The Qutb Shah was, besides, a lover of Telugu. ‘His court was thronged by local poets of note, and he identified himself so much with indigenous culture that his name was affectionately Teluguised as Malkibharama and Abhirama.’24 In the tradition of Hindu kings of the past, Ibrahim also patronized retellings of the ancient epics – a poet named Addanki Gangadhara was commissioned by him to expand a chapter from the Mahabharata that tells the tale of two lovers, Tapati and Samvarana.
