Balarama Dasa (alternatively spelled ''Balaram Das''; ; ) was an Odia poet and

litterateur An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or as ...

. He was one of the 5 great poets in Odia literature, the Panchasakha during the Bhakti age of literature. He was the eldest of the Pancha sakha. He wrote the

Jagamohana Ramayana Jagamohana Ramayana ( or, ଜଗମୋହନ ରାମାୟଣ) also known as Dandi Ramayana popularly across Odisha is an epic poem composed by the 15th-century poet Balarama Dasa. This work is a retelling of the Ramayana though not a direct tra ...

also known as Dandi Ramayana.

Personal life

Not much is known about his early life. From his own writings it is known that he was the son of Somanatha Mahapatra and Jamuna Debi. Somanatha was a minister of Gajapati Prataparudra Deva's court and originally belonged to the village of Erabanga in Puri district. He was educated and was well versed in Sanskrit. Balarama naturally grew to be proficient in both Odia and Sanskrit. He became a devotee of Jagannatha. In his Middle Ages he came in contact with Sri Chaitanya. It is speculated that he died while on a pilgrimage to Puri in Begunia village near Konark. There is a memorial for him near this village.

Literary works

Jagannatha triad worshipped by Balarama Dasa at Erabanga Pitha

Dasa translated the Ramayana to Odia. It is also known as Jagamohana Ramayana or Dandi Ramayana. More than a translation, the work is a transcreation, as it deviates in many ways from the original. In some parts he goes against the original text and in some parts follows the original text closely and yet in some other parts he creates entirely new narratives. He also broke new grounds by translating the Bhagabat Gita into Odia. Before this the philosophical and theological texts were not translated into Odia. Even in Odia Mahabharata by

Sarala Das Sarala Dasa (born as Siddheswara Parida) was a 15th-century poet and scholar of Odia literature. Best known for three Odia books — ''Mahabharata'', '' Vilanka Ramayana'' and ''Chandi Purana'' — he was the first scholar to write in Odia and h ...

a, the portion containing Bhagabata Gita was omitted by the author. Balarama Dasa was subsequently persecuted by the priestly class for his translation of Bhagabata Gita. His other works are as below.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasa, Jagannatha Indian male poets Odia-language poets Poets from Odisha Odia people Year of birth uncertain 16th-century Indian poets Devotees of Jagannath Odissi music composers Shudra Hindu saints Odia Hindu saints 15th-century Indian poets 1472 births 1556 deaths Vaishnava saints 15th-century Hindu religious leaders