Life of Mallampalli Somashekara Sarma: His Contribution to epigraphy and historical research.
Written by Jogi
Edited by Pranav mdHe never discouraged any single enthusiastic youngster who wished to take to historical research on grounds of lack of academic qualifications or difficulty of any problem, but always guided them with all sincerity and saw that they equipped themselves in course of time in all the subjects needed for their research.
By the beginning of the 19th century, there were still certain periods in Telugu history where details regarding such historical periods were vague and unknown even to scholars of that time, and folk narratives of such periods were dismissed as they were seen as claims. Then emerged Sri Mallampalli Somashekara Sarma, who searched for epigraphical evidence and history in traditional literature, especially his contribution to Musunuri Nayakas and the Reddy rule during the 13th and 14th centuries. He was born to Mallampalli Bhadrayya and Nagamma in the Aradhya Brahmin community. This community is one of the surviving Vedic Shaiva sects, which follows Vedic rites like Srauta and is completely bonded to Shiva with an extremely hard Orthodox lifestyle, wearing a Shiva linga around their neck all the time. Mallampalli Bhadrayya was also a guru to the prominent spiritual personality Sri Kandukuri Sivanandamurthy. Sarma, after his matriculation studies in Rajahmundry, wanted to pursue higher studies; unfortunately, to take care of his huge family and due to pressure from his parents, he was forced to apply for a teaching job in their village. Sarma applied for the job reluctantly, for which he was not selected; later, he applied for the post of clerk in the Sub-Registrar's Office. Unable to hold the pressure from his family and in pursuit of freedom, Sarma burnt his matriculation certificate. Later, he was married to Subbayamma (cousin), and then the couple shifted to Rajahmundry. There, his cousin Chaganti Subramanyam received him and tried to arrange a job for him as a clerk under an advocate. Sharma, who had no interest in doing such jobs, went on to search for a job on his own. With the help of Chilakamarati Lakshminarsimha Pantulu, he started working as an assistant to him and also as an editor of the news magazine "Desa Mata." During this time, he also worked as an apprentice under Chilukuru Virabhadra Rao, who wrote the history of Andhra Desa. Sharma, with his neat handwriting, assisted Sri Rao, making copious notes from original sources and copying the texts whenever they were found necessary. This apprenticeship under a veteran has helped Sri Sarma in his later life immensely. In the early stage of his writing career, he wrote fictional stories and dramas, such as “Paduka Pattabhisheka,’’ and penned novels like “Rohini Chandragupta,” “Aranyarodanam,” and “Vivekamugalamantri.” He also translated short stories from Prakrit and Sanskrit into Telugu, and later started writing historical essays like "Andhra Veerulu" (Heroes of Andhra land), "Prachina Vidya Pithalu" (Old education institutions), and "Prachina Andhra Naukajiyanam" (Victories in the maritime history of Andhra).
As an Epigraphist:
The main contribution of Sri Sharma is discovering and deciphering copper plates and inscriptions, which he later wrote detailed essays about in his discoveries in several journals. He had deciphered and published more than thirty new copper plates and stone inscriptions belonging to Mauryas, Salankayanas, Early Chalukyas, Eastern Chalukyas, Kakatiyas of Warangal, Velamas of Devarakonda, Renati Cholas, the Musunuri chiefs, Reddis, and Vijayanagara rulers, which show his wide understanding and thorough grasp of history of Andhra from the earliest times to the fall of Vijayanagara. The late C. R. Krishnamacharyulu, who retired as Government Epigraphist for India, wrote about Sri Sarma thus:
"He has contributed to the history of Telugu language and literature by discovery and editing verses in inscriptions which go to the pre-Nannaya period. His contributions have always been marked by accuracy, correct historical perspective, and a judicious reconstruction of facts. I think I know of no other scholar in the Telugu country who has, within recent years, made research in South Indian History in so many branches as Sri Sarma has."
Professorship at Andhra University:
After working for several prominent newspapers for a long time, Sri Sharma was invited to AU by the then VC Dr. C.R. Reddy to teach epigraphy and South Indian history.His ambition was to train up a group of young, enthusiastic scholars and build up a school of historical research in Andhra University. He could not succeed in his mission partly due to the apathy of administrators who laid more emphasis on the development of science and technology, and partly due to the lack of students who could afford to continue in research after post-graduation in the University, sacrificing the job opportunities available in plenty outside, compared to the meagre research fellowships offered by the university. Sri Sarma was a member of the Indian History Congress and All India Oriental Conference, besides many other learned institutions like the Regional Historical Records Commission, Madras Archaeological Society, etc., and took active interest in their deliberations by actively participating in them.
HIS REMARKABLE WORKS:
MUSUNURI NAYAKAS: 1945. In the early 14th century, the time period of the fall of the Kakatiya dynasty and the rise of the Vijayanagara empire, the historical narratives of this period are often confusing narratives given by Muslim historians Ziauddin Barani and Ferishta. The Hindu rebellion was credited to the imaginary son of the last Kakatiya king, Prataprudra, but Sarma gave us clarity through the excavations and deciphering of inscriptions and copper plates.The Hindu rebellion or coalition of that time led by Musunuri Nayakas (Kappaya Nayaka and Prollaya Nayaka), Sri Sarma reconstructed their history from the Prolayya Nayaka Vilasa copper plate, and inscriptions from Kaluvacheru, Polavaram by his mother and brother.
REDDI RAJYALA CHARITRA (HISTORY OF REDDY KINGS) 1948. After the fall of the Kakatiya dynasty, Andhra provinces had never seen a large kingdom; the power mostly remained in the hands of local chieftains, shifting their loyalties to Vijayanagara and Orissa rulers.This book mainly provides us information about the Telugu political landscape in the period 1325-1448, mainly providing information about Kondaviti, Rajahmundry, Kandukuru, and giving insights about the lifestyle, arts, customs, and society of that time.
He died while he was in a coma on 7th January 1963 in King George Hospital, Vizag. After his death, the decline of the humanities department of Andhra University started. So many works under his guidance were still used as standard references for Andhra history. The legacy of Sri Sharma is the struggle and passion he had for history; anyone who wishes to contribute to history can relate to his life. May be common Telugu masses may have forgotten Sri Sharma, but the Telugu literary world admired his research. His non-fiction history books were admired by great poets of the Telugu land; Kavi Samrat Viswanatha Satyanarayana dedicated his "Andhra Prasasti" to Sharma, a poetic work based on several important movements of Telugu history, while his "History of Reddy Kings" inspired another Telugu Gnanpith awardee, Sri C.N. Reddy, to compose a poetic work on the theme of Reddy kings named "Karpura Vasantha Rayalu." The need of the hour is to re-publish his works and translate them into English, and a compilation of his essays in several journals would create much more clarity of Telugu history in a larger spectrum.
References:
Mallampalli Somashekara Sharma Commemoration Volume.
Musunuri Nayakalu, M. Somashekara Sarma, Emesco Publications.
Reddy Rajyala Charitra, M. Somashekara Sarma, Emesco Publications.
About the author:
Born in East Godavari and now residing in Visakhapatnam, Jogi is an undergraduate student of Electrical and Electronics Engineering with a profound passion for Telugu literature and civilizational thought. An independent researcher by inclination, he has devoted himself to exploring the depth and diversity of Telugu literary traditions. His lifelong aspiration is to compile the essence of seventy Telugu Ramayanas, preserving their timeless wisdom for future generations. Among the many luminaries of Telugu literature, Viswanatha Satyanarayana holds a special place in his heart, and he finds his greatest joy in returning to the master's works, discovering fresh insights with every reading.
