[5][1][3] Rajaraja Narendra was an admirer of Mahabharata and wanted the message of the Sanskrit epic to reach the Telugu masses in their own language and idiom.

The advanced and well-developed language used by Nannaya suggests that prior Telugu literature other than royal grants and decrees must have existed before him.

[1][6] Rajaraja Narendra was an admirer of Mahabharata and wanted the message of the Sanskrit epic to reach the Telugu masses in their own language and idiom.

[11] Nannaya's grammar is said to have been divided into five chapters, covering samjnā, sandhi, ajanta, halanta and kriya.

[12] Yelakuchi Bala-sarasvati wrote a Telugu gloss (commentary) on this work, and his Bala-sarasvatiyamu refers to this legend in brief.

With help of the god Vishnu, Appa-kavi received a copy of Nannaya's work, and wrote Appakavīyamu as a commentary on this text.