PREFACE
This publication contains the earliest Telugu version available of SRI BHAGAVATA 10th Skanda, dealing with Sri KRISHNA'S life in MADHURA and in DWARAKA. The author Madiki Singanaraya lived in the early part of the fifteenth century. He was therefore an elder contemporary of POTHANNA the celebrated author ol ANDHRA BHAGAVATAMU.
The present work which is in Dvipada is anterior to POTHANNA'S work. The merits of the Author's poetry can be gathered from the fact that his verses are cited as models in standard works on Grammar and Rhetoric. The author has also written three other works in Telugu namely:
- 1. VASISHTA RAMAYANA
The well known philosophical work,
- 2. PADMA PURANA
and
- 3. SAKALA NITI SAMMATAMU
a work in politics,
The present work has three Kandas in it:-(1) Madura Kanda (2) Kalyana Kanda and (3) Jagadhabiraksha Kanda. The Kandas dealing with the Balaleela in the beginning and the Bhaktanugraha in the end are missing.
The portion that is now published is complete so far as it goes and has been selected for its value as a high class Dvipada Kavya of the early classical age in Telugu literature. For a fuller account of the Author and the diverse merits of the work the reader is referred to the Telugu introduction of the learned Editor who has spared no pains in editing this work.
Our thanks are due to him for his valuable services.
Our grateful thanks are due to the Government of Madras for the liberal grants which have enabled us to publish this and other valuable manuscripts of this Library.
Tanjore.
15—1—1951.S. Gopalan, Honorary Secretary T.M.S.S.M. Library Committee.
