''Pedda Bala Siksha'' is an encyclopedia in the

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language fami ...

, suitable for children and adults. The book covers literature, arts, culture, morals, games, mythology, and science. It was considered part of the academic syllabus for students until the 1960s.

History

In 1832, Chadalawada Seetarama Sastry was commissioned by his British friend, Mestarkululo, to write an educational book for British children, and wrote ''Bala Siksha''. The first edition was only of 48 pages. The book was then reprinted in 1856, with 78 pages. By 1965, the book had been renamed ''Balala Viveka Kalpa Taruvu'' after the inclusion of material on literature, geography,

Sanskrit prosody Sanskrit prosody or Chandas refers to one of the six Vedangas, or limbs of Vedic studies.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Chandas" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, , page 140 It is the study of poetic metr ...

, and other topics. In 1916, the book was published by

Vavilla Ramaswamy Sastrulu and Sons Vavilla Ramaswamy Sastrulu and Sons (Telugu: వావిళ్ల రామస్వామి శాస్త్రులు అండ్ సన్స్) is a 150-year-old Indian publishing house. It was started by Vavilla Ramaswamy Sastrulu i ...

under the name ''Pedda Bala Siksha'' after a thorough revision. Vajja Seetarama Sastry's brother, Vajjala Narayana Sastry, assisted in editing it. Narayana Sastry accompanied Enugula Veeraswamy to

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

and on his return Veeraswamy fulfilled Narayana Sastry's request to visit Pudur, near Naidupet, Combined Nellore District. There are now many independent versions of ''Pedda Bala Siksha''. Recently Gajula Satyanarayana, a popular writer, has released his own edition.

References

External links

Upakari.com

archive.org
{{Authority control Telugu-language literature Indian encyclopedias 1832 books 19th-century encyclopedias 20th-century encyclopedias 19th-century Indian books 20th-century Indian books