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Kannada Literature / 157
5.6.3.8. Ponna's place in Kannada literature, both in temporal terms and from the point of poetic excellence, is decidedly next to Pampa. Pampa, Ponna, and Ranna have been befittingly admired with the title of ratna-trayas ('threegems') and Jina-samaya-dipakas, illuminators of Jaina faith. Pampa and Ponna were protegee of the Raṣṭrakūṭas and Ranna started his lifework under Gangas, the Raṭṭas of Sundatti, who were the Raṣṭrakūṭa vassals. That apart, Ranna continued ward of the same Attimabbe family which patronised Ponna. Infact, Ranna has continued to record the genealogy of his parton's family from where Ponna had stopped.
5.6.3.8.1. Ranna (993), Nagavarma (1042), Santinātha (1062), Nayasena (1112), Karṇapārya (1145), Brahmasiva (1175), Rudrabhaṭṭa (1185), Kēśirāja (1270) Madhura (1385) and a host of other poets have extoled the poetic excellence of Ponna, which shows that he was held in highest regard.
5.6.3.9. Among the popular Jinaśāsanadēvis, goddess Ambika has a prominent place [Nagarajaiah, hampa : YakṣaYakṣi 1976]. Ponna is the earliest of Kannada poets to mention and record the legend of Ambika in one of his verses of Santipuraṇa.
5.6.4. Manasija-Kandarpa (C. 900 C. E.), an author of note composed a Kannada poem, outstanding for its novel dēsi, oozing nine sentiments of poetic composition, and for its path of radiance. Recognising such merits, Durgasimha (1031), earliest Kannada poet to mention the name of Manasija, has equated the work(s) of Manasija with that of better poets like Asaga (C. 9th cent.) and Candrabhaṭṭa. In the chronological sequence, Durgasimha has appropriately placed Manasija after Asaga.
5.6.4.1. Kēśirāja (1270), best grammarian of Kannada language, has acknowledged that the excellent convention
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