Summary
Tirumalamba, also known as Oduva Tirumalamba was an Indian polymath, polyglot and philanthropist of the Vijayanagara period who was active as a poetess, a musician, a grammarian and a Hindu scholar.[1] She is chiefly remembered for composing Varadambika Parinaya, a Kavya on the wedding of the Emperor Achyuta Deva Raya and Salaga Princess Varadambika, in Sanskrit.[2] It was the only Sanskrit romance to be written by a woman. She also knew many scripts and coined the largest word of her time.[1]
Tirumalamba | |
|---|---|
| Era | Vijayanagara period |
| Known for |
|
| Notable work | Varadambika Parinaya |
| Spouse | Emperor Achyuta Deva Raya |
| Relatives |
|
| Family | Pandya |
She also became a queen of the Emperor Achyuta as noted in the epilogue of Varadambika Parinaya where she is described as the "confidante and the be-all and the end-all of the deepest love of Emperor Achyutaraya" and substantiated by other primary sources.[3] Scholar Lakshman Sarup theorizes that Tirumalamba is the unnamed daughter of a Pandya vassal who wed emperor Achyuta mentioned in a Kanchi Inscription.[4]
Notes edit
- ^ a b Upadhyay, Jay. "The Feminisms of Dharmic India". The Illinois Undergraduate Journal of History. 1 (1): 5. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Telugu Women Writers of the Last Millennium". Retrieved 16 January 2007.
- ^ Sastri, Suryakanta (1970). Varadambika Parinaya Campu. Chaukhamba Amarabharati Prakashan. p. 1.
- ^ Sarup, Lakshman (1928). Proceedings And Transactions Of The Fifth Indian Oriental Conference Vol 1. University of Panjab, Lahore.