Tenali Ramakrishna

Tenali Ramakrishna (born Garlapati Ramakrishna; also known as Tenali Ramalinga, and Tenali Rama; 22 September 1480–5 August 1528) was an Indian poet, scholar, thinker and a special advisor in the court of the Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya, who ruled from 1509 to 1529 CE. He wrote poems in Telugu and hailed from the village of Tenali, generally known for the folk tales which focus on his wit. He was one of the Ashtadiggajas (The Eight 'world-rulers') or the eight poets at the court of Krishnadevaraya. His father died when he was a child. To overcome the depression that Rama faced, his mother Lakṣamma took him to Vijayanagara where he became an advisor to Krishnadevaraya and the 8th scholar in his court. He was a great scholar and poet of Telugu language. Tenali Ramakrishna was also a minister of the court. Biography Tenali Rama was born in a Telugu speaking Niyogi Hindu Brahmin family as Garlapati Ramakrishna, in a village called Thumuluru or Tenali (currently a part of Tenali Maṇḍalam) during the late part of the fifteenth century. His father was Garlapathi Rama, who served as a priest in the Ramalingesvara Swami temple in Santharavuru. Rama died when Ramakrishna was young. His mother Lakṣamma returned to her native place in Tenāli to live with her brother. Ramakrishna grew up in his uncle's town and so came to be known as Tenali Ramakrishna.