Chavundaraya
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Chavundraya 963 - 999 C.E. also known as Chavundaraya I or Chamundaraya was a commander in the Western Ganga Dynasty army and was also a poet in Kannada. A multifaceted person, he was devotee of Jain Acharya Nemichandra Siddhanta-Chakravarti and a minister in the court of kings Marasimha II, Rajamalla IV and Rakkasa Ganga. He fought many battles for the Ganga overlords, the Rashtrakutas. In fact the Gangas espoused the cause of the Rashtrakutas till the very end. A valorous commander, he found time to persue his literary persuits as well. He held a title called Samaraparashurama for his valor.
His most famous work is called TriShasthi Lakshana Mahapurana or Chavundarayapurana in Kannada and Charitrasara in Sanskrit written in 972 C.E. He patronised Kannada Grammarian Gunavarma and the poet Ranna in his early years. He is also famous as the builder of the statue of Gomateshwara and possibly the Chamundaraya Basadi in Shravanabelagola, Karnataka, though some scholars opine it was built by his son Jainadevana. His work is the second oldest work in prose style in Kannada and is a summary of the Sanskrit works Adipurana and Uttarapurana written by Jinasena and Gunabhadra during the rule of Amoghavarsha I. The prose work, written in lucid Kannada was mainly meant for the common man and hence did not use any heavy and deep elements of Jaina doctrines and philosophy. In his work, influences of his predecessor Adikavi Pampa and contemporary Ranna are seen.
Some scholars believe that Ranna's Parashurama Charite may have had Chavundaraya as it hero.
[edit] References
- Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, Concise History of Karnataka, 2001, MCC, Bangalore (reprint 2002)(Sahitya academy award, 1973).
- Kannada Literature by Chavundaraya
