The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c17.112

v1.c17.112

His wisdom is likewise acknowledged and highly praised by his successors: he is called ‘wise’ ⁸ and ‘learned’ ⁹; and even in a Sadasiva’s grant of 1558 he is said to be as ‘learned as Bhoja Raja’¹. He was ‘highly esteemed by wise kings’². He sedulously patronised wise people and endeavoured to propagate wisdom among his subjects. In order to commemorate the first death anniversary of his father, he granted the village of Jillellamuduku to a wise man, called Srinivasacharya³. Then, when he made the Penuguluru grant to Brahmans, the entire village was divided into 128 *vrittis* and given to Brahmans who were highly learned in the sastras and were masters in the Vedanta: one of the *vrittis* was granted for the study of the Rig-Veda and another for that of the Yajur-Veda⁴. At the end of this volume we shall mention his literary exploits; we shall here only quote some words of the Penuguluru grant mentioned already, which gives a beautiful description of the pious and wise Tirumala, “being surrounded by pious and loving priests and attendants, and by various wise men who follow the ways laid down in the Vedas and are highly educated”⁵. Such was the company with which Tirumala loved to surround himself; the great warrior never lost sight of the claims of piety and the value of high education.