Aarudhra
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Aarudhra is a highly respected author in Modern Telugu literature. He edited Anandavani magazine circa 1947 and Tvamevaham and Samagra Andhra Sahityam (SAS)(An Encyclopedia of Telugu Literature) are landmark works of his.
[edit] The Samagra Andhra Sahityam
Aarudhra first published the SAS in 12 parts between 1965 and 1968. It spans the Telugu literature from the 9th century CE to modern times. He chronicled the history of Telugu Literature in 12 volumes:
- Early and Chalukya Era (From 8 - 9c CE to end of 12c CE)
- Kakatiya Era (1200 - 1290 CE)
- Padmanayaka Era (1337 - 1399 CE)
- Reddiraju Era (1400 - 1450 CE)
- Early Rayala (Vijayanagara) (1450-1500 CE)
- Later Rayala (Vijayanagara) (1500-1550 CE)
- Nawabs' (1550-1600 CE)
- Nayaka Kings (1600- 1670 CE)
- Later Nayaka Kings (1670-1750 CE)
- East India Company (1750 - 1850 CE)
- Zamindari (1850 - 1900 CE)
- Modern (1900 CE onwards)
He penned popular lyrics for many block-buster films based on the Ramayana. He added to the field of Ramayana studies with his scholarly work called 'Ramudiki Sita Yemautundi?' (1978)(bluntly translated to: Are ye sure, Sita was his (Rama's) wife?)
He belonged to the school of progressive writers 'Abhyudaya Rachayitala Sanghom'?, (a very potent force, in literary circles at least till the end of 1980s in Andhra Pradesh). Incidentally, he is also the nephew of SriSri (Srirangam Srinivasa Rao- most celebrated modern day Telugu poet) and is married to K.Ramalaxmi (a columnist and a writer- critic in her own right).
[edit] Are you sure Sita was his wife?
Ramudiki Sita Yemautundi? or Are ye' sure, Sita was his wife?, put before the public the riddle of Mandodari, Sita and Hanuman and their origins in a lucid and scholarly way. It was a bold attempt at cracking the Valmiki-Ramayana code and in the process de-mystified the story of Rama to the middle-class -Literate- modern day- telugu reader.
The book explores the Buddhist and Jain sources of the story of Rama. It also surveys the Khotan Siam (Thai), Laos, and Malaysian versions of the story of Rama. Here is a sampling from the 'Dasaratha Jataka ', a Buddhist Tale:
Buddha narrates the 'Dasaratha Jataka' tale to a householder who was grieving the death of his son....Long long ago.. Dasaratha was the king of Varanasi. He had sixteen thousand wives.The Queen had two sons and a daughter.The eldest son was called Ramapundit and the younger one was called Laxmanpundit.The daughter was called Sitadevi. The Queen dies after sometime. Dasaratha marries again, and comes to like her the most. She begets a son named Bharata...When Ramapundit returns from the forest, he marries Sita and rules for 16000 years...Bodhisatta concludes the story stating that Dasaratha was none other than Shuddhodana (Father of Buddha) in an earlier reincarnation. Similarly, Sita was none other than Rahulmata(Mother of Rahul or Wife of Buddha) and Ramapundit was none other than Buddha himself.
Aarudra asks questions like, how is Sita related to Rama? or were they just Husband and wife? do sound gross, dumb and stupid at the outset. But as one gets serious and digs deep into the genealogies, as revealed from different sources, the story just gets curiouser and curiouser. And to deny the existence of such stories would amount to intellectual dishonesty.
[edit] References
- Aarudra, 'Samagra Andhra Sahityam' (1968). Reprinted in 1989. Publisher ???
- Aarudra, 'Tvamevaham' (year??)
- Aarudra, 'Vennela-vesavi',Navodaya Publishers, Vijayawada(Andhra Pradesh) 1977
- Aarudra, 'Ramudiki Seetemautundi?'Vishalandra Publishing House, Hyderabad (1978)
