| Great Poets |
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| Biographies of Great Indians & Hindus |
TENALI RAMAKRISHNA |
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Scholar, The Enemy of Vanity Tenali Ramakrishna has attained fame as a great jester. He was equally a great scholar and a poet. He was the author of one of the five great Telugu classics 'Panduranga Mahathme' (The Greatness of Panduranga). A man who composed poetry in the king's court and won such fame must indeed have been a great scholar. He was also the author of 'Ghatikachala Mahathme'. It is said he wrote 'Linga Purana', too. Ramakrishna was one of the advisers to Krishna- devaraya. The king used to discuss problems with him. Thus Ramakrishna had learning and sound common sense, and could also consider a problem seriously. But by nature Ramakrishna was a jester. He knew that laughter is a powerful weapon and could be used to expose foolish pride and stupidity.That is whymany stories which highlight his love of humor have gained currency. Some of them are of cheap and crude humor. It is difficult to believe either that a king like Krishna- devaraya would encourage a buffoon of crude and vulgar tricks or that the people would admire such a man. People who thought some stories were humorous have connected Tenali Ramakrishna with them. But there are several stories, which illustrate his resourcefulness, his daring and his methods of teaching proud people a lesson. Some of them are narrated below. |
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