The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c15.s3.t8.2

v2.c15.s3.t8.2

SANSKRIT occupied, as in the previous ages, the first place in the educational system of the Āndhra country. The inscriptions of the Kākatīya monarchs and their subordinates bear ample testimony to the flourishing state of Sanskrit learning when they were composed. The educational attainments of the donees who figure in the numerous land grants of the period show that besides the *Vedas* and the subsequent literature connected with them, the *Upanishads*, the *Śāstras*, the *Itihāsas*, the *Purāṇas* and the six *Darśanas*, as well as the various branches of classical Sanskrit literature, were all widely studied, and that in fact most educated persons in the country were very well versed in Sanskrit language and learning. The liberal patronage which the Kākatīya rulers, their nobles and their dependants, extended to Sanskrit scholars and men of letters, gave an impetus to this literary activity, and several works of outstanding merit which now serve as ornaments of Sanskrit literature were produced under the aegis of the court and the nobility dependent upon it. The time for assessing the extent and value of the Sanskrit literature which originated at this time has not yet come, since our knowledge of its history is still fragmentary. No systematic attempt has yet been made to collect and investigate the relevant material and to reconstruct a satisfactory history of the literature of the period on its basis, and until that shall have been done our knowledge can only be tentative and imperfect.