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Studies in Jainology, Prakrit
developed in him a special liking for the diction of the Prakrit literary speech. The Cavundaraya Purana of the great Cavumdaraya (c.978 A.D.) who wrote a Kannada Commentary on the Gommaṭasara of his teacher ñcārya Nemicandra, also shows the influence of Middle Indo-Aryan literature (in Jaina Śauraseni, Ardhamagadhi and Apabhramsa) but not to the extene as that of the Vaddaradhanc.
Similarly some of the early Camp works like the Adipurāṇa of Pampa (941 A.D.), the Santipurana of Fonna (950 A.D.) and the Ajitapurana of Ranna (993 A.D.), all Jaina works, indicate some direct or indirect influence of Pradrit literature. In these works are foud backformations from Prakrit like paguda, carige, vigurrvisu etc., the birth of which appear to have been owing to such author's being influenced by their some Pradrit sources along which the Sanskrit ones.
Moreover, these carly Campū works, begining from Pampa, were influenced by the Apabhraṁsa metre “Pajjhadia”ll which was adapted to Kannada suitably. Pampa was the first known poet to adapt this Apabhramsa metre which later came to be known as "Raghaṭā" or "Ragale»12 with its three varieties Utsäha, Mandānila and Lalita. This "Ragale" mctre in Kannada continued to hold its sway on the minds of the later poets to such an extent that with further adaptations it fimally appeared as 'Sarala Ragale' and continued to be used till the recent days of the 20th century when the Jñanapitha Award winner Rāmāyaṇadarsanam of Kuvempu is also composed in this very metre. Coming back to Pampa, he must have sufficiently read the Apabhramsa poetry and adapted it sutiably in his works. At this context it is interesting to know that in those days the Prakrit poets also read the works of the Kannada poets with the same zeal and sympathy: Dhavala, an Apabhramsa poet of the 10th Cent. A.D., appreciates in his Harivamsa Purana the work of a Kannada Poet Asaga (c.900 A.D.) in glowing terms." :
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