refused to obey the king's orders and dedicated the Bhagavatamu to Lord Rama, whom he worshiped with great devotion. It is said that Pothana remarked, ‘It is better to dedicate the work to the supreme Lord Vishnu than dedicate it to the mortal kings.’ He was of opinion that poetry was a divine gift and it should be utilized for salvation by devoting it to the God. It is known that Pothana was patronized by this king in his early career, Pothana dedicated his first great work to this king, the king himself was a scholar, his contemporary reputation was immense. It was common practice for many poets of the time to dedicate their devotional works to God himself and not necessarily to their patron-kings. The poem containing the derision against the "Karanata Kiraata Keechakulu" is a chatuvu (apocryphal) attributed to Pothana with no proof that he actually wrote it. Even if he did, it is unclear who the Karanata villains were, very likely the rulers of Karnaata Samrajyam (the contemporary term for the Vijayanagara empire) who were raiding Rachakonda at the time. The Rachakonda kingdom was under intense turmoil at the time, under attack by the Bahamanis from the west, Karanata (Vijayanagara) empire from the south and the Reddy Kingdom from the east. Rachakonda and its king ceased to exist by the mid-15th century, absorbed into the Bahmani kingdom. There is yet another version about his birthplace. He indicated in one stanza that he belonged to 'Ekasila Nagaram', meaning single stone city which was also called as Orukallu later changed to Orugallu (Warangal) in usage, Orukallu meaning single stone. Style He was quite fond of using rhythm and repetition of sounds giving a majestic grace to the style of writing. He was very skillful in using Alankaras (figures of speech) like similes and metaphors. Pothana imparted the knowledge of the divine to the Telugu people along with lessons in ethics and politics through Sri Maha Bhagavatamu. He lived for sixty years. Significance Even people with little knowledge in Telugu can readily quote verses from chapters 'Gajendra Mokshamu' and 'Prahlada Charitra of his work, ‘Sri Maha Bhagavatamu,’ the crown jewel of Telugu literature. God's writing ala vaikuMThapuraMbulO nagarilo nAmUla soudhaMbu dApala...... This is a verse which describes the palace of Lord Vishnu in his divine abode (VAIKUNTHA), at the time the elephant king prayed for the Lord's kindness to deliver