Brajanath Badajena (; 1729–1799) was an

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

author now best known for his historical ballad '' Samara Taranga''. He was born in Dhenkanal. Brajanath was patronized by several local rulers. His work was ''Samara Taranga'' appreciated the king of Dhenkanal for which he was given the title of Badajena.

Family

Brajanath Badajena was born Brajanath Patnaik to Balukeswar Patnaik. His family were descendants of 16th century poet Raghu Arakhita. He had three siblings who were serving the king of Dhenkanal. He was well versed in many languages such as Sanskrit, Prakrit, Hindi, Bengali and Telugu.

Writing

His major works were before introduction of printing press in Odisha. So all of his works are found in the form of Palm leaf manuscript. He has experimented with different forms of and styles of writing. He wrote ''Chatura Binoda'' (English translation "Four Tales of amusement" ) around 1770. This is regarded as one of the earliest Odia Fictional prose. The main story of this work is the romance between a prince and a rich merchant's daughter. There are several stories that follow when these 2 characters meet which in turn have more subplots. This form of fiction writing was not new but the usage of language makes it a nearly modern work. His magnum opus is ''Samara Taranga'' (English translation "Wave of war"), ballad written on Maratha -Dhenkanal war of 1781. He was an eyewitness to the battles and the poem is a testimony to the events. It has been historically accurate as the events and places mentioned have been corroborated by other sources. The king of Dhenkanal was pleased with his work and granted him a village named Nuagaon near the river Brahmani. His known works are listed below

Odia Poems and Ballads

* Ambika Bilasa * Bidesha Anuchinta * Bichakshana * Chandi Malasri * Dasapoi * Gopi Bilapa * Kelikalanidhi * Rajananku Chalokti * Janana O Sangeeta * Rajasabha * Samara Taranga * Syamarasotsava

Odia Prose

* Chatura Binoda

Hindi Poem

* Gundicha Bije

Later life

While a gifted poet/author he has had a difficult life. He was patronized by many kings such as Dhenkanal,

Keonjhar Kendujhar is a town with municipality in Kendujhar District in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kendujhar district, and it is one of the fifth scheduled areas of Odisha. Climate Politics Mohan char ...

. He however moved around from place to place to earn a livelihood. He spent later part of his life at

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

during the reign of Gajapati DibyaSimha Deva II .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badajena, Brajanath 18th-century Indian poets People from Dhenkanal district Odia-language writers Odia-language poets Poets from Odisha Odissi music composers 1729 births 1799 deaths