నవనాథచరిత్ర/Intro
poet Gaurana rendered it into a dvipada form as required by his patron, to popularise it among the masses.
Poet Gaurana has been encouraged to write this work Navanadhacharitra by Bhikshukavritti Santa Raya, the head of an important Matha in Sreesaila, and at his request it has been dedicated to God Siva Mallikarjuna of Sreesaila. It was this Santa Bhikshukavritti Yatiswara who encouraged the Poet Sreenadha to dedicate his work Sivaratrimahatmya to his own attendant Mummidi Santayya. Hence it is clear that Gaurana was a contemporary of Sreenadha, perhaps a younger contemporary of his.
The first two Chapters of the work while describing the adventurous wanderings of the Saivite Guru Meenanadha, particularly deal with the story of Sarangadhara which is of special interest to the Telugu world, in so far as it clears the doubt regarding the country and the persons in which and about whom the incidents related in this story have taken place. There is a general tradition among the Telugus that this story centres round Raja Narendra, the Eastern Chalukyan King who ruled the Telugu country in the early part of the 11th century A.D. with Rajamahendravaram, otherwise called Rajahmundry, as his capital and who, being a great patron of letters, got Mahabharata as narrated by Krishnadvypayana translated into Telugu by Nannaya Bhatta, his court poet. It is generally believed that it was this Chalukyan King Raja Raja Narendra that being influenced by his jealous second wife, brutally sacrificed his beloved son Sarangadhara by having his hands and feet lopped off in a forest. It is also said that this Sarangadhara afterwards became a Siddha with the help of a Saivite Guru (Meenanadha). Appa Kavi, a grammarian of the 17th century, attributed the preservation of Andhra Sabda Chintamani, a Grammar of the Telugu Language in Sanskrit, said to have been written by Nannaya Bhatta, the court poet of Raja Raja and the author of the Telugu Bharata, to Sarangadhara. He said that Sarangadhara became a Siddha and happened to repeat to a Brahmin the whole grammar he learnt even in his childhood from Nannaya Bhatta, for preservation in this world. Since no poet or grammarian before the time of Appa Kavi, seems to have made mention of this grammar of Nannaya Bhatta, some recent scholars considered Sarangadhara's rescue of the grammar as a mere concoction of Appa Kavi for his own purposes. Now the story of Sarangadhara as narrated by Gaurana in this work not only absolves the Chalukyan King, Raja Raja Narendra of Rajahmundry from the cruel act of immolation, but sets at nought all stories connecting Sarangadhara with the preservation of the grammar Andhra Sabda Chintamani, since the scene of action of the whole story is said to belong to the Malva country and not to the Telugu country or Rajahmundry in it. Only the name of the king coincides and it is perhaps this coincidence that made Telugu people attribute the whole story to the Chalukyan King of Rajahmundry. The story and the incidents have become very popular in the Telugu country, but we can be sure from this that this tradition did not gain currency in the Telugu country even in the 15th century. If the present tradition had prevailed during the days of Gaurana he would not have failed to connect the story with his own country or to say a word about the famous grammar and the way in which it was preserved in the country.
The remaining three Chapters deal with the further wanderings of Meenanadha and his pupils during which they have been described to have tried their hands at Alchemy, Parakayapravesa and attainment of Vajradeha etc., and exhibited various powers of Siddhas.
The whole work is written in a simple, flowing style, keeping at the same time with the dignity of the theme, Gaurana has taken liberties with the language like Palkuriki Somana and other Saivite poets and owing to the lapses and faulty writing of the available manuscripts some lines here and there seem to have been lost and other discrepancies appear. The present edition is prepared by collating three manuscripts available in the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras, two of them seem to be only copies of one old palm leaf manuscript. Since no information regarding the existence of any other manuscript is forthcoming, it is considered proper that an important work of an old poet of the age of Sreenadha, should be preserved at least in the form available at present. It is hoped that this new work of Gaurana one of the celebrated poets of the 15th century will prove a welcome addition to the existing literature in Telugu. I have to acknowledge with thanks the assistance rendered by Mr. Sreepada Lakshmipathi Sastri, the Junior Lecturer of the Department in connection with this work.
ORIENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE,
UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS.
1st May 1937.
K. R.