A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c19.s1.26

c19.s1.26

At the Nāyak court of Tanjore, at about the same period, flourished Govinda Dikshita, held in high esteem by Śevvappa Nāyaka, the founder of the line, and his descendants. His Sāhitya Sudhā treats of the history of the two later rulers Achyutappa and Raghunātha; he also composed the Saṅgītasudhānidhi. Two of Govinda's sons also gained distinction as writers; one, Yajñanārāyaṇa, wrote two works on the life of Raghunātha Nāyaka—a poem Sāhityaratnākara, and a drama in five acts, Raghunātha Vilāsa; the other, Venkatamakhi, was a versatile writer on all Śāstras, but his Kāvya Sāhityasāmrājya is not available. Raghunātha Nāyaka himself composed several works like Pārijātāharaṇa, Vālmīkicarita, Gajendra-moksha, Nalacarita, and Acyutendrābhyudaya, the last being obviously a biography of his father. He also wrote on music. The Raghunāthābhyudaya of Rāmabhadrāmbā also has the life of the Nāyaka for its theme and gives clear proof of the intense devotion that the ruler evoked in the talented poetess.