vyakarana, and Tamil brahmins going to Andhra

[Palaniappa]

Pursuing the Tamil-Telugu connections further, it was interesting for me to
learn that Tamils have made contributions directly or indirectly towards
Telugu developing its individual identity. According to Dr. C. R. Sarma's
paper "Tamil-Telugu contacts: A Rich Segment of National Solidarity", "It is
worth mentioning that either during the Pallava period or earlier, a branch of
the Chola family had migrated to the Telugu region and ruled for a brief
period at Renadu in Cuddappah district. It seems that their families had later
migrated to Pakanadu, a part of the present Nellore district and they are
distinctly termed as Telugu Cholas. We owe the earliest Telugu inscriptions to
the Renadu Cholas." Later discussing the Chola-Vengi royal alliances, he says,
"Due to these royal alliances, a good number of Tamil Brahmin families
migrated to Vengi and permanently settled in different places of the Telugu
country. It is significant that these families, though completely merged with
the Andhras as years passed by are called by the term Dravida and the Arama
Dravida, the Timila Dravida, the Puduru Dravida and others constitute the
Dravida families."

According to Telugu historian Vedam Venkataraya Sastry's paper, "The influence
of Tamil on Kannada and Telugu", the word Telugu is found for the first time
in the the records of Rajendra Chola and Rajadhiraja in their conflict with
the Awestern Chalukyas of Kanchi. He adds, "It is to be noted with
astonishment that the Kakatiyas did not encourage a single Telugu poet while
the Telugu Colas alone did much to popularise Telugu after Rajaraja Narendra."
Rajaraja Narendra of Vengi was Rajaraja Chola's grandson and was the patron of
Telugu's Adikavi Nannayabhatta. According to Sastry, "His patron Rajaraja
Narendra,a grandson of Rajaraja Cola lost his throne several times and had to
stay at his maternal grand-father's place. His records are found at
Tiruvaiyar. Nannaya should definitely have accompanied his patron on all such
occasions. Rajaraja Narendra found peace only during the last ten years of of
his life A.D. 1051-1061 when he got the Andhra Mahabharata to be composed."
According to Sarma, "Nannaya had employed in his Mahabharata certain
expressions which are very close to Tamil. Words like Enu (Yan-I), Kola (Kol-
stick), Kittu (to approach) etc., are found in his work. Prhaps [sic]
influenced by the Tamil literary tradition, he referred to the four-fold
division of the Telugu poetry as Asu, Madhura, Chitra, and Vistara. Some of
the later poets like Nannechoda, Palkuriki Somanatha, Sri Krishnadevaraya and
others also had employed a few Tamil expressions and Tamil literary traditions
as well. But all these references will come under the indirect contribution of
the Tamils to Telugu literature."

I would like to know if these views of Dr. C. R. Sarma and Vedam Venkataraya
Sastry presented during the Vth international Tamil conference  are  also
accepted by other Telugu scholars.

Regards

S. Palaniappan