17th century writings Mysore literature in Kannada




1 17th century writings

1.1 transition vijayanagara
1.2 golden age
1.3 age of sarvajna





17th century writings

transition vijayanagara

with waning of vijayanagara empire, raja wodeyar (r. 1578–1617) became first ruler of political importance @ mysore, having ousted vijayanagara governor @ srirangapatna. however, fledgling kingdom still owed nominal allegiance diminished empire. foundation of independent state influence regional polity , culture laid in period. in following decades, mysore court became inheritor of vijayanagara literary legacy , centre textual production not in kannada, native language, extent, in telugu , sanskrit. earliest available kannada language writings mysore court tirumalarya (or tirumala iyengar), raja wodeyar s court poet. composed karna vrittanta kathe (c. 1600) in sangatya metre, composition rendered accompaniment of instrument. raja wodeyar s grandson, chamaraja vi (r. 1617–1637), earliest among mysore kings known personal contribution fine arts. king wrote chamarajokti vilasa, translation of sanskrit ramayana, in valmiki tradition.


during rule of king kanthirava narasaraja wodeyar (r. 1637–1659), kingdom attained complete freedom, evidenced issue of gold coins called phanams, similar ones issued vijayanagara empire. event followed period of political expansion within modern southern karnataka , successful military encounter against invading mughal commander ranadullah khan. govinda vaidya, well-known poet in royal court, wrote kanthirava narasaraja vijaya (1648) in sangatya metre. in eulogy, written in 26 chapters, vaidya compares patron king god narasimha (an avatar of hindu god vishnu). writing gives useful details kingdom, social events, urban life, king s court, types of music composed court musicians , instruments used render them. during time, bhattakalanka deva, jain writer haduvalli in south kanara excelled grammarian of extraordinary talent. last of 3 notables wrote comprehensively on old-kannada grammar (nagavarma ii , keshiraja being other two). expert in sanskrit grammar well. extant kannada grammar, karnataka sabdanusasanam, containing 592 sanskrit sutras (a literary form written concision) vritti (glossary) , vyakhya (commentary), written in 4 padas (chapters) , makes useful references contemporary , earlier writers. work modelled after of earlier sanskrit grammarians, panini, pujyapada , others, , considered exhaustive work. author s emphasis on importance of kannada language , rich literary , poetic history evident , meant rebuttal attitude shown contemporary sanskrit scholars towards kannada language.


shadaksharadeva, attempted revive classical (sanskritised) champu metre, belonged pampa tradition. veerashaiva faith , head of yelandur monastery, under patronage of mysore court. bilingual writer in sanskrit , kannada, writings propagate faith in god shiva. wrote 3 well-known works in kannada: rakashekara vilasa (1655), best-known poetic work, written during days, has love main theme , rivals poems in lakshmisa s jaimini bharata (17th century). derived well-known devotional tamil story of satyendra chola , known based on earlier work, bhavachintaratna (c. 1513), kannada writer gubbi mallanarya of vijayanagara. in noteworthy piece of elegiac poetry, poet describes lamentation of mother in own inimitable style. upon hearing news of son s death trampling under hooves of prince rajashekara s horse, mother rushes scene, , mourns, holding body of son in lap. vrishabhendra vijaya (1671), poem of epic proportions, written in forty-two cantos , 4,000 stanzas, account of 12th century reformer basavanna. sabarasankara vilasa poem in 5 cantos narrating popular tale of battle between god shiva , pandava prince arjuna. test arjuna s devotion him, shiva disguises himself hunter , fights fierce battle arjuna. toward end, impressed arjuna s devotion, shiva bestows on him weapon called pashuptastra.


other notable kannada writers in court of kanthirava narasaraja (r. 1637–1659) shantaveera deshika (shivaganga charitra in sangatya metre, 1650), bhaskara (beharaganita, on mathematics, 17th century), nanjakavi (kanthirava narasaraja charitra, historical, 17th century) , timmarasa (markandeya ramayana, story of god rama forms episode in forest section of epic mahabharata, c. 1650). chamaiah, court poet, wrote account of patron, king dodda devaraja wodeyar (r. 1659–1673) in devarajendra sangatya (late 17th century), , channarya wrote metrical history of same king in devaraja vijaya (late 17th century). tirumalabhatta, court poet of keladi ruler hiriya venkatappa nayaka (r. 1586–1629) wrote poem shivagita.


golden age

the reign of king chikka devaraja wodeyar (r. 1673–1704) high point in history of kingdom of mysore. king, able warrior known have defeated marathas on occasion, held upper hand against nizam of golconda , brought keladi territories under domain 1682. able administrator, king inclined towards srivaishnava faith. reign produced numerous prolific writers, not least king himself – accomplished scholar in kannada , composer of music. well-known treatise on music called geeta gopala, written in opera style , in saptapadi metre, credited him. though inspired jayadeva s geeta govinda (c. 1200), had originality of own. work differs original in god krishna , gopikas protagonists of play instead of krishna , consort radha. writing consists of fourteen sections, 7 songs in each section. considered asset students of music , literature. king s other works commentaries on bhagavata , later chapters of epic mahabharata, collection of devotional poems written in thirty verses (chikkadevaraya binappa, kings petition ) , composed in praise of god cheluva narayanaswamy of melkote.


tirumalarya ii, native of srirangapatna , descendent of tirumalarya i, held in high esteem in mysore court. childhood friend of king chikka devaraja, served minister. tirumalarya ii authored 5 notable writings: chikka devaraja saptapadi (saptapadi metre, 1698), important musical treatise rendered in 7 sections comprising fifty-two songs exalts patron king level of god on earth ; apratimavira charite ( history of peerless hero ), rhetorical eulogy of king , treatise on poetics; chikkadevaraja vijaya, account of king s conquests, life , ancestors, in champu metre comprising 6 chapters; chikkadevaraya yaso-bhushana; , prose piece chikkadevaraja vamshavali, 1 of earliest available contemporary historicals in kannada language describing king s ancestry. in addition, tirumalarya ii composed seventy songs, of in kannada , few in telugu.


minister chikkupadhyaya (or lakshmipathi), native of terakanambi town in mysore district zealous srivaishnava , 1 of prolific kannada writers of time. credit on thirty works, in sangatya , champu metres, , gadya (prose). best-known works vishnupurana (prose , champu versions, 1691); divya suri charitre, history of twelve alvar saints; artha panchaka ( 5 truths ), on saint pillai lokacharya; commentary on tiruvayimole of saint nammalvar; kamalachala mahatmya (1680); hastigiri mahatmya (1679); rukmangada charite (1681); satvikabrahma-vidya-vilasa, treating on visishtadvaita philosophy; yadugiri mahatmya, eulogy of saint kadambi srirangacharya; yadavagiri mahatmya, eulogy of saint kadambi lakshmanacharya; , collection of seventy songs called shringarada hadugalu in praise of patron chikka devaraja (pen-name chikkadevaraja ).


lakshmisa, superb story-teller, dramatist , vaishnava faith, 1 of well-known writers of kavyas (narrative poems). kannada scholar h.s. shiva prakash opines lived in mid-16th century, r. narasimhacharya , historian nilakanta sastri claim active in late 17th century, during rule of king chikka devaraja. jaimini bharata, written in shatpadi metre, poet s kannada version of hindu epic mahabharata , 1 of popular poems of late medieval age. collection of stories, epic poem contains famous tale of sita parityaga ( repudiation of sita ). author has succeeded in converting religious story human tale, making popular in modern times. deft usage of language, poet earned honorific upamalola (lit. 1 of revels in similes , metaphors ).


singaraya, brother of tirumalarya ii, wrote mitravinda govinda (1680), earliest available classical drama in kannada. play inspired sanskrit drama ratnavali ( pearl necklace ) king harsha of kannauj. among notable women poets, srirangamma (1685) wrote padmini kalyana ( marriage of padmini ), , sanchi honnamma, vokkaliga yelandur, wrote hadibadeya dharma, on duties of faithful wife. work, won many accolades, in 9 sections, containing 479 stanzas, , written in sangatya metre. despite being employed betel bag bearer , maid queen devajammani, claimed alasingaraya, court poet, guru. work narrates struggles of women in society, , stresses need fulfill daily roles in family life.


other writers under patronage of king chikka devaraja were: chidananda, jain poet wrote philosophical compositions called tatwada kirtanegalu (1675), neeti nrimaya , munivamsha bhyudaya in sangatya metre; vaikunta dasa (1680), native of belur composed kirtanes on god vishnu (pen-name vaikunta ) , songs such kapatamata; timmakavi (hari vilasa in sangatya metre , yadavagiri mahatmya, 1677); mallikarjuna (sriranga mahatmya, 1678) , mallarasa (dasavatara charite)


some brahmin writers worthy of mention 17th century ramachandra (asrasastra), tirumalevaidya (uttara ramayana, 1650), nagarasa of pandharpur (bhagavadgite), timmarasa (kshetraganita on geometry), , venkayarya, haridasa of penukonda (krishnalilabhyudaya). among jains, padmana pandita (hayasara samuchchaya) , chandrashekara (ramachandra charitra, story of hindu god rama) notable. among veerashaiva writers, harisvara (prabhudeva purana), siddhananjesa, (raghavanka charitra , gururaja charitra), prasabhushana (or pemmisetti, gurubhaktandara charitre), mummadi tamma (sankara samhita), parvatesvara (chatuacharya purana) , sejjeya siddhalingaraya (malayaraja charite) well-known.


age of sarvajna

a mendicant veerashaiva poet, moralist , drifter days unclear, sarvajna (lit. knowing ), has left indelible mark on kannada literature , kannada-speaking people. known have been native of either abbalur or madagamasuru in dharwad district. based on literary evidence scholars place him variously between 16th , 18th centuries. prabhu prasad of sahitya akademi feels belonged 16th century while kannada scholars r. narasimhacharya , h.s. shiva prakash claim lived in 17th century. sarvajna goes credit of re-vitalising vachana poetic tradition. witty , didactic poems, numbering on 2,000, written using simple tripadi metre. clues in first fourteen of series of poems ( reminiscences of birth ) give indication birth, parentage , reasons leaving home @ age. poems after 14th focus on spiritual quest.


sarvajna, not known have acquired formal education, gained knowledge world, writing poems impromptu nature of people , places. according scholar naikar, sarvajna born sing truth , truth alone . poems cover vast range of topics, caste , religion economics , administration, arts , crafts family life , health. people broad spectrum of life commented upon: professionals such priests, astrologers, sorcerers, tax collectors , accountants; artisans such smiths, carpenters, tailors , potters; , businessmen such oil men, money-lenders, fishermen , farmers , have caught poet s discerning eye. sarvajna reserved compliments farmers, weavers, real spiritual seekers , chaste housewives. tomb in hirekerur town in haveri district said final resting place. poems, of end name sarvajna , constitute of kannada s popular works. sarvajna kannada language bhartrhari sanskrit language, vemana telugu , thiruvalluvar tamil. neither patronized royalty nor did write fame or money. main aim instruct people morality poems such these:



a begging bowl in hand,


a vast land wander in

the great god shiva guard me


what cause have fear, o sarvajna?



even tongue manages, surrounded


by teeth; should good


live among wicked, sarvajna.









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