Tikkana and his poems

Tikkana was a 13th century Telugu poet who translated the Mahabharata into Telugu. He was the second poet of the Trinity of Poets (Kavi Trayam) and a minister of the Nellore Chola ruler Manuma-siddhi II. He was also a friend of both kinds of poets (Ubhaya Kavi Mitra) and a peacemaker between the Shaivites and Vaishnavites. He wrote in a simple and elegant style, using Telugu words and similes extensively. He also wrote Nirvachanottara Ramayanamu, a continuation of the Ramayana story. He was a follower of Hariharanadha and a devotee of Shiva. He was a great scholar and a noble person.