Rajaraja Narendra — the forgotten servant of the Telugu language
Rajaraja Narendra, a renowned visionary, and king from Eastern Chalukya dynasty was king of the Vengi kingdom. Narendra, respected as national hero of Andhras, succeeded the Vengi in 1019 CE from his father Vishnuvardana (also called Vimaladitya), and ruled till 1062 CE. His reign was characterised by continuous political unrest.
He founded Rajamahendravaram, a city on the banks of Godavari, and made it a vibrant cultural and economic centre. He was credited for sowing the seeds of literary Telugu. It was also his political strategy to strengthen the unity among the regions under his kingdom by promoting the Telugu literature, and thus commissioned Nannayya Bhattaraka to translate the epic Mahabharata into Telugu. Had it not been his initiatives, today’s Telugu language would not be flourishing.
Hardly any records are available on Rajaraja Narendra, the forgotten servant of the Telugu language. Sad that we, and the next generations could not learn much about his endeavours and services to the people.
