subsequent types of literature, and after the publication of the two first great Dwipada works Basava Puranamu and Panditäradhya Caritra of Palkuriki Sõmanatha, with critical introduction, this has now become a recognised type and a subject of advanced study and research in academic circles.
Varadarājā's Rāmāyanamu is not only the biggest Dwipada work but also the first of the available exact translations (Yathā vālmīkamu) in Telugu Dwipada Kavya literature. It was written immediately after the age of Krsnadevaraya. Fortunately for us, the only manuscript copy of this work is proserved in the Tanjore Library.[1] (The Tanjore Maharaja Serbhoji Saraswati Mahal Library.) No other copy of this rare work seems to be available in any of the Manuscript libraries in and outside the Telugu country. It is therefore a matter of sincere gratification that this great work is published by the authorities of the Tanjore Palace Library under the patronage of the Madras Government.
The present publication of the first two Kandas viz., Bala and Ayodhya, are important from another point of view. It helps us to settle the correct text of Ranganatha Rāmāyanamu, the most popular Dwipada work which preceded Varadarāja by three centuries.
- ↑ Vide Telugu Catalogue No. 351 pp. 111-121. Description of the manuscript:--"M. 6 S-18 x 13. L 412 11-8 G. 19776. Complete. Mode of writing good, bat not free from mistakes. There are lacune in some places, Condition slightly injured."
