Master of Niroshthya Poetry & Court Poet of the Kakatiyas
Narasimha is identified in the inscriptions as the son of Visvesvara (also rendered Visvesvara-pandita). In the Yogasastra record, his father is described as a royal preceptor. Other historical records identify a prominent Visvesvara-Sivacharya as an important Saiva preceptor associated with the Kakatiya court. The precise identification of every reference to Visvesvara should, however, be treated cautiously.
- Rikchchaya – A commentary on the Rigveda, identified in the Warangal inscriptions.
- Kakatiya-charitra – An eight-sarga work on the Kakatiyas. An inscription states that Narasimha completed it in a single day.
- Malayavati – A prose composition (gadya-kavya) named in the eastern torana inscription at Warangal Fort.
- Siddhodvaha – A Sanskrit composition of 62 verses, describing the love, separation, and marriage of a Siddha couple.
- Ten Rupakas – The Warangal Fort inscription states that Narasimha composed ten rupakas.
- Yogasastra – A Sanskrit work on yoga associated with Narasimha-maharshi.
- Nrisimhokta Ghana – A work or set of Vedic recitation material referred to in the epigraphical record.
Location: Siddhesvara Gutta, near Hanumakonda and Warangal. The inscription is engraved on a rock at the top of the hillock and is written in Telugu characters.
Content: The inscription contains 37¼ verses in Sanskrit, all in the simple Anushtubh metre. It describes the Andhradesa and Ekasilanagari, the Kakatiya capital.
Literary Merit: The composition is a specimen of niroshthya poetry, in which the labial class of consonants is deliberately avoided. The epigraphical editors particularly note the sophisticated use of sabda-alankara in verse 28.
The Hanumakonda inscription itself does not name its author. Its attribution to Narasimha is based on strong circumstantial evidence, including similarities with other Narasimha inscriptions and his documented interest in technically demanding poetic composition.
Script: Telugu · Language: Sanskrit · Date: 13th century CE, palaeographically assigned
Niroshthya Kavya – An incomplete Sanskrit composition describing the Andhra country and Ekasilanagari. It contains 37¼ verses in Anushtubh metre. The attribution to Narasimha is circumstantial rather than explicit.
Script: Telugu · Language: Sanskrit · Date: Undated, reign of Prataparudra
Identifies Nrisimha-rishi as the author of the Rikchchaya, the Kakatiya-charitra in eight sargas, and another work on Sastra. The inscription states that the Kakatiya-charitra was completed in one day.
Script: Telugu · Language: Sanskrit · Date: Undated
Records that poet Narasimha composed ten Rupakas and a prose work named Malayavati.
Script: Telugu and Nagari · Language: Sanskrit · Date: 13th century CE
Siddhodvaha – A composition of 62 Sanskrit verses, principally in Sardulavikridita metre, describing the love, separation, and marriage of a Siddha couple.
Script: Nagari · Language: Sanskrit · Date: 13th century CE
The Yogasastra record identifies Narasimha-maharshi as the son of Visvesvara, who is described as a royal preceptor.
Script: Telugu · Language: Sanskrit · Date: Undated, reign of Virarudra/Prataparudra
A Sanskrit verse attributed to Nrisimha-rishi praises King Virarudra of the Kakatiya family and compares his war elephants with legendary mountains.
Script: Telugu · Language: Sanskrit · Date: Undated
A further rock inscription associated with Narasimha's poetic activity. The surviving evidence is fragmentary.
Script: Telugu · Language: Telugu · Date: 21 February 1300 CE
Donative record – Records monetary and land-related gifts associated with the Virabhadradeva temple at Inugurthy during the reign of Prataparudra. It was not authored by Narasimha; it is included here only as contemporary chronological context.
Narasimha's surviving epigraphical record demonstrates an unusually broad literary range. His attributed works encompass Vedic commentary, historical poetry, prose, drama, yoga, and technically sophisticated Sanskrit composition. The Kakatiya-charitra, although lost as an independent work, is explicitly named in the inscriptions and is said to have been completed in a single day.
Narasimha's exact birth and death dates are unknown. His activity is best placed in the late 13th to early 14th century CE, particularly in connection with the reign of Prataparudra II.
What is often omitted: The surviving inscriptions do not provide a secure birth year or death year. The previous dates of c. 1260–1320 should therefore not be presented as established biographical facts.
The Kakatiya-charitra, an eight-sarga work attributed to Narasimha, is not known to survive as an independent manuscript.
What is securely known: The Warangal Fort inscription explicitly names the work and states that Narasimha completed it in a single day. Its actual contents cannot be reconstructed with certainty from that statement alone.
The Hanumakonda Niroshthya inscription is incomplete. The surviving text ends while describing the Andhra country and Ekasilanagari.
What is often omitted: The epigraphical editors did not establish a definite reason for the incompleteness. Suggestions concerning political change, patronage, or practical circumstances remain speculative.
Narasimha's importance rests on the unusually rich epigraphical evidence for his literary activity. He is associated with the Kakatiya-charitra, Rikchchaya, Malayavati, ten Rupakas, Siddhodvaha, Yogasastra, and the technically remarkable Niroshthya composition.
These records make Narasimha an important figure in the study of Sanskrit literary culture under the Kakatiyas and provide rare evidence for the use of monumental inscriptions as vehicles for sophisticated Sanskrit poetry.
Chronology & Milestones
Places Associated with Narasimha
Warangal Fort – The Southern and Eastern Torana inscriptions preserve important evidence about Narasimha's works, including the Kakatiya-charitra, Rikchchaya, Malayavati, and ten Rupakas.
Hanumakonda (Siddhesvara Gutta) – Site of the remarkable incomplete Niroshthya inscription, containing 37¼ Sanskrit verses.
Urusugutta – Site of the 62-verse Siddhodvaha composition and the inscription associated with the Yogasastra.
Ekasila – A Warangal inscription preserves a Sanskrit verse by Nrisimha-rishi praising King Virarudra/Prataparudra and his war elephants.
Potanagutta – Associated with another fragmentary rock inscription containing Narasimha's verses.
Inugurthy – Site of a separate dated Kakatiya record of 1300 CE, useful as contemporary chronological context but not authored by Narasimha.
Summary – The Poet Who Etched Kakatiya Literary Culture in Stone
Narasimha (Nrisimha-rishi or Narasimha-maharshi) was a Sanskrit poet and scholar associated with the late Kakatiya court. Epigraphical records identify him as the son of Visvesvara and preserve the names of several works, including the Rikchchaya, Kakatiya-charitra, Malayavati, ten Rupakas, Siddhodvaha, and Yogasastra.
His most remarkable surviving association is with the Niroshthya tradition. The incomplete Hanumakonda inscription contains 37¼ Sanskrit verses that deliberately avoid the labial consonants. Although the inscription does not explicitly name its author, epigraphical scholarship has argued on strong circumstantial grounds that it belongs to the same Narasimha whose other inscriptions demonstrate a particular interest in technically demanding poetic composition.
Narasimha's surviving epigraphical record provides an unusual window into the literary culture of the Kakatiya period. Rather than assigning him unsupported birth and death dates, the evidence places him broadly in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, during the era of Prataparudra II.
- P. R. Srinivasan and V. S. Subrahmanyam, Hanumakonda Niroshthya Kavya Inscription, Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XXXVI (1965–66), pp. 209–218.
- Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy 1957–58 – Warangal inscriptions of the poet Narasimha, including the references to his ten Rupakas, Malayavati, Kakatiya-charitra, and Rigvedic commentary.
- Indian Archaeology 1958–59 – A Review – reports on the two Urusugutta poems of Narasimha, including the 62-verse Siddhodvaha and the Yogasastra.
- Inscriptions of Warangal District – records from the Warangal Fort and associated Kakatiya sites.
- Indian Archaeology 1983–84 – A Review – Inugurthy record of 1300 CE.
- N. Venkataramanayya, The Kakatiyas of Warangal, for historical context.
📌 Note: Narasimha's exact birth and death dates are not securely recorded. The Hanumakonda Niroshthya inscription does not explicitly name its author; its attribution to Narasimha rests on circumstantial epigraphical evidence. The Kakatiya-charitra is known from inscriptions but is not known to survive as an independent manuscript.