Karanam (Telugu: కరణం) or Karnam was an office and title native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Traditionally, Karanam was an official who maintained the accounts and records of the villages and collected the taxes.
The balance between the two variants was changed when western missionaries started using Pandit's language for printing purposes.
Also, instrumental were Paravastu Chinnaya Suri's disciples who monopolised Telugu instructor posts and editor roles at major publishing houses.
They preferred Chinnaya Suri's Pandit style, and Karanam Telugu used for writing prose was rejected by them as non-standard.
[24] In opposition to this, Gidugu Ramamurthi fought for a language closer to Karanam Telugu (which he called vyavaharika).