Just a few more lines:
Gidugu Sitapati wrote that subsequent writers of nannaya and nannecODa have
taken a fancy to use 'Andhra` to mean Telugu, for the language, the country
and the people. It sounds more 'dignified' and enters in to 'Sanskrit`
compounds more readily than Telugu. But whenever a reference was made to the
mellifluous quality of the langauge, it was Telugu and not Andhra.
e.g "dESabhashalandu telugu lessa".
nannaya and nannecODa used the words Telu(gu/Tenu(gu. vidyaanaatha kavi (was
he predecessor to the above two?) used the word 'trilinga' (etymo of
trilinga--> Telugu is controversial, as I understand!) somewhere. The verse
goes like "yairdESa stribhilEsha ........" (sorry! can't recall the entire
poem!). nannecODa used "aandhra vishaya" to denote the country in which he
said, Tenu(gu was fostered by the chaalukya-s.
I personally dislike using the word "aandhramu" as a synonymous to "telugu"
wherever it may be. "Andhra" empire extended over a large part of Telugu
speaking area (and also non-Telugu speaking areas, as we know), BUT aandhra
empire and Telugu country were never really co-extensive. There might be
a Prakrit "aandhra" and Telugu-s might be the descendants of the aandhra-s,
but is really Telugu same as, or evolved from "aandhra"?
How about extending this thread and discussing the appropriateness of the
name "aandhrapradES" and the coastal area being (incorrectly) called
"aandhra" ? Yes, yes, I am aware that its highly controversial topic; that
might be discussing politics (behind formation of present A.P and later "Jai
Andhra" movement) and even might lead to flame wars.
Regards,
Sreenivas