Page #1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ 616 zrI puSkaramuni abhinandana pantha : SaSThama khaNDa Jain Sahitya in Kannada Literature 90.0.0.0 OOOO 0000 0.000.000 0000 B. S. Sannaiah, Institute of Kannada Studies Manas Gangotri, Mysore-6 Some scholars are of the opinion that Kannada literature was in existence even before the Christian era. Excepting the inscriptions, the first literary work available in Kannada is the Kavirajamarga wbich is written by Amoghavarsa Nspatunga in about 850 A. D. It appears from the references and the passages quoted in this work that there lived some Kannada poets earlier than its author. But unfortunately none of them is available. According to some scholars, the author of this Kavirajamarga is Amoghavarsa but according to some others, its author is the court poet, Srivijaya. Though it is said that Srivijaya wrote the Raghuvarsapurana, yet it is not available. Similarly, the works such as Harivamsa, Sadraka, by Gunavarma, Vatsarajacarite, by Nagavarma, Sulocanacarite by Nagananda, Bhuavanaikaramabhyudaya by Ponda etc., are lost beyond recovery. All these works belong to Jaina literature in Kannada. Thus the Kannada literature made its start with Jaina works. Besides the Kavirajamarga, we have two great literary Kavyas from the pen of the great poet Pampa e. 8., Adipurana and Vikramarjunavijaya, Pampa won the epithets such as Adikavi, Mabakavi of the Kannada poets. His works are counted as the first and foremost Kavyas and that Mahakavyas too. He lived in 941 A. D. Pampa was followed by Ponna (950 A. D.) who composed two Kavyas : one a religious poem called Santipurana and the other a secular poem by the name Bhuvanaikaramabhyudaya. Ranna (993 A, D.) who followed Ponna wrote two poems : one a religious and the other a secular one viz., Ajitar atrapurana and Gadayuddha or Sahasabhimavijaya. Thereafter Janna who lived in 1209 A. D. gave to the Kannada literary world his two poems such as Anantanathapurana and Yasodharacarite both of which are religious in character and contents. All these three poets won the epithet as Kavicakravarti. Nagachandra who lived in 1100 A. D. has been ascribed to the authorship of Ramacandracaritapurana or Pamparamayana, and Mallinathapurana The former work is styled on the model of Pampa's second work and due to this he is called himself as "Abhinavapampa" All these poets continued their writings in the same trend and each of them wrote a secular and a religious one, in the Campu style i. e., mixed with prose and poetry (more poetry and less prose). Apart from these literary works, the Jaina writers are said to have adventured to write books on scientific themes. Nagavarma (990 A. D.) wrote his book on prosody with the title Chandombudhi." The Madanatilaka which deals with errotics has been ascribed to Candraraja. Sridharacarya (1050 A. D.) wrote his Jatatilaka on astrology. Nagavarma il's (1040 A. D.) Kavyavalokana on poetics, Bhasabbusana, a grammar, Vastukosa, a dictionary, Chandovrtti on prosody, Jagaddala Somapatba's (1100 A D.) Kalyanakaraka, a treatise on medicine Khagendramanidar pana by Mangaraja on Vishavaidya are some of the excellent gifts contributed by the Jaina writers to the Kannada literature in particular and to the Indian literature in general. The Sabdamanidarpana of Kesiraja who lived in 1260 A. D. has won the popularity from both the olo
Page #2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ Jain Sahitya in Kannada Literature 617 . students and scholars as an ideal grammar of Kannada language and it has served as a model to the subsequent works on Kannada language. Besides the above mentioned works, Vardhamanapurana of Nagavarma II (1040 A, D.) who is the author of Kavyavalokana, Dharmamsta of Nayasena (1100 A. D.), Sukumaracarite of Santinatha (1070 A. D.), Samayaparikse of Brabmasiva (1150 A. D.), Neminathapurana of Karna parya (1140 A, D.), Neminathapurana of Nemicandra (1180 A. D.) etc., are some of the famous works which are written in Campu style. Thus from 9th to the 13th century A. D. the Jaina poets are seen engaged themselves in the product of works embracing all branches of Kannada literature and thereby won the reputation as poets, scientists, rhetoricians, compilators of dictionaries, astrologers, physicians and grammarians etc. Just as the Jaina writers have proved themselves to be the pioneers of the above branches of Kannada literature, they are said to be the first to bring about literary works in the prose style. Cavundaraya who is wellknown to the world as the one who got installed the collosal of Bahubali at Sravanabelgola wrote his prose work called Cavundarayapurana or Trisasthisalakapurusacarite After him Sivakotyacarya or Revakostacarya whose date has been put between 900-1070 A. D. wrote his famous Kannada prose work called Vaddharadhane which contains 19 stories of varied length and these stories are found sprinkled over with Prakrit gatbas. This period has been called as the Age of the Jainas or the Age of the Campu, because this age has seen mostly the works of Jaina writers. After the 15th century A. D., the Jaina poets started composing their poems in the Sangytya or Satpadi metres because these metres were being used popularly by poets of other communities. It is found later on that the Jaina saints wellversed in Sanskrit and Prakrit have written extensive commentaries in Kannada on some of the most important Jaina philosophical works in Sanskrit and Prakrit. Thus these saints have enriched this section of Kannada literature also. The works like Gommatasara, Padarthasara, Purusarthasiddhyupaya, Tattvaratnadipike, Pancastikaya etc. are made easily accessible to the Kannada readers only through these commentaries. Though Kannada literature repletes with works of Virasaiva and Brahmin writers, the Jaina literature forms a class by itself because of its being vast and varied in character and thus has become admirable to the Kannada world. -0-0-v ju-o-o-o-o- o-o-o-o - o -o o-oo oo-o -on I love India not because I cultivate the idolatory of geography, pot because I have had the chance to be born in her soil, but because she has saved through tumultuous ages the living words that have been issued from the illuminated consciousness of her great ones. - Rabindranath Tagore homo------ --------- -------- --a- c on- cond -0-- -