Extinct Kannada literature

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Extinct Kannada literature refers to a body of literature written in the Kannada language and script during the period immediately preceding the extant Kavirajamarga dated to 850 CE. Important writings contemporary to Kavirajamarga are also considered here.

[edit] Extinct writings and forms

The earliest examples of full-length Kannada inscriptions in verse can be found in the Halmidi inscription, a Kadamba royal edict dated to 450 CE,[1][2] and the poetic Tamatekallu inscription which has been identified by some scholars to be from the 5th century.[3][4]. The Kappe Arabhatta record of the 7th century forms the earliest surviving record of Kannada poetry.[5][6]

The earliest surviving literary work, the Kavirajamarga ("Royal Path for Poets") is dated to 850 CE; references are made in it to earlier writers such as Durvinita (6th century), Vimalachandra (c. 777), Udaya, Nagarjuna, Jayabhandu and to poets including Kavisvara, Srivijaya, Pandita, Chandra, Ravi Kirti (634) and Lokapala.[3][7][8][9] Kavirajamarga also discusses earlier composition forms peculiar to Kannada, the gadyakatha, a mixture of prose and poetry, the chattana and the bedande, poems of several stanzas that were meant to be sung with the optional use of a musical instrument.[10][11][12] Regarding earlier poems in Kannada, the author of Kavirajamarga states that old Kannada is appropriate in ancient poems but insipid in contemporaneous works.[13]

Other early writers of Kannada literature whose works are known from independent references[14] are Syamakundacharya (650), who authored the Prabhrita, and Srivaradhadeva (also called Tumubuluracharya, 650 or earlier), who wrote the Chudamani ("Crest Jewel"), a lengthy commentary on logic.[15][16][17][18] The Karnatheshwara Katha, a eulogy of the Chalukya King Pulakesi II, is ascribed to the 7th or 8th century.[19] The Gajashtaka, a lost ashtaka (eight line verse) composition, was authored by King Shivamara II in 800. The composition served as the basis for two popular folk songs, ovanige and onakevadu, which were sung either while pounding corn or to entice wild elephants into a pit (ovam).[20][21]

Srivijaya, a court poet of Amoghavarsha I, wrote the Chandraprabha Purana in the 9th century.[22] During the same period, the Digambara Jain poet Asaga (or Asoka) authored, among other writings, Karnata Kumarasambhava Kavya and Varadamana Charitra. His works have been praised by later poets, although none of his works are available today.[23] Gunagankiyam, the earliest known prosody in Kannada, was referenced in a Tamil work dated to 10th century or earlier (Yapparungalakkarigai by Amritasagara). Gunanandi, an expert in logic, Kannada grammar and prose flourished in the 9th century.[24][25] Around 900, Gunavarma I wrote Sudraka and Harivamsa (also known as Neminatha Purana). In Sudraka he compared his patron, Ganga king Ereganga Neetimarga II, to a noted king called Sudraka.[21][26]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Sahitya Akademi (1988), pp. 1717, 1474
  2. ^ Kamath (1980), p. 10
  3. ^ a b Rao in Datta (1994), pp. 2278-2283
  4. ^ Pai in Bhat, (1993), p. 102
  5. ^ Kamath (1980), p. 67
  6. ^ Sahitya Akademi (1988), p. 1717
  7. ^ Narasimhacharya (1934), p. 2
  8. ^ Warder (1988), p. 240
  9. ^ Rice E.P., (1921), pp. 25, 28
  10. ^ Garg (1987), vol 4
  11. ^ Narasimhacharya (1934), pp. 13, 17
  12. ^ Nagaraj in Sheldon (2003), p. 333
  13. ^ Narasimhacharya (1934), p. 12
  14. ^ Such as Indranandi's Srutavatara, Devachandra's Rajavalikathe (Narasimhacharya, 1934, pp. 4–5); Bhattakalanka's Sabdanusasana of 1604 (Sastri 1955, p. 355), writings of Jayakirthi (Kamath 1980, p. 67)
  15. ^ Sastri (1955), p. 355
  16. ^ Rice B.L. (1897), pp. 496–497
  17. ^ Rice E.P. (1921), p. 27
  18. ^ Mugali (1975), p. 13
  19. ^ Chidananda Murthy in Kamath (1980), p. 67
  20. ^ Sahitya Akademi (1987), p. 248
  21. ^ a b Kamath (1980), p. 50
  22. ^ Narasimhacharya (1934), pp. 17–18
  23. ^ Warder (1988), pp. 240–241
  24. ^ Narasimhacharya 1934, p. 29
  25. ^ Rice E.P. (1921), p. 28
  26. ^ Narasimhacharya (1934), p. 18

[edit] References

  • Kamath, Suryanath U. [1980] (2001). A concise history of Karnataka : from pre-historic times to the present. Bangalore: Jupiter books. LCCN 809-5179. OCLC 7796041. 
  • Nagaraj, D.R. [2003] (2003). "Critical Tensions in the History of Kannada Literary Culture, pp. 323–383", in Sheldon I. Pollock: Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia. Berkeley and London: University of California Press. Pp. 1066. ISBN 0520228219. 
  • Narasimhacharya, R [1934] (1988). History of Kannada Literature. Mysore: Government Press. Reprinted by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi. ISBN ISBN 81-206-0303-6. 
  • Rice, B.L. [1897] (2001). Mysore Gazatteer Compiled for Government-vol 1. New Delhi, Madras: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-0977-8. 
  • Rice, E.P. [1921] (1982). A History of Kanarese Literature. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 8120600630. 
  • Sastri, K.A. Nilakanta [1955] (2002). A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar. New Delhi: Indian Branch, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-560686-8. 
  • Various [1987] (1987). Encyclopaedia of Indian literature – vol 1. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 8126018038. 
  • Various [1988] (1988). Encyclopaedia of Indian literature – vol 2. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 8126011947. 
  • Various [1992] (1992). Encyclopaedia of Indian literature – vol 5. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 8126012218. 
  • Warder, A.K. [1988] (1988). Indian Kavya Literature. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 8120804503.