|
Of the many Reddi kingdoms that flourished for one hundred and twenty-five years after the end of the Kakatiya Empire, the one at Kondaveedu, founded by Prolaya Vema in 1320, was the most important. Most of the Reddi kings were enlightened patrons of learning, literature and the fine arts. Prolaya Vema's court was particularly distinguished because of the presence of the illustrious Sanskrit scholar, Mahadeva. The greatest poet of the Reddi age was Srinatha, a Brahmin whose patron was Peda Komati Vema. King Veerabhadra Reddi of Rajamathendiravaram was another celebrated aesthete and scholar with knowledge of music and literature. Another major Telugu poet of the age of the Reddi kings was Vemana who probably lived in the earlier part of the fifteenth century and is believed to have been a Reddy. His succinct, four thousand odd aphorisms in verse, constitute the Bible of the Andhras. It was thus that the Reddi kingdoms came into being which retained their power for over a hundred years (1325 to 1448). Although the Reddi rulers inherited the responsibilities of their Kshatriya predecessors, they acquired none of the rights as they were Sudras and were debarred from participating in the Vedic rituals. Nevertheless the Kshatriya rulers of Warangal and their Reddi chieftains were associated through social interaction such as occasional intermarriage. |
| More Articles in Reddy Community (2) | |
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
