinding his teeth, he resolved to punish her very severely, and went and slept in a different room. The queen heard of what had transpired from her maid-servants, was sore afraid, and remained disconsolate. Nandi Timmaua, the poet who accompanied her from her father's household, understood that something was wrong from her face, approached her in secret, and requested her to inform him of what troubled her. She replied that her very life would be at stake if the secrets of the seraglio got abroad, that she would have to suffer according to her past karma, and that he need not trouble himself about her trouble. He assured her that he would keep her secret, and devise means for an amicable settlement, and that he was of no use to her if he could not render such trifling help, being an intimate friend of her father. The queen then informed him of what had happened, sobbing from very heaviness of heart. The poet consoled her, assured her that within a week everything would go on smoothly, and that her husband would pardon her. He then went home and thought seriously of the difficulty of his under. taking, prayed to his deity, and came to a resolve that he would write a poem in which he would incidentally give full expression as to what he had undertaken to do and thus bring the king over to his side. He, therefore, took the story of Pârijâtâpaharana, and composed a poem on the subject, and accomplished his object in the very first dévdsa. He then finished the
