Hampa Nagarajaiah (born 7 October 1936), popularly known by his pen name Hampanā, is an Indian scholar in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

language and

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

. He was born at Hampasandra Village located in

Gowribidanur Gauribidanur is a taluk situated in Chikkaballapur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Geography Gauribidanur is at . It has an average elevation of 694 metres (2276 feet). Demographics India census A census is the proc ...

taluk, Chikkaballapura District in the Indian state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. Hampanā is married to

Kamala Hampana Kamala Hampana (Kannada: ಕಮಲಾ ಹಂಪನಾ) (born 28 October 1935) is an Indian writer in Kannada language and Jainism. She was born at Devanahalli, Bangalore, Karnataka. She worked as a scholar, a professor, and a follower of ancien ...

who also a veteran littérateur.

Academics

Hampanā completed his early education in his native village and neighbouring towns such as Gowribidanur, Madhugiri, Tumkur and

Mandya Mandya is a city in the state of Karnataka. It is the headquarter of Mandya district and is located from Mysore and from Bangalore. Sugar factories contribute to the major economic output. It is also called Sugar city (which in Kannada mean ...

. Later he moved to

Maharaja's College, Mysore Maharaja's College, Mysore (1889) is a college affiliated to Mysore University. History The college finds its origins in the English-school known as "Maharaja Patashala" established by Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wadiyar III in 1833, at t ...

from where he did his graduation with a BA (Honours) and completed his post-graduation in

under the intellectual inspiration of

Kuvempu Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa (29 December 1904 – 11 November 1994), popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He was ...

, T. N. Srikantaiah,

D. L. Narasimhachar Doddabele Lakshmi Narasimhachar (27 October 1906 – 7 May 1971) was a Kannada linguist, grammarian, lexicographer, writer, literary critic and editor who taught at the Department of Kannada Language Studies, University of Mysore between 1932 ...

, S.V. Parameshwara Bhatta, K Venkataramappa, Javaregowda at University of Mysore in 1959. He was soon appointed as a lecturer in Kannada and served at Mysore Maharani's Arts and Commerce College for Women, Mysore, Sahyadri Science College of

Shimoga Shimoga, officially known as Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the central part of the state of Karnataka, India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of ...

and Government College at

, DRM Science College at

Davanagere Davanagere is a city in the centre of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the seventh largest city in the state, and the administrative headquarters of eponymous Davangere district. Hitherto being a cotton hub and hence popularly known ...

and Govt. Arts & Science College at

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. Meanwhile, he acquired PhD from

Bangalore University Bangalore University (BU) is a public state university located in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The university is a part of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and affiliated by Univers ...

for A Comprehensive study of Vaddaradhane.

Lectures

Hampanā has delivered guest lectures on Jainism at universities in UK,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and United States. He has also delivered lectures on

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

poetics Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry. History The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...

and Jain literature at Bengaluru University, Mysore University, Mangalore University,

Karnataka University Karnatak University is a public state university in Dharwad district of Karnataka state, India. The university is recognized by University Grants Commission and accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). As of 2014, ...

Kuvempu University Kuvempu University is a public state university in Shankaraghattta, Bhadravathi taluk, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India. It was established in 1987 by the act of the Karnataka state legislature through amendment No. 28/1976 dated 29 January 1989 ...

Mumbai University The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

and Madhurai Kamaraj University.

Administrator

He served in capacities like professor and dean of arts faculty at Bengaluru University. He also officiated as Director of the Jain Research Centre, Institute of Jain Studies, and Department of Kannada and Culture in

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...

before retiring in 1996. He also served as an honorary secretary of the Kannada Literary Chair called Kannada Sahitya Parishat from 1966 to 1974 and was elected as its president for three terms from 1978–1986. During his tenure he has published about 300 books in Kannada authored by scholars. When

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

declared 1979 as International Year of the Child he published through KaSaPa, 200 books for children written by different writers. He is the man behind erecting a building to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of KaSaPa in the premise of Kannada Saahithya Parishath. He is a visiting professor in many Universities and is serving as an honorary member of the advisory committee at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

, England and

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

, US.

Felicitation volumes

His students and admirers with due respect and love have offered him several felicitation volumes on different occasions. All these are filled with articles on scholastic importance. They can be listed as, * Pachethene (in 1983) Ed: T K Mahamood and S M Krishnaraya * Samkriti (in 1988) Ed: D. H J Lakkappa Gowda and Prof. Sukanya Maruthi * Samkarshana (in 1996) Ed: J Jnanananda & Dr. Sanjeev K Shetty * Baraha baagina (in 1997) Ed: H V Nagesh * HamGranthavali (in 1997) (A compendium of his works) Ed: Smitha Reddy & Tamil Selvi * Hampanā Vangmaya (in 2007) (Another compilation of his works) Ed: Dr. M Bhyregowa & B R Sathyanarayana * Svasti (in 2010) Ed:Prof. Nalini Balbir,

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

Awards

Hampanā is conferred with many awards. The latest is Naadoja Award (Teacher of the Land) conferred by

Kannada University Kannada University, also called Hampi Kannada University or Hampi University or Kannada University, Hampi, is a research-oriented public university in Hampi, Karnataka, founded in 1991 by the Government of Karnataka through the Kannada Universit ...

in 2006. The Acharya Sri Mahaprajna Jain Sahitya award, constituted by Jain Shwetambar Terapanth Sabha, was conferred on litterateur Dr. Hampa Nagarajaiah., consisting of a cash of Rs. 51,000 and a memento, on 13 July 2008. Jain World Foundation USA has bestowed upon him the honor by awarding the prestigious ‘Jewel of Jain World’ award on

Mahaveer Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6 ...

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

day of 2013. This award is given to selected few who have dedicated their life to serve the cause of Jainism and made significant contribution to propagate Jainism globally and enhance visibility of Jainism worldwide. Apart from this he is bestowed with

Karnataka Sahitya Academy Karnataka Sahitya Academy is an autonomous organization set up by the government of Karnataka to promote Kannada literature and recognize literary merit by giving awards. It is fully funded by the Directorate of Kannada and Culture, Government of ...

award in 1993–94, Janapada Yakshagana Academy award in 1995, National award for the best child literature in 1990, Chavundaraya award in 1996, Kavyananda award in 1997,

Karnataka Rajyotsava ''Kannada Rajyotsava'', also known as Karnataka Formation Day or Karnataka Day, is a state public holiday and celebrated on 1 November of every year. This was the day in 1956 when all the Kannada language-speaking regions of south western Indi ...

award in 1998, Shasana Sahitya award and Chi Na Mangala awards in 2001, Sham Baa Joshi award in 2000. Hampanā is felicitated by the monasteries like Nidumamidi Matha,

Sringeri Matha Dakṣināmnāya Śrī Śāradā Pītham or Śri Śringeri Maṭha (, ; sa, मठ, ) is one amongst the four cardinal Matha, pīthams following the Daśanāmi Sampradaya - the ''peetham'' or ''matha'' is said to have been established by ach ...

, Chitradurga Brihanmatha, Savalagi Matha, Shravanabelagola Matha, Moorusavira Matha and Ilakal Mahantesha Matha for his contribution towards religion and literature. He is honoured with KundKund Gyanpeeth award at

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...

, Babulal Amrithlal Sha Gold Medal at

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

, Acharya Sumathi Sagar award from

Sonagiri Sonagiri ( hi, सोनागिरी) or Swarnagiri about 60 km from Gwalior, has scores of Jain temples dating from the 9th century onwards. It is located in the Datia district of Madhya Pradesh, India. This location is popular among ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

for his significant contribution to Jain literature. The civic societies of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and Shimoga have bestowed upon him the titles Sahitya Sindhu in 1997 and as Jnanabhaskara in 2001 respectively. In 2016 Hampana was bestowed with the prestigious

Pampa Prashasti The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...

instituted by the

. Recognising his contributions towards the classical Kannada he was chosen by the Human Resource Ministry of the Union Government of India to the honour of President's certificate.

Charu Vasantha

Starting from Pampa, the Kannada literary world has seen many great epics. During the last one century it has seen a greatest number of epics. Among them are Sri Ramayana Darshanam of

, Bharatha Sindhu Rashmi of

Vinayaka Krishna Gokak Vinayaka Krishna Gokak (9 August 1909 – 28 April 1992), abbreviated in Kannada as Vi. Kru. Gokak, was an Indian historian and writer in the Kannada language and a scholar of English and Kannada literatures. He was the fifth writer to be hono ...

, Bhavyamaanava of S. S. Bhoosnurmath. The poet Latha Rajashekhara has composed three epics on

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, Basava and Budha, a greatest achievement in one's lifetime.

Charu Vasantha Charu is a word derived from Sanskrit that refers to something beautiful, graceful and pure in a spiritual sense. The word also means “one who is radiant and graceful” And is often used in the Ramayana for praising Lord Rama. It refers t ...

is another great epic and is unique in its exposition in the history of Kannada literature. It is a romance story of Charu Datta a Jain mechant and Vasanta Tilake, the harlot with astounding beauty. He was jolted with his affluent property to her and lost the glory of his profession. However, he works hard and regains everything he had lost. Meanwhile impressed by his attitude, Vasanta Tilake marries him. The caste and creed does not play any role in their union. Mitravati who is already leading a married life with Charudatta, wilfully accepts his marriage with Vasantha Tilake. Even his mother endorse this wedding. The story is folk type and characters appear befitting to it. This classic also emphasises the earthly flavours and also one's final abode. Hampana has knitted this present intricate but narrative theme in its desi style, which also amalgamates the meters of

Ragale Ragale (Kannada: ರಗಳೆ ) is a type of meter in Kannada prosody that is used in Kannada poetry. This meter can usually have as many padas of syllables divided into two groups of various fixed number of matra in each line. It is the mo ...

, Champu, Shatpadi and alienated styles of prosody in Kannada. A few of the words which have become oblivion have been revived in this classic, denoting Hampana's linguistic erudition. The roots of this fascinating chronicle are deep with their niche in early medieval poetry. The multidimensional multi-layered story has journeyed for over two millennia and finally found its rebirth in

. The poem is

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

and secular, with not a whiff of intolerance or hatred towards other religions or way of life. This word is translated into many other languages such as

Rajasthani Rajasthani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Rajasthan, a state of India * Rajasthani languages, a group of languages spoken there * Rajasthani people, the native inhabitants of the region * Rajasthani architecture * Rajasthani art ...

, Banjara,

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

, Oriya,

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. Alva's Center for Theatrical Studies in Moodabidri, under the direction of Jeevan Ram Sulya has enacted ''Charuvasantha'' in houseful theatres at

Moodabidri Moodabidri ( kn, ಮೂಡುಬಿದಿರೆ ''Mūḍubidire''; also called Mudbidri, Moodbidre and Bedra), is a town and taluk in Dakshina Kannada district. It lies 34 km northeast of the district headquarters, Mangalore, in Karnat ...

Mysuru Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

, Chitradurga,

Gauribidanur Gauribidanur is a taluk situated in Chikkaballapur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Geography Gauribidanur is at . It has an average elevation of 694 metres (2276 feet). Demographics India census A census is the proc ...

Tumakuru Tumkur, officially renamed as Tumakuru, is a city located in the southern part of Indian state of Karnataka. Tumkur is situated at a distance of northwest of Bangalore, the state capital along NH 48 and NH 73. It is the headquarters of the ...

, Sulya and Dharwar.

On Kannada

Hampana's scholarship in Kannada is most significantly depicted in his work called Spectrum of Classical Literature in Kannada which gives a sporadic illustration of Kannada language, culture and tradition in 5 volumes. He is one among the very few who are proficient in Ancient form of Kannada, popularly known as Halagannada. He can speak in authority on

and Jain Vastu. In his volume he emphasizes how the Jain epics influenced the growth of Kannada. With a proficiency in Kannada and Jainology, his mastery over English,

and

made him recognized by the universities round the globe. Prof Hampana in his latest work Spectrum of Classical Literature in Karnataka-5 gives a sporadic illustration of the Kannada language and poetics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hampana 1936 births Kannada-language writers Living people People from Chikkaballapur district University of Mysore alumni Academic staff of the University of Mysore Scholars of Jainism 20th-century Indian Jains Writers from Karnataka Bangalore University alumni 21st-century Indian Jains