Biographical Sketches of Dekkan Poets/Lakshmana Kavi
LAKSHMANA KAVI.
This poet was a native of the Telugu country, after he left school, he read over many Telugu books on grammar, and by practice became acquainted with all the Telugu nouns. He compiled a compendious vocabulary in four books called Andhra-nama Sangraha, which was a treatise on the different pronunciations of the Telugu tongue; this is a Work of great utility, as it gives the meanings of various Telugu words, being a complete digest of synonimes. When this treatise was finished, he composed another work, called "Subhashita Ratnakara," or the ocean of polite phrases, which is intended as a sequel to the former work. The princes of Telugu highly encouraged Lakshmana Kavi, and by their liberality, he was enabled to live in comparative affluence; he ended his days in his native country.