Sanskrit Manuscripts : The battle of King Popely

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Sanskrit Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'> This is the English translation of a Tamil version (see <a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-OR-02022/1'>Or. 2022</a>) of the narrative of the battle of Bobbili (Pōppili/Poppili in Tamil in the manuscript), a place in north-eastern Andhra Pradesh. The fight opposed in 1757 the Velama warrior-king Ranga Ravu or Ranga Raya (Raṅkārāyaṉ in Tamil in the manuscript), who ruled in Bobbili, to the nearby Vijayanagaram (i.e. Vizianagaram) king Vijaya Rama Raya (Vijayarāmarājaṉ in Tamil in the manuscript), allied to the French adventurer Charles de Bussy. This fierce battle which ended with most people of Bobbili choosing death rather than surrender gave birth to several accounts (oral as well written) in Telugu and Tamil. The epic tale was collected, transcribed and translated by Percy McQueen (1883-1970), Collector of Madras and Curator of the Madras Record Office, who donated it to the University Library together with many other manuscripts of folk poetry in Dravidian languages. </p>