Telugu poet nannaya biography of albert

11th-century Telugu-language poet

This article is about the Telugu author. For the Mesopotamian goddess, see Nayana.

Nannayya Bhattaraka or Nannayya Bhattu (sometimes spelled Nannaya; c. 11th century) was a Telugu poet and the author of Andhra Mahabharatam, a Telugu retelling of the Sanskrit-language Mahabharata.

Nannaya is generally considered the first poet (Adi Kavi) of Telugu language.^[2][3][4][1] He was patronized by Rajaraja Narendra of Rajamahendravaram.^[5][1][3] Rajaraja Narendra was an admirer of Mahabharata and wanted the message of the Sanskrit epic to reach the Telugu masses in their own language and idiom.^[6] He commissioned Nannaya, a scholar well versed in Vedas, Puranas, and Itihasas for the task.

Nannaya began his work in c. 1025 CE^[7] and wrote Adi Parvam, Sabaparvam, and a part of Aranyaparvam.^[6]

Nannaya is the first of the