10 things about tenaliraman that no one knows
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Answer:
1. Tenali Ramakrishna, or Ramalinga as he was originally called, was a jester poet – Vikatakavi – in the court of King Krishnadevaraya, the Vijayanagara emperor from 1509-1529.
2. Like Akbar’s Navratnas (nine gems), Tenali Rama was one of the Ashtadiggajas (eight greats) of Krishnadevaraya.
3. He was a Shaivite by birth but eventually converted to Vaishnavism and changed his name to Ramakrishna.
4. He was born in a Telugu Viswabrahmin family during the early part of the 16th century.
5. It is widely believed that he was born in Tenali, a municipal town in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.
6. Tenali’s father was Garlapati Ramayya, a priest in the Ramalingesvara swami temple in Tenali.
7. After his father’s death, Tenali Rama was brought up by his uncle.
He was denied education because of his caste and religious affiliation. (Remember, he was a Shaivite?)
9. He arrived in Vijayanagara as a member of the famous troupe of ‘Bhagavatha Mela’.
10. Impressed with his performance, Krishnadevaraya granted him the post of the comic poet in the court, completing the Ashtadiggajas (he eight scholars) group.