Ashtadiggajas

Topic: Vijayanagara and the Deccan · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Ashtadiggajas is the name tradition gives to eight Telugu poets said to have adorned the court of Krishnadeva Raya (r. 1509–29) of Vijayanagara, in his literary hall called Bhuvana Vijayam. They stand for the high point of Telugu literature under royal patronage, and they are a favourite exam link between a ruler, a language and a group of writers.

Explanation

The name and its idea

Ashta means "eight", dig means "direction" and gaja means "elephant".
In Hindu belief, eight great elephants (the diggajas) guard the eight directions of the world and hold it up.
The poets were given this name as a compliment. Like those elephants, they were said to support the king's court and spread its fame in every direction.
The name is a title of honour from tradition. It is not an official post or office.

Background: why this happened under Krishnadeva Raya

Krishnadeva Raya belonged to the Tuluva dynasty. His reign was the apogee (highest point) of Vijayanagara.
He fought and won wars:
1512: he took the Raichur doab, the land between the Tungabhadra and the Krishna [1].
1514: he subdued Orissa by capturing the fort of Udayagiri [1].
1520: he severely defeated the Sultan of Bijapur [1].
His reign is still remembered for "unparalleled peace and prosperity". A rich and secure court could afford to support poets.
He supported writers in Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada. The Ashtadiggajas were the Telugu part of this support.
He was a Telugu poet himself. He wrote the Amuktamalyada, about the poet-saint Andal.
Tradition calls him "Andhra Bhoja", after the famous scholar-king Bhoja, because he was such a generous patron.

The eight poets (the traditional list)

Allasani Peddana was the leading poet of the group. He wrote Manucharitra (also called Svarochisha Manusambhavam) and dedicated it to Krishnadeva Raya. Tradition calls him "Andhra Kavitapitamaha" (grandfather of Telugu poetry).
Nandi Thimmana wrote Parijatapaharanamu.
Dhurjati wrote poems in praise of Shiva of Srikalahasti.
Tenali Ramakrishna is famous today mainly through folk tales about his wit (the "Tenali Raman" stories). His serious work is Panduranga Mahatmyamu.
The other names usually given are Madayyagari Mallana, Ayyalaraju Ramabhadrudu, Pingali Surana and Ramarajabhushanudu (Bhattumurti).
Note: lists of the eight differ from one source to another.

The style of their work: the Prabandha

Most of these poets wrote prabandhas. A prabandha is a long Telugu poem that takes an old story, often from the Puranas, and retells it with rich description and many sound effects.
This marks a change in Telugu writing:
earlier Telugu poets mostly translated Sanskrit epics such as the Mahabharata;
the prabandha poets built new, independent poems on top of old stories.
That is why this period is often called the golden age of Telugu literature.

Fact or legend?

Historians agree that Peddana and some others were really at Krishnadeva Raya's court.
The idea of exactly eight poets sitting together in one hall is probably a later tradition.
Some poets on the list, such as Pingali Surana, Ramarajabhushanudu and possibly Tenali Ramakrishna, may have written after Krishnadeva Raya died in 1529. If so, they belonged to the courts of his successors.
So the Ashtadiggajas are best understood as a literary legend built on a real core of patronage.

Time, place and evidence

Period: early 16th century, mainly the reign of Krishnadeva Raya (1509–29). Some named poets probably wrote a little later.
Dynasty: Tuluva (1503–1542). It was the third of the four Vijayanagara dynasties: Sangama → Saluva → Tuluva → Aravidu.
Place: the royal court at Vijayanagara (today's Hampi, Karnataka). By tradition the poets met in the Bhuvana Vijayam hall. Hampi's monuments are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Group of Monuments at Hampi [2].
Key people: Krishnadeva Raya, the patron; Allasani Peddana, the chief poet; Tenali Ramakrishna, the most famous in popular memory.
How we know:
The poems themselves. Their dedications to the king and their praise of him show royal patronage. Peddana's Manucharitra is the main example.
Krishnadeva Raya's own Amuktamalyada. It shows that the king himself took part in Telugu literary culture.
Later literary tradition and folk tales. These gave the group of "eight" its fixed shape. They are also why the exact list is uncertain.
The most detailed foreign travellers' accounts of Vijayanagara date from his reign or just after it. They describe a rich and splendid court, which matches the picture of generous patronage.

Don't confuse with

Amuktamalyada: written by Krishnadeva Raya himself, not by any of the Ashtadiggajas. It is about Andal and has a Rajaniti (statecraft) section. Manucharitra is by Peddana.
Navaratnas: the "nine jewels" of Akbar's Mughal court, such as Birbal and Tansen. That group is nine people of many skills. The Ashtadiggajas are eight Telugu poets at the Vijayanagara court.
Tenali Ramakrishna vs Birbal: both are famous as witty courtiers in folk tales. Tenali belongs to Vijayanagara. Birbal belongs to Akbar's court.
Krishnadeva Raya's three-language patronage: he supported Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada. The Ashtadiggajas cover Telugu only.

Prelims Hooks

Ashtadiggajas means the eight Telugu poets of Krishnadeva Raya, of the Tuluva dynasty (r. 1509–29).
Manucharitra was written by Allasani Peddana, who was called "Andhra Kavitapitamaha".
Amuktamalyada was written by Krishnadeva Raya, in Telugu, about Andal. It was not written by one of the Ashtadiggajas, which is a common trap.
Bhuvana Vijayam is the traditional name of the literary hall where the poets met.
The name means "eight elephants guarding the eight directions". It is eight, not nine. Nine is Akbar's Navaratnas.
Tenali Ramakrishna is known for folk tales of wit. His literary work is Panduranga Mahatmyamu.

Mains Points

Patronage and power went together.
Krishnadeva Raya's wars (1512, 1514, 1520) [1] gave his court security and wealth.
That wealth paid for poets, temples and gopurams.
The Ashtadiggajas show how a strong state turned military success into cultural prestige.
Regional languages gained status.
Krishnadeva Raya supported Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada, and he wrote in Telugu himself.
The prabandha poets moved Telugu from translating Sanskrit to creating original works.
This is a good example of regional languages growing in medieval India. It lasted after the empire's political fall in 1565.
History vs tradition (a historiographical point).
The neat group of "eight poets in one hall" is probably a later literary tradition.
Some names on the list may come from after 1529.
In an answer, separate the proven fact (real royal patronage of Telugu poets such as Peddana) from the legend (a fixed group of eight). Popular memory, like the Tenali Raman stories, often turns a real age of patronage into a tidy myth.

Related concepts

Dynasties, apogee and fall

Sources

1Krishna Deva Rayabritannica.com · tier 3
2Group of Monuments at Hampiwhc.unesco.org · tier 2