Question

The Ashtadiggajas at the court of Krishnadevaraya were _______?
(A) eight great ministers like Maratha Ashtapradhans
(B) eight great musicians
(C) eight great scholars of Telugu literature
(D) eight great Nayaks of the Empire of Vijayanagar

Answer 1

HintThe ashtadiggajas were the eight pillars of Krishnadevaraya’s literary assembly. Tenali Ramakrishna was one amongst them.

Complete Step by Step Answer
 The Ashtadiggajas at the court of Krishnadevaraya were eight great scholars of Telugu literature. It is the collective title given to the eight scholars and poets in the court of Krishnadevaraya, the Emperor of Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529.
The eight Ashtadiggajas were:
(i) Allasani Peddanna
(i)i Nandi Thimmana
(iii) Madayyagari Mallana
(iv) Dhurjaty
(v) Ayyalaraju Ramambhadrudu
(vi) Pingali Suranna
(vii) Ramarajabhushanudu
(viii) Tenali Ramakrishna

During the period when Krishnadevaraya was the Emperor, the Telugu literature reached its peak and some of the works done by the Ashtadiggajas are:

(i) The Ashtadiggajas gave Prabandha, which was considered to be a new form of Telugu literary style its present shape.
(ii) Poets like Tikkana and Potana translated the Sanskrit books and epics without changing the stories from the original
(iii) They used stories from Puranas as plots for writing Kavyas.

Additional InformationTenali Rama was one among the famous eight Ashtadiggajas at the literary court of Krishnadevaraya who was also his special advisor. He hailed from Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh and is known for his several acclaimed works, wit and humour.

So, the correct answer is option (C): The Ashtadiggajas at the court of Krishnadevaraya were eight great scholars of Telugu literature

Note: The title Ashtadiggajas (Ashta + dik + gaja) means elephants in eight directions. The court in which the Ashtadiggajas used to work was also called Bhuvana Vijayam (Conquest of the World). Most of these Ashtadiggajas were from the southern part of present-day Andhra Pradesh. The village of Thippalur in the present-day Cuddapah district was given to the Ashtadiggajas by the emperor.