general., and these works in particular, embrace the easiest part of the literature of the language. In that which immediately follows/ are poems more highly ornamented and intricate in, the, style/ (Alancara cavya) such as the Tara Sasanciyam, the Snbhadra Parinayam, the Manu Charitra, the Das'avatara Charitra, the Ilamsa Vims'ati, and many more; beyond which are placed.,works which are difficult to the most accomplished native scholars, such as the Raghava Pandavlyam, the translation of the Naishadham,*[1] the Vishnu Chitttyam, and finally the Vasu Charitra, which is unanimously considered the most elaborate work in the language.
These are only mentioned here to point out the great extent of the Telugu literature. The student will find part of the class first mentioned sufficient to give him a greater command of the spoken dialect than many natives possess at the present day. This class consists of a series of tales narrated with as much brevity as is consistent with elegance; the object being to convey information either of a mythological or religious nature, and the chief actors being either gods, heroes, or sages. Thus Ovid's Metamorphoses, the writings of Ilesiod, and the other Greek Theogonies are precisely puranas.
In the second grade above mentioned are poems each of which contains a single tale, but highly ornamented, embellished with episodes and elaborate descriptions of beauty, war, love, and natural scenery; their object being amusement, and their subjects
- ↑ * This is the most highly adorned paraphrase of the tale of Nala.
