Bammera Pothana was an Indian Telugupoet best known for his translation of the Bhagavata Purana from Sanskrit to Telugu. He was a Telugu and Sanskrit Scholar. His work, Andhra Maha Bhagavatamu, is popularly called as Pothana Bhagavatam in Telugu.
Early life
Pothana was born into a Niyogi Brahmin family at Bammera Village, in the Jangaon District of present Telangana state. His father was Kesana and his mother Lakkamamba. He was considered to be a 'Sahaja Kavi', needing no teacher. He was known to be very polite and was an agriculturist by occupation. Though he was a great scholar, he never hesitated to work in the agricultural fields.
Literary career
At an early age he wrote Bhogini Dhandakam, a poem written in the praise of king Sri Singa Bhoopala's concubine Bhogini. This was his first poetic venture which had the seeds of his great poetic talents. Bhogini Dhandakam is the earliest available Dhandaka in Telugu. His second work was Virabhadhra Vijayamu which describes the adventures of Lord Virabhadhra, element of Lord Shiva. The main theme was the destruction of 'Daksha Yagna' performed in the absence of Lord Siva by Daksha Prajapathi. As a young man, he was a devotee of Lord Siva. Later, Pothana became a devotee of Lord Rama and more interested in salvation. In the view of Pothana, there is no difference between Siva and Vishnu and the same was reflected in his padyam "ChethuLAranga Sivuni Poojimpadeni Nooru Novvanga hari keerthi salupadeeni dhayanu satyamulonuga thalupadeni kaluganetiki thallula kadupuchetu". One early morning during a lunar eclipse, on the banks of river Godavari, Pothana was meditating on Lord Siva. At that auspicious moment, Supreme Lord Rama appeared dressed like a king and requested Pothana to translate Bhagavatam into Telugu and dedicate it to Him. This inspired him to translate Vyasa's Sanskrit Bhagavatam into Telugu as Andhra Maha Bhaagavatamu.
Persecution
The Padma Nayaka king ofRachakonda wanted Pothana to dedicate ‘Andhra Maha Bhagavatam’ to him. The king himself is a scholar and wrote many works including Rudranavasudhakara, a well known Sanskrit drama. But, Pothana refused to obey the king's orders and dedicated the Bhagavatamu to Lord Rama, whom he worshiped with great devotion. It is said that Pothana remarked, ‘It is better to dedicate the work to the supreme Lord Vishnu than dedicate it to the mortal kings.’ He was of opinion that poetry was a divine gift and it should be utilized for salvation by devoting it to the God. It is known that Pothana was patronized by this king in his early career, Pothana dedicated his first great work to this king, the king himself was a scholar, his contemporary reputation was immense. It was common practice for many poets of the time to dedicate their devotional works to God himself and not necessarily to their patron-kings. The poem containing the derision against the "Karanata Kiraata Keechakulu" is a chatuvu attributed to Pothana with no proof that he actually wrote it. Even if he did, it is unclear who the Karanata villains were, very likely the rulers of Karnaata Samrajyam who were raiding Rachakonda at the time. The Rachakonda kingdom was under intense turmoil at the time, under attack by the Bahamanis from the west, Karanata empire from the south and the Reddy Rajas from the east. Rachakonda and its king ceased to exist by the mid-15th century, absorbed into the Bahmani kingdom. There is yet another version about his birthplace. He indicated in one stanza that he belonged to 'Ekasila Nagaram', meaning single stone city which was also called as Orukallu later changed to Orugallu in usage, Orukallu meaning single stone.
Style
He was quite fond of using rhythm and repetition of sounds giving a majestic grace to the style of writing. He was very skillful in using Alankaras like similes and metaphors. Pothana imparted the knowledge of the divine to the Telugu people along with lessons in ethics and politics through Andhra Maha Bhagavatamu. He lived for sixty years.
Significance
Even people with little knowledge in Telugu can readily quote verses from chapters 'Gajendra Mokshamu' and 'Prahlada Charitra of his work, ‘Andhra Maha Bhagavatamu,’ the crown jewel of Telugu literature.
God's writing
ala vaikuMThapuraMbulO nagarilO nAmUla soudhaMbu dApala...... This is a verse which describes the palace of Lord Vishnu in his divine abode, at the time the elephant king prayed for the Lord's kindness to deliver him out of the deadly grip of crocodile in a lake. The story goes that Pothana wrote the first line of the verse, but could not continue. So he paused the writing at that point, and went to farm. When he came back in the evening, he saw the verse completed. He enquired his daughter about who wrote the other three lines. The daughter replied – "You yourself came in the afternoon and wrote some thing!". So Pothana understood that Lord Sri Rama himself came and completed the verse. In fact, Pothana himself ascribed in the following poem, the purpose of his writing the Bhagavatam: Translated it means : "That which is spoken is the Bhagavatam and the one who made me speak/chant this is Lord Rama. The result of chanting this is ultimate freedom, the Liberation of soul. So, let me sing it, since there is no other story better than this."
Sample verses
This verse is Prahlada's reply to his father asking him to give up glorifying the One he hated bitterly, Sri Hari. Following is the first verse in his Andhra Maha Bhagavatam- The book that explains the nature of the God. This is the beginning Verse of AndhraMahabhagavatamu Another verse of Pothana Approximation translation in English ఎవ్వనిచే జనించు జగమెవ్వని లోపల నుండు లీనమై ఎవ్వడియందుడిందుపరమేశ్వరుడెవ్వడు మూలకారణం బెవ్వడనాదిమధ్యలయుడెవ్వడు సర్వముతానైనవా డెవ్వడు వానినాత్మభవు ఈశ్వరునినే శరణంబువేడెదన్
