Paravastu Chinnayasuri | |
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Native name | పరవస్తు చిన్నయ సూరి |
Born | Chinnaya 1806 Sriperumbdur, Madras Presidency, British India |
Died | 1862 |
Occupation | Teacher and writer |
Language | Telugu |
Literary movement | Telugu prose |
Notable works | Nīticaṃdrika, Bālavyākaraṇamu |
Relatives | Paravastu Venkataranga Ramanujacharyulu and Srinivasamba (parents) |
Paravastu Chinnayasuri (1806/7–1861/2) [1] (Telugu: పరవస్తు చిన్నయ సూరి) was a Telugu writer who played a prominent role in the elevation of prose to importance in Telugu literature. [2] He was the first Telugu Pandit at the Presidency College, Madras. [3] He also worked as a law scholar for the Supreme Court of East India Company. He was acclaimed as a profound scholar in Telugu and Sanskrit in the traditional education. More than a third of his life span was spent in teaching Telugu in schools and in the Presidency college, Madras.
Paravastu Chinnayasuri was born in 1806/7 in Perambur of Chengalpattu district in a Satani family [4] [5] He was the son of Venkata Rangayya, a Vaishnavite scholar. He worked as a Telugu teacher at Pachaiyappa's College in Madras. He also worked as a law scholar for the Supreme Court of East India Company. He was a Pundit in the Telugu, Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Tamil languages. He died in 1861/2.
Chinnayasuri translated the first two books of the Sanskrit Panchatantra into Telugu, entitling his translation the Nīticaṃdrika. It was published by Vavilla Ramaswamy Sastrulu and Sons in Madras. [6] He wrote the Bālavyākaraṇamu ( transl. Children's Grammar), a textbook for teaching Telugu grammar in schools. [7] He translated Thomas Lumisden Strange's Manual of Hindoo Law of 1856, entitling it the Hiṃdūdharmaśāstrasaṃgrahamu. [8]