Molla

The female poet Molla, born in a potters' family in Kadapa, translated the Sanskrit Ramayana into Telugu. She claimed Lord Shiva as her Guru and drew inspiration from the poet Potana, who wrote Bhagavata Purana in Telugu. Though she wrote the story of Rama, Molla refused to dedicate her Ramayana to any king according to general practice for poets. Krishnadevaraya invited her to his Royal court where she recited Ramayana in front of him and his poets. Molla primarily used simple Telugu and only used Sanskrit words very rarely, and her work known as Molla Ramayana is written in Telugu. The opening poem in Molla Ramayana says - 'Ramayana had been written many times. Does someone stop taking food because it has been taken every day? So is the story of Rama and one can write, read and love it as many number of times as possible.'