101-432: Aakhari Poratam ( transl. Final Battle ) is a 1988 Indian Telugu -language romantic action film written and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao based on the novel of the same name by Yandamuri Veerendranath . Produced by C. Aswini Dutt , it starred Nagarjuna , Sridevi and Suhasini with music composed by Ilaiyaraaja . It was featured at the 12th IFFI Indian panorama mainstream section, and turned out to be
202-536: A Kashmiri king Ashoka of Gonandiya dynasty who built several stupas : some scholars, such as Aurel Stein , have identified this king with the Maurya emperor Ashoka; others, such as Ananda W. P. Guruge dismiss this identification as inaccurate. For Christopher I. Beckwith , Ashoka, whose name only appears in the Minor Rock Edicts , is not the same as king Piyadasi , or Devanampiya Piyadasi (i.e. "Beloved of
303-714: A Prakrit dialect without exception. Some reverse coin legends are in Telugu and Tamil languages. The period from the 4th century CE to 1022 CE marks the second phase of Telugu history, following the Andhra Ikshvaku period. The first long inscription entirely in Telugu, dated to 575 CE, is attributed to the Renati Choda king Dhanunjaya and found in the Kadapa district . An early Telugu label inscription, "tolacuwānḍru" (తొలచువాండ్రు; transl. rock carvers or quarrymen ),
404-539: A brutal war . Ashoka subsequently devoted himself to the propagation of " dhamma " or righteous conduct, the major theme of the edicts. Ashoka's edicts suggest that a few years after the Kalinga War , he was gradually drawn towards Buddhism. The Buddhist legends credit Ashoka with establishing a large number of stupas , patronising the Third Buddhist council , supporting Buddhist missionaries, making generous donations to
505-491: A classical language by the Government of India . It is the 14th most spoken native language in the world. Modern Standard Telugu is based on the dialect of erstwhile Krishna, Guntur, East Godavari and West Godavari districts of Coastal Andhra . Telugu is also spoken in the states of Karnataka , Tamil Nadu , Maharashtra , Chhattisgarh , Orissa and the union territories of Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands . It
606-470: A viceroy in Gandhara (where Takshashila was located), not Ujjain. The Ashokavadana states that Bindusara provided Ashoka with a fourfold-army (comprising cavalry, elephants , chariots and infantry) but refused to provide any weapons for this army. Ashoka declared that weapons would appear before him if he was worthy of being an emperor, and then, the deities emerged from the earth and provided weapons to
707-592: A Buddhist in her later years but do not describe her conversion to Buddhism. Therefore, it is likely that she was already a Buddhist when she met Ashoka. The Mahavamsa states that Devi gave birth to Ashoka's son Mahinda in Ujjain, and two years later, to a daughter named Sanghamitta . According to the Mahavamsa , Ashoka's son Mahinda was ordained at the age of 20 years, during the sixth year of Ashoka's reign. That means Mahinda must have been 14 years old when Ashoka ascended
808-401: A Buddhist monk. The Mahavamsa states that when Bindusara fell sick, Ashoka returned to Pataliputra from Ujjain and gained control of the capital. After his father's death, Ashoka had his eldest brother killed and ascended the throne. The text also states that Ashoka killed ninety-nine of his half-brothers, including Sumana. The Dipavamsa states that he killed a hundred of his brothers and
909-605: A beautiful woman on his way to Ujjain. According to the Dipamvamsa and Mahamvamsa , the woman was Devi – the daughter of a merchant. According to the Mahabodhi-vamsa , she was Vidisha-Mahadevi and belonged to the Shakya clan of Gautama Buddha . The Buddhist chroniclers may have fabricated the Shakya connection to connect Ashoka's family to Buddha. The Buddhist texts allude to her being
1010-411: A box office hit. CBI Deputy Chief Pravallika ( Sridevi ) is on a mission to apprehend Mafia don disguised as religious leader Anantananda Swamy ( Amrish Puri ). Swamy is involved in criminal activities such as illegal drug trade , extortion , and arms trafficking . Singer and performer Vihari ( Nagarjuna ) helps Pravallika in this Covert operation . Pravallika accomplishes the mission, and dies in
1111-453: A command over the Telugu language, alongside Sanskrit , Tamil , Meitei , Oriya , Persian , or Arabic , is highly appreciated and respected for learning dances (most significantly Indian Classical Dances ) as dancers could have the tools of these languages to go into the primary material texts. Telugu is natively spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and Yanam district of Puducherry . Telugu speakers are also found in
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#17330856099381212-519: A fabrication of the Buddhist authors, who attempted to present the change that Buddhism brought to him as a miracle. In an attempt to dramatise this change, such legends exaggerate Ashoka's past wickedness and his piousness after the conversion. Ashoka's inscriptions mention that he conquered the Kalinga region during his 8th regnal year: the destruction caused during the war made him repent violence, and in
1313-750: A great, ideal emperor. These legends appear in texts that are not contemporary to Ashoka and were composed by Buddhist authors, who used various stories to illustrate the impact of their faith on Ashoka. This makes it necessary to exercise caution while relying on them for historical information. Among modern scholars, opinions range from downright dismissal of these legends as mythological to acceptance of all historical portions that seem plausible. The Buddhist legends about Ashoka exist in several languages, including Sanskrit , Pali , Tibetan , Chinese , Burmese , Khmer , Sinhala , Thai , Lao , and Khotanese . All these legends can be traced to two primary traditions: There are several significant differences between
1414-472: A handful of Telugu inscriptions in the Kakatiya era between 1135 CE and 1324 CE. Andhra is characterised as having its own mother tongue, and its territory has been equated with the extent of the Telugu language. The equivalence between the Telugu linguistic sphere and the geographical boundaries of Andhra is also brought out in an eleventh-century description of Andhra boundaries. Andhra, according to this text,
1515-450: A large part of the Indian subcontinent, stretching from present-day Afghanistan in the west to present-day Bangladesh in the east, with its capital at Pataliputra . A patron of Buddhism , he is credited with playing an important role in the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia. Ashoka's edicts state that during his eighth regnal year ( c. 260 BCE ), he conquered Kalinga after
1616-691: A marital alliance with the Greek ruler Seleucus I Nicator , which has led to speculation that either Chandragupta or his son Bindusara married a Greek princess. However, there is no evidence that Ashoka's mother or grandmother was Greek, and most historians have dismissed the idea. Ashoka's own inscriptions do not describe his early life, and much of the information on this topic comes from apocryphal legends written hundreds of years after him. While these legends include obviously fictitious details such as narratives of Ashoka's past lives, they have some plausible historical information about Ashoka's period. According to
1717-626: A name that begins with the letters "prydr", and most scholars restore it as "Priyadarshi", which was the title of Ashoka. Another evidence of Ashoka's connection to the city may be the name of the Dharmarajika Stupa near Taxila; the name suggests that it was built by Ashoka ("Dharma-raja"). The story about the deities miraculously bringing weapons to Ashoka may be the text's way of deifying Ashoka; or indicating that Bindusara – who disliked Ashoka – wanted him to fail in Takshashila. According to
1818-594: A pillar marking the site of Ashoka's "Hell". The Mahavamsa also briefly alludes to Ashoka's cruelty, stating that Ashoka was earlier called Chandashoka because of his evil deeds but came to be called Dharmashoka because of his pious acts after his conversion to Buddhism. However, unlike the north Indian tradition, the Sri Lankan texts do not mention any specific evil deeds performed by Ashoka, except his killing of 99 of his brothers. Such descriptions of Ashoka as an evil person before his conversion to Buddhism appear to be
1919-402: A politician whose aim is to present a favourable image of himself and his administration, rather than record historical facts. A small number of other inscriptions also provide some information about Ashoka. For example, he finds a mention in the 2nd century Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman . An inscription discovered at Sirkap mentions a lost word beginning with "Priyadari", which
2020-450: A prince viceroy at Ujjain during his reign, which further supports the tradition that he himself served as a viceroy at Ujjain. Pataliputra was connected to Ujjain by multiple routes in Ashoka's time, and on the way, Ashoka entourage may have encamped at Rupnath, where his inscription has been found. According to the Sri Lankan tradition, Ashoka visited Vidisha , where he fell in love with
2121-451: A thousand years. Pavuluri Mallana 's Sāra Sangraha Ganitamu ( c. 11th century ) is the first scientific treatise on mathematics in any Dravidian language. Avadhānaṃ , a literary performance that requires immense memory power and an in-depth knowledge of literature and prosody , originated and was specially cultivated among Telugu poets for over five centuries. Roughly 10,000 pre-colonial inscriptions exist in Telugu. In
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#17330856099382222-525: A way of stating that Ashoka killed several of his brothers. Taranatha states that Ashoka, who was an illegitimate son of his predecessor, killed six legitimate princes to ascend the throne. It is possible that Ashoka was not the rightful heir to the throne and killed a brother (or brothers) to acquire the throne. However, the Buddhist sources have exaggerated the story, which attempts to portray him as evil before his conversion to Buddhism. Ashoka's Rock Edict No. 5 mentions officers whose duties include supervising
2323-924: Is Tirumala of the Telugu ation. Telugu place names are present all around Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Common suffixes are - ooru, -pudi, -padu, -peta, -pattanam, -wada, - gallu, -cherla, -seema, -gudem, -palle, -palem, -konda, -veedu, -valasa, -pakam, -paka, -prolu, -wolu, -waka, -ili, -kunta, -parru, -villi, -gadda, -kallu, -eru, -varam,-puram,-pedu and - palli . Examples that use this nomenclature are Nellore , Tadepalligudem , Guntur , Chintalapudi , Yerpedu , Narasaraopeta , Sattenapalle , Visakapatnam , Vizianagaram , Ananthagiri , Vijayawada , Vuyyuru , Macherla , Poranki , Ramagundam , Warangal , Mancherial , Peddapalli , Siddipet , Pithapuram , Banswada , and Miryalaguda . There are four regional dialects in Telugu: Colloquially, Telangana , Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra dialects are considered
2424-524: Is a distorted version of the earlier traditions, describes Ashoka as son of king Nemita of Champarana from the daughter of a merchant. Ashokavadana states that Ashoka's mother was the daughter of a Brahmin from Champa , and was prophesied to marry a king. Accordingly, her father took her to Pataliputra, where she was inducted into Bindusara's harem, and ultimately, became his chief empress. The Ashokavadana does not mention her by name, although other legends provide different names for her. For example,
2525-495: Is a result of an "n" to "l" alternation established in Telugu. The popular belief holds that Telugu is derived from Trilinga of Trilinga Kshetras being the land bounded by the three Lingas which is Telugu homeland. P. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao note that Atharvana Acharya in the 13th century wrote a grammar of Telugu, calling it the Trilinga Śabdānusāsana (or Trilinga Grammar) . However, most scholars note that Atharvana's grammar
2626-635: Is also spoken by members of the Telugu diaspora spread across countries like United States , Australia , Malaysia , Mauritius , UAE , Saudi Arabia and others. Telugu is the fastest-growing language in the United States. It is also a protected language in South Africa and is offered as an optional third language in schools in KwaZulu-Natal province. According to Mikhail S. Andronov, Telugu split from
2727-503: Is also the official language . Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language family, and one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India . It is one of the few languages that has primary official status in more than one Indian state , alongside Hindi and Bengali . Telugu is one of the languages designated as
2828-497: Is associated with Ashoka in the 3rd–4th century CE Dipavamsa . The term literally means "he who regards amiably", or "of gracious mien" ( Sanskrit : Priya-darshi). It may have been a regnal name adopted by Ashoka. A version of this name is used for Ashoka in Greek-language inscriptions: βασιλεὺς Πιοδασσης (" Basileus Piodassēs"). Ashoka's inscriptions mention his title Devanampiya (Sanskrit: Devanampriya , "Beloved of
2929-531: Is dated to around 200 BCE. This word was further analyzed by Iravatham Mahadevan in his attempts to decipher the Indus script . Several Telugu words, primarily personal and place names, were identified at Amaravati , Nagarjunakonda , Krishna river basin , Ballari , Eluru , Ongole and Nellore between 200 BCE and 500 CE. The Ghantasala Brahmin inscription and the pillar inscription of Vijaya Satakarni at Vijayapuri, Nagarjunakonda , and other locations date to
3030-623: Is found on one of the rock-cut caves around the Keesaragutta temple , 35 kilometers from Hyderabad . This inscription is dated to the Vishnukundina period of around 400 CE and is the earliest known short Telugu inscription from the Telangana region. Several titles of Mahendravarman I in Telugu language, dated to c. 600 CE , were inscribed on cave-inscriptions in Tamil Nadu. From
3131-423: Is known that he lived in the 3rd century BCE, as his inscriptions mention several contemporary rulers whose dates are known with more certainty, such as Antiochus II Theos , Ptolemy II Philadelphus , Antigonus II Gonatas , Magas of Cyrene , and Alexander (of Epirus or Corinth ). Thus, Ashoka must have been born sometime in the late 4th century BCE or early 3rd century BCE ( c. 304 BCE ), and ascended
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3232-539: Is not universally accepted. For example, according to John S. Strong , the event described in the Ashokavadana has nothing to do with chronology, and Eggermont's interpretation grossly ignores the literary and religious context of the legend. Both Sri Lankan and North Indian traditions assert that Ashoka was a violent person before Buddhism. Taranatha also states that Ashoka was initially called "Kamashoka" because he spent many years in pleasurable pursuits ( kama ); he
3333-576: Is theorised to be Ashoka's title "Priyadarshi" since it has been written in Aramaic of 3rd century BCE, although this is not certain. Some other inscriptions, such as the Sohgaura copper plate inscription and the Mahasthan inscription, have been tentatively dated to Ashoka's period by some scholars, although others contest this. Much of the information about Ashoka comes from Buddhist legends, which present him as
3434-599: The Ashokavadana , Bindusara disliked Ashoka because of his rough skin. One day, Bindusara asked the ascetic Pingala-vatsajiva to determine which of his sons was worthy of being his successor. He asked all the princes to assemble at the Garden of the Golden Pavilion on the ascetic's advice. Ashoka was reluctant to go because his father disliked him, but his mother convinced him to do so. When minister Radhagupta saw Ashoka leaving
3535-433: The Ashokavadana , Ashoka went on a pilgrimage to various Buddhist sites sometime after this eclipse. Ashoka's Rummindei pillar inscription states that he visited Lumbini during his 21st regnal year. Assuming this visit was a part of the pilgrimage described in the text, and assuming that Ashoka visited Lumbini around 1–2 years after the solar eclipse, the ascension date of 268–269 BCE seems more likely. However, this theory
3636-597: The Asokavadanamala calls her Subhadrangi. The Vamsatthapakasini or Mahavamsa-tika , a commentary on Mahavamsa , calls her "Dharma" ("Dhamma" in Pali ), and states that she belonged to the Moriya Kshatriya clan. A Divyavadana legend calls her Janapada-kalyani; according to scholar Ananda W. P. Guruge , this is not a name, but an epithet. According to the 2nd-century historian Appian , Chandragupta entered into
3737-760: The Buddha , or the Sangha (the single notable exception is the 7th Edict of the Major Pillar Edicts which does mention the Sangha, but is a considered a later fake by Beckwith). Also, the geographical spread of his inscription shows that Piyadasi ruled a vast Empire, contiguous with the Seleucid Empire in the West. On the contrary, for Beckwith, Ashoka was a later king of the 1st–2nd century CE , whose name only appears explicitly in
3838-499: The Mahavamsa , Bindusara appointed Ashoka as the Viceroy of Avantirastra (present day Ujjain district ), which was an important administrative and commercial province in central India. This tradition is corroborated by the Saru Maru inscription discovered in central India; this inscription states that he visited the place as a prince. Ashoka's own rock edict mentions the presence of
3939-591: The Minor Rock Edicts and allusively in the Minor Pillar Edicts , and who does mention the Buddha and the Sangha , explicitly promoting Buddhism. The name "Priyadarsi" does occur in two of the minor edicts (Gujarra and Bairat), but Beckwith again considers them as later fabrications. The minor inscriptions cover a very different and much smaller geographical area, clustering in Central India. According to Beckwith,
4040-462: The National Flag of India . Information about Ashoka comes from his inscriptions , other inscriptions that mention him or are possibly from his reign, and ancient literature, especially Buddhist texts. These sources often contradict each other, although various historians have attempted to correlate their testimony. Ashoka's inscriptions are the earliest self-representations of imperial power in
4141-826: The Proto-Dravidian language around 1000 BCE. The earliest Telugu words appear in Prakrit inscriptions dating to c. 4th century BCE , found in Bhattiprolu , Andhra Pradesh. Telugu label inscriptions and Prakrit inscriptions containing Telugu words have been dated to the era of Emperor Ashoka (257 BCE), as well as to the Satavahana and Vishnukundina periods. Inscriptions in Old Telugu script were found as far away as Indonesia and Myanmar . Telugu has been in use as an official language for over 1,400 years and has served as
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4242-526: The Telugu from the Telugu-Kannada alphabet took place. The Vijayanagara Empire gained dominance from 1336 to the late 17th century, reaching its peak during the rule of Krishnadevaraya in the 16th century, when Telugu literature experienced what is considered its Golden Age . The 15th-century Venetian explorer Niccolò de' Conti , who visited the Vijayanagara Empire , found that the words in
4343-568: The sangha . Ashoka's existence as a historical emperor had almost been forgotten, but since the decipherment in the 19th century of sources written in the Brahmi script , Ashoka holds a reputation as one of the greatest Indian emperors . The State Emblem of the modern Republic of India is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka . Ashoka's wheel, the Ashoka Chakra , is adopted at the centre of
4444-566: The 14th century. In the latter half of the 17th century, the Mughal Empire extended further south, culminating in the establishment of the Hyderabad State by the dynasty of the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1724. This heralded an era of Persian influence on the Telugu language, especially Hyderabad State. The effect is also evident in the prose of the early 19th century, as in the kaifiyats . In
4545-410: The 6th century onwards, complete Telugu inscriptions began to appear in districts neighbouring Kadapa such as Prakasam and Palnadu . Metrically composed Telugu inscriptions and those with ornamental or literary prose appear from 630 CE. The Madras Museum plates of Balliya-Choda dated to the mid-ninth century CE, are the earliest copper plate grants in the Telugu language. During this period, Telugu
4646-669: The Gods Piyadasi", "Beloved of the Gods" being a fairly widespread title for "King"), who is named as the author of the Major Pillar Edicts and the Major Rock Edicts . Beckwith suggests that Piyadasi was living in the 3rd century BCE, was probably the son of Chandragupta Maurya known to the Greeks as Amitrochates , and only advocated for piety (" Dharma ") in his Major Pillar Edicts and Major Rock Edicts , without ever mentioning Buddhism ,
4747-496: The Gods"). The identification of Devanampiya and Ashoka as the same person is established by the Maski and Gujarra inscriptions, which use both these terms for the king. The title was adopted by other kings, including the contemporary king Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura and Ashoka's descendant Dasharatha Maurya . The exact date of Ashoka's birth is not certain, as the extant contemporary Indian texts did not record such details. It
4848-650: The Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana . It is one of the 22 languages under schedule 8 of the constitution of India . It is one of the official languages of the union territories of Puducherry . Telugu is a protected language in South Africa . According to the Constitution of South Africa , the Pan South African Language Board must promote and ensure respect for Telugu along with other languages. The Government of South Africa announced that Telugu will be re-included as an official subject in
4949-457: The Indian subcontinent. However, these inscriptions are focused mainly on the topic of dhamma , and provide little information regarding other aspects of the Maurya state or society. Even on the topic of dhamma , the content of these inscriptions cannot be taken at face value. In the words of American academic John S. Strong , it is sometimes helpful to think of Ashoka's messages as propaganda by
5050-539: The Kalingas because the conquest of a country previously unconquered involves the slaughter, death, and carrying away captive of the people. That is a matter of profound sorrow and regret to His Sacred Majesty. On the other hand, the Sri Lankan tradition suggests that Ashoka was already a devoted Buddhist by his 8th regnal year, converted to Buddhism during his 4th regnal year, and constructed 84,000 viharas during his 5th–7th regnal years. The Buddhist legends make no mention of
5151-505: The Maurya period, can also be used to make inferences about Ashoka's reign. However, the Arthashastra is a normative text that focuses on an ideal rather than a historical state, and its dating to the Mauryan period is a subject of debate. The Indica is a lost work , and only parts of it survive in the form of paraphrases in later writings. The 12th-century text Rajatarangini mentions
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#17330856099385252-667: The South African schools after it was removed from the curriculum in state schools. In addition, with the creation in October 2004 of a legal status for classical languages by the Government of India on 8 August 2008, Telugu was also given classical language status due to several campaigns. According to the famous Japanese historian Noboru Karashima who served as the president of the Epigraphical Society of India in 1985, there are approximately 10,000 inscriptions which exist in
5353-574: The Telugu language as of the year 1996 making it one of the most densely inscribed languages. Telugu inscriptions are found in all the districts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are also found in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh. According to recent estimates by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) the number of inscriptions in the Telugu language goes up to 14,000. Adilabad, Medak, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Ranga Reddy, Hyderabad, Mahbubnagar, Anantapur, Chittoor and Srikakulam produced only
5454-609: The Telugu language end with vowels, just like those in Italian , and hence referred to it as "The Italian of the East"; a saying that has been widely repeated. A distinct dialect developed in present-day Hyderabad region, due to Persian and Arabic influence. This influence began with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate rule by the Tughlaq dynasty in the northern Deccan Plateau during
5555-569: The United States and the third most spoken South Asian language after Hindi and Urdu . Minority Telugus are also found in Australia , New Zealand , Bahrain , Canada , Fiji , Malaysia , Sri Lanka , Singapore , Mauritius , Myanmar , Europe ( Italy , the United Kingdom ), South Africa , Trinidad and Tobago , and the United Arab Emirates . Telugu is the official language of
5656-470: The army. When Ashoka reached Takshashila, the citizens welcomed him and told him that their rebellion was only against the evil ministers, not the emperor. Sometime later, Ashoka was similarly welcomed in the Khasa territory and the gods declared that he would go on to conquer the whole earth. Takshashila was a prosperous and geopolitically influential city, and historical evidence proves that by Ashoka's time, it
5757-423: The capital for the Garden, he offered to provide the prince with an imperial elephant for the travel. At the Garden, Pingala-vatsajiva examined the princes and realised that Ashoka would be the next emperor. To avoid annoying Bindusara, the ascetic refused to name the successor. Instead, he said that one who had the best mount, seat, drink, vessel and food would be the next king; each time, Ashoka declared that he met
5858-495: The centuries, many non-Telugu speakers have praised the natural musicality of Telugu speech, referring to it as a mellifluous and euphonious language. Speakers of Telugu refer to it as simply Telugu or Telugoo . Older forms of the name include Teluṅgu and Tenuṅgu . Tenugu is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word *ten ("south") to mean "the people who lived in the south/southern direction" (relative to Sanskrit and Prakrit -speaking peoples). The name Telugu , then,
5959-541: The common stories, the two traditions diverge in several ways. For example, both Ashokavadana and Mahavamsa mention that Ashoka's empress Tishyarakshita had the Bodhi Tree destroyed. In Ashokavadana , the empress manages to have the tree healed after she realises her mistake. In the Mahavamsa , she permanently destroys the tree, but only after a branch of the tree has been transplanted in Sri Lanka. In another story, both
6060-607: The court language for numerous dynasties in Southern and Eastern India, including the Eastern Chalukyas , Eastern Gangas , Kakatiyas , Vijayanagara Empire , Qutb Shahis , Madurai Nayaks , and Thanjavur Nayaks . It was also used as an official language outside its homeland, even by non-Telugu dynasties such as the Thanjavur Marathas in Tamil Nadu. Telugu has an unbroken, prolific, and diverse literary tradition of over
6161-464: The criterion. Later, he told Ashoka's mother that her son would be the next emperor, and on her advice, left the empire to avoid Bindusara's wrath. While legends suggest that Bindusara disliked Ashoka's ugly appearance, they also state that Bindusara gave him important responsibilities, such as suppressing a revolt in Takshashila (according to north Indian tradition) and governing Ujjain (according to Sri Lankan tradition). This suggests that Bindusara
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#17330856099386262-426: The death of Gautama Buddha and ruled for 37 years. The date of the Buddha's death is itself a matter of debate, and the North Indian tradition states that Ashoka ruled a hundred years after the Buddha's death, which has led to further debates about the date. Assuming that the Sri Lankan tradition is correct, and assuming that the Buddha died in 483 BCE – a date proposed by several scholars – Ashoka must have ascended
6363-444: The emperor four years after becoming a sovereign. This interregnum can be explained assuming that he fought a war of succession with other sons of Bindusara during these four years. The Ashokavadana contains a story about Ashoka's minister Yashas hiding the sun with his hand. Professor P. H. L. Eggermont theorised that this story was a reference to a partial solar eclipse that was seen in northern India on 4 May 249 BCE. According to
6464-597: The exception of /ɳ/ and /ɭ/, all occur word-initial in a few words, such as / ʈ ɐkːu/ ṭakku 'pretence', / ʈ iːʋi/ ṭhīvi 'grandeur', / ɖ ipːɐ/ ḍippā 'half of a spherical object', and / ʂ oːku/ ṣōku 'fashionable appearance'. The approximant /j/ occurs in word-initial position only in borrowed words, such as. / j ɐnɡu/ yangu , from English 'young', / j ɐʃɐsːu/ yaśassu from Sanskrit yaśas /jɐʃɐs/ 'fame'. Vowels in Telugu contrast in length; there are short and long versions of all vowels except for /æ/, which only occurs as long. Long vowels can occur in any position within
6565-453: The final battle between Police and Swamy's Gang. Songs were composed by Ilaiyaraaja . Music released on ECHO Music Company. Here, singer K. S. Chitra does her debut song Abha Deeni Sooku in Telugu . Telugu language Telugu ( / ˈ t ɛ l ʊ ɡ uː / ; తెలుగు , Telugu pronunciation: [ˈt̪eluɡu] ) is a classical Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana , where it
6666-449: The first century CE. Additionally, the Tummalagudem inscription of the Vishnukundinas dates to the 5th century CE. Telugu place names in Prakrit inscriptions are attested from the 2nd century CE onwards. A number of Telugu words were found in the Sanskrit and Prakrit inscriptions of the Satavahana dynasty , Vishnukundina dynasty , and Andhra Ikshvakus . The coin legends of the Satavahanas, in all areas and all periods, used
6767-445: The gods would crown him as the next emperor. At that instance, the gods did so, Bindusara died, and Ashoka's authority extended to the entire world, including the Yaksha territory located above the earth and the Naga territory located below the earth. When Susima returned to the capital, Ashoka's newly appointed prime minister Radhagupta tricked him into a pit of charcoal. Susima died a painful death, and his general Bhadrayudha became
6868-791: The inscriptions of this later Ashoka were typical of the later forms of "normative Buddhism", which are well attested from inscriptions and Gandhari manuscripts dated to the turn of the millennium, and around the time of the Kushan Empire . The quality of the inscriptions of this Ashoka is significantly lower than the quality of the inscriptions of the earlier Piyadasi. However, many of Beckwith's methodologies and interpretations concerning early Buddhism, inscriptions, and archaeological sites have been criticized by other scholars, such as Johannes Bronkhorst and Osmund Bopearachchi . The name "A-shoka" literally means "without sorrow". According to an Ashokavadana legend, his mother gave him this name because his birth removed her sorrows. The name Priyadasi
6969-484: The late 19th and the early 20th centuries, the influence of the English language was seen, and modern communication/printing press arose as an effect of British rule , especially in the areas that were part of the Madras Presidency . Literature from this time had a mix of classical and modern traditions and included works by such scholars as Gidugu Venkata Ramamoorty , Kandukuri Veeresalingam , Gurajada Apparao , Gidugu Sitapati and Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao . In
7070-408: The later Sanskritisation of it. If so the derivation itself must have been quite ancient because Triglyphum , Trilingum and Modogalingam are attested in ancient Greek sources, the last of which can be interpreted as a Telugu rendition of " Trilinga ". Telugu, as a Dravidian language, descends from Proto-Dravidian , a proto-language . Linguistic reconstruction suggests that Proto-Dravidian
7171-482: The neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu , Karnataka , Maharashtra , Odisha , Chhattisgarh , some parts of Jharkhand , and the Kharagpur region of West Bengal in India. Many Telugu immigrants are also found in the states of Gujarat , Goa , Bihar , Kashmir , Uttar Pradesh , Punjab , Haryana , and Rajasthan . As of 2018 7.2% of the population, Telugu is the fourth-most-spoken native language in India after Hindi , Bengali , and Marathi . In Karnataka , 7.0% of
7272-547: The new preserve of Buddhism. Numismatic, sculptural, and archaeological evidence supplements research on Ashoka. Ashoka's name appears in the lists of Mauryan emperors in the various Puranas . However, these texts do not provide further details about him, as their Brahmanical authors were not patronised by the Mauryans. Other texts, such as the Arthashastra and Indica of Megasthenes , which provide general information about
7373-529: The past tense. Ashoka Ashoka , also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( / ə ˈ ʃ oʊ k ə / ə- SHOH -kə ; Sanskrit pronunciation: [ɐˈɕoːkɐ] , IAST : Aśoka ; c. 304 – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great , was Emperor of Magadha from c. 268 BCE until his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynasty . His empire covered
7474-573: The population speak Telugu, and 5.6% in Tamil Nadu . There are more than 400,000 Telugu Americans in the United States . As of 2018 , Telugu is the fastest-growing language in the United States , (especially in New Jersey and New York City ), with the number of Telugu speakers in the United States increasing by 86% between 2010 and 2017. As of 2021 , it is the 18th most spoken native language in
7575-424: The precolonial era, Telugu became the language of high culture throughout South India . Vijaya Ramaswamy compared it to the overwhelming dominance of French as the cultural language of Europe during roughly the same era. Telugu also predominates in the evolution of Carnatic music , one of two main subgenres of Indian classical music and is widely taught in music colleges focusing on Carnatic tradition. Over
7676-647: The princely Hyderabad State , the Andhra Mahasabha was started in 1921 with the main goal of promoting Telugu language, literature, its books and historical research. Key figures in this movement included Madapati Hanumantha Rao (founder of the Andhra Mahasabha), Komarraju Venkata Lakshmana Rao (founder of the Library Movement in Hyderabad State), and Suravaram Pratapa Reddy . Since the 1930s, what
7777-456: The split of Telugu at c. 1000 BCE. The linguistic history of Telugu is periodised as follows: Pre-historic Telugu is identified with the period around 600 BCE or even earlier. Pre-historic Telugu is considered one of the most conservative languages of the Dravidian family based on its linguistic features. One of the earliest Telugu words, nágabu , found at the Amaravati Stupa ,
7878-578: The state that is currently divided into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It also has official language status in the Yanam district of the union territory of Puducherry . It is the fourth most spoken Indian language in India after Hindi , Bengali and Marathi . It is one of the six classical languages of India . Telugu Language Day is celebrated every year on 29 August, the birthday of Telugu poet Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy . The fourth World Telugu Conference
7979-526: The subsequent years, he was drawn towards Buddhism. Edict 13 of the Edicts of Ashoka Rock Inscriptions expresses the great remorse the king felt after observing the destruction of Kalinga: Directly, after the Kalingas had been annexed, began His Sacred Majesty's zealous protection of the Law of Piety, his love of that Law, and his inculcation of that Law. Thence arises the remorse of His Sacred Majesty for having conquered
8080-464: The texts describe Ashoka's unsuccessful attempts to collect a relic of Gautama Buddha from Ramagrama . In Ashokavadana , he fails to do so because he cannot match the devotion of the Nāgas who hold the relic; however, in the Mahavamsa , he fails to do so because the Buddha had destined the relic to be enshrined by King Dutthagamani of Sri Lanka . Using such stories, the Mahavamsa glorifies Sri Lanka as
8181-564: The three Telugu dialects and regions. Waddar , Chenchu , and Manna-Dora are all closely related to Telugu. Other dialects of Telugu are Berad, Dasari, Dommara, Golari, Kamathi, Komtao, Konda-Reddi, Salewari, Vadaga, Srikakula, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Rayalaseema, Nellore, Guntur, Vadari Bangalore, and Yanadi. The Roman transliteration used for transcribing the Telugu script is the National Library at Kolkata romanisation . Telugu words generally end in vowels. In Old Telugu, this
8282-747: The throne around 269-268 BCE. Ashoka's own inscriptions are fairly detailed but make no mention of his ancestors. Other sources, such as the Puranas and the Mahavamsa state that his father was the Mauryan emperor Bindusara , and his grandfather was Chandragupta – the founder of the Empire. The Ashokavadana also names his father as Bindusara , but traces his ancestry to Buddha's contemporary king Bimbisara , through Ajatashatru , Udayin , Munda, Kakavarnin, Sahalin, Tulakuchi, Mahamandala, Prasenajit , and Nanda . The 16th century Tibetan monk Taranatha , whose account
8383-556: The throne in 265 BCE. The Puranas state that Ashoka's father Bindusara reigned for 25 years, not 28 years as specified in the Sri Lankan tradition. If this is true, Ashoka's ascension can be dated three years earlier, to 268 BCE. Alternatively, if the Sri Lankan tradition is correct, but if we assume that the Buddha died in 486 BCE (a date supported by the Cantonese Dotted Record), Ashoka's ascension can be dated to 268 BCE. The Mahavamsa states that Ashoka consecrated himself as
8484-416: The throne, Susima may jokingly hurt him with a sword. Therefore, he instigated five hundred ministers to support Ashoka's claim to the throne when the time came, noting that Ashoka was predicted to become a chakravartin (universal ruler). Sometime later, Takshashila rebelled again, and Bindusara dispatched Susima to curb the rebellion. Shortly after, Bindusara fell ill and was expected to die soon. Susima
8585-451: The throne. Even if Mahinda was born when Ashoka was as young as 20 years old, Ashoka must have ascended the throne at 34 years, which means he must have served as a viceroy for several years. Legends suggest that Ashoka was not the crown prince , and his ascension on the throne was disputed. Ashokavadana states that Bindusara's eldest son Susima once slapped a bald minister on his head in jest. The minister worried that after ascending
8686-531: The transliteration of the Telugu script used here (where different from IPA). Most consonants contrast in length in word-medial position, meaning that there are long (geminated) and short phonetic renderings of the sounds. A few examples of words that contrast by length of word-medial consonants: All retroflex consonants occur in intervocalic position and when adjacent to a retroflex consonant, for instance. /ʋɐː ɳ iː/ vāṇī 'tippet', /kɐ ʈɳ ɐm/ kaṭṇam 'dowry', /pɐ ɳɖ u/ paṇḍu 'fruit'; /kɐ ɭ ɐ/ kaḷa 'art'. With
8787-491: The two traditions. For example, the Sri Lankan tradition emphasizes Ashoka's role in convening the Third Buddhist council , and his dispatch of several missionaries to distant regions, including his son Mahinda to Sri Lanka. However, the North Indian tradition makes no mention of these events. It describes other events not found in the Sri Lankan tradition, such as a story about another son named Kunala. Even while narrating
8888-467: The welfare of "the families of his brothers, sisters, and other relatives". This suggests that more than one of his brothers survived his ascension. However, some scholars oppose this suggestion, arguing that the inscription talks only about the families of his brothers, not the brothers themselves. According to the Sri Lankan texts Mahavamsa and the Dipavamsa , Ashoka ascended the throne 218 years after
8989-460: The word, but native Telugu words do not end in a long vowel. Short vowels occur in all positions of a word, with the exception of /o/, which does not occur word-finally. The vowels of Telugu are illustrated below, along with the Telugu script and romanisation. In most dialects, the vowel /æː/ only occurs in loan words. In the Guntur dialect, [æː] is a frequent allophone of /aː/ in certain verbs in
9090-413: Was absolute; in the modern language m, n, y, w may end a word. Sanskrit loans have introduced aspirated and murmured consonants as well. Telugu does not have contrastive stress , and speakers vary on where they perceive stress. Most place it on the penultimate or final syllable, depending on word and vowel length. The table below lists the consonant phonemes of Telugu, along with the symbols used in
9191-548: Was bounded in north by Mahendra mountain in the modern Ganjam district in Odisha and to the south by Srikalahasteeswara temple in Tirupati district . However, Andhra extended westwards as far as Srisailam in Nandyal district , about halfway across the modern state. According to other sources in the early sixteenth century, the northern boundary is Simhachalam and the southern limit
9292-423: Was considered an "elite" literary form of the Telugu language has now spread to the common people with the introduction of mass media like movies, television, radio and newspapers. This form of the language is also taught in schools and colleges as a standard. Telugu is one of the 22 languages with official status in India . The Andhra Pradesh Official Language Act, 1966, declares Telugu the official language of
9393-590: Was crowned four years later. The Vamsatthapakasini adds that an Ajivika ascetic had predicted this massacre based on the interpretation of a dream of Ashoka's mother. According to these accounts, only Ashoka's uterine brother Tissa was spared. Other sources name the surviving brother Vitashoka, Vigatashoka, Sudatta (So-ta-to in A-yi-uang-chuan ), or Sugatra (Siu-ka-tu-lu in Fen-pie-kung-te-hun ). The figures such as 99 and 100 are exaggerated and seem to be
9494-406: Was heavily influenced by Sanskrit and Prakrit, corresponding to the advent of Telugu literature. Initially, Telugu literature appeared in inscriptions and poetry in the courts of rulers, and later in written works, such as Nannayya 's Andhra Mahabharatam (1022 CE). The third phase is marked by further stylisation and sophistication of the literary languages. During this period the split of
9595-602: Was impressed by the other qualities of the prince. Another possibility is that he sent Ashoka to distant regions to keep him away from the imperial capital. According to the Ashokavadana , Bindusara dispatched prince Ashoka to suppress a rebellion in the city of Takshashila (present-day Bhir Mound in Pakistan). This episode is not mentioned in the Sri Lankan tradition, which instead states that Bindusara sent Ashoka to govern Ujjain. Two other Buddhist texts – Ashoka-sutra and Kunala-sutra – state that Bindusara appointed Ashoka as
9696-500: Was organised in Tirupati in the last week of December 2012. Issues related to Telugu language policy were deliberated at length. The American Community Survey has said that data for 2016 which were released in September 2017 showed Telugu is the third most widely spoken Indian language in the US. Hindi tops the list followed by Gujarati, as of the 2010 census . In the Indian subcontinent,
9797-490: Was spoken around the fourth millennium BCE. Comparative linguistics confirms that Telugu belongs to the South Dravidian-II (also called South-Central Dravidian) sub-group, which also includes the non-literary languages like Gondi , Kuvi , Koya , Pengo , Konda and Manda. Proto-Telugu is the reconstructed linguistic ancestor of all the dialects and registers of Telugu. Russian linguist Mikhail S. Andronov, places
9898-406: Was still in Takshashila, having been unsuccessful in suppressing the rebellion. Bindusara recalled him to the capital and asked Ashoka to march to Takshashila. However, the ministers told him that Ashoka was ill and suggested that he temporarily install Ashoka on the throne until Susmia's return from Takshashila. When Bindusara refused to do so, Ashoka declared that if the throne were rightfully his,
9999-520: Was then called "Chandashoka" ("Ashoka the fierce") because he spent some years performing evil deeds; and finally, he came to be known as Dhammashoka ("Ashoka the righteous") after his conversion to Buddhism. The Ashokavadana also calls him "Chandashoka", and describes several of his cruel acts: The 5th-century Chinese traveller Faxian states that Ashoka personally visited the underworld to study torture methods there and then invented his methods. The 7th-century traveller Xuanzang claims to have seen
10100-413: Was titled Atharvana Karikavali. Appa Kavi in the 17th century explicitly wrote that Telugu was derived from Trilinga . Scholar C. P. Brown made a comment that it was a "strange notion" since the predecessors of Appa Kavi had no knowledge of such a derivation. George Abraham Grierson and other linguists doubt this derivation, holding rather that Telugu was the older term and Trilinga must be
10201-499: Was well-connected to the Mauryan capital Pataliputra by the Uttarapatha trade route. However, no extant contemporary source mentions the Takshashila rebellion, and none of Ashoka's records states that he ever visited the city. That said, the historicity of the legend about Ashoka's involvement in the Takshashila rebellion may be corroborated by an Aramaic-language inscription discovered at Sirkap near Taxila. The inscription includes
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