Tenali Ramakrishna is a folk hero in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, who figures prominently in "a host of folk stories." According to tradition he was a court-poet, or Ashtadiggajas, one of the eight elephants of Telugu poetry, and court-jester of Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 16th century. Tenali Ramalinga was born in a Telugu family as Garlapati Ramakrishna. His father was Garlapati Ramayya, who served as a priest in the Ramalingesvara swami temple in Tenali. While some writers quote that Tenali Rama was an actual poet, others argue that Tenali Rama's historicity is entirely in doubt. Narayano Rao and Shulman use the name "Tenali Ramakrishna" for the 16th century court poet, while using "Tenali Ramalingadu" for the court jester. Many popular collections of stories, published between 1860 and 1920, use both names interchangeably for the court jester. Tenali Ramakrishna also composed some works under the name Tenali Ramalinga.