Post # 083
Birbal of the south...
Tenali Rama/Raman/Ramakrishna/Ramalinga was a Telugu poet, scholar, court jester, special advisor and a close friend of Emperor Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara Empire.
He was one of the Astadiggajas (one of the eight great poets) of the Empire, a concept somewhat similar to the Navaratnas of Akbar. He is also called the Birbal of the South. His work Panduranga Mahatmyam is counted as one of the Panchha Maha Kavyas (the five great poetries) of Telugu literature.
But the legend about how he became a scholar is very fascinating.
Ramakrishna was born in Garlapadu in Andhra Pradesh. As a kid, he lost his father. So his mother moved back to her brother's place in Tenali, in Guntur district. That's where Ramakrishna grew up. Hence he is called Tenali Ramakrishna.
Ramakrishna's mother wanted him to be literate. And Ramakrishna also had a burning desire for education. But there was a problem. His family was Shaivite (devotee of Shiva). There were no Shaivite teachers in Tenali. And no Vaishnavite teacher (devotee of Vishnu) would take him as a student. He begged and pleaded. But the Vaishnavite-Shaivite divide was deeper than a student's yearning for education. Imagine that!
A determined Raman stood by the wall of the local "Vaisnavite" school and "stole" learning. Every evening he would go to his mother and recite what he learnt that day.
One day, he was caught. Upon learning what he was doing, the Vaishnavite teacher was moved, but confessed that if he taught Ramakrishna, he would have to face the society's ire.
Legend goes like this.
A devastated Ramakrishna wanders aimlessly. That's when a Sadhu gives him a mantra to recite 11 crore and 11 times in the Kali temple nearby. Kalika devi is pleased and appears before him.
She offers him two cups - one containing Payasam (which will impart knowledge) and the other containing Curd (which will impart wealth) - and asks him to choose one. He tricks Kali mata into giving him both, saying one without the other is useless. Kali Mata is angry, but impressed with his courage. She blesses him with wisdom and wealth, and warns him to be careful, because the combination can bring powerful enemies. She names him Vi-ka-ta-ka-vi, which in vernacular languages is a palindrome (sounds same backwards too), meaning clown-jester-poet.
Armed with these boons, he goes to Vijayanagara, the capital of Emperor Krishnadevaraya, near modern day Hampi, and becomes a courtier, jester, confidante and trusted friend of the Emperor.
He also becomes a Telugu folk hero and remains embedded in the nation's consciousness for ever.
