Purushottama Dasa (alternatively spelled ''Purushottam Das''; ; ) was a sixteenth century Odia poet
and devotee of
lord Jagannath.
He was very popular for his poem "Kanchi Kaveri", based on a real historical incident.
Life & work
Purushottam Das was born a
Gopal
Gopal may refer to:
* Gopal (caste), a social community of Odisha in India
* Gopal (Krishna), the infant/child form of Lord Krishna
* Gopal Bansa, ancient Kingdom in Nepal
* The Gopalas, an early Gaudiya Vaishnava institution
* Gandhian Organisatio ...
(Yadav) family in the
Puri district
Puri district is a coastal district of the Odisha state of India. It has one sub-division, 11 tahasils and 11 blocks and comprises 1722 revenue villages. Puri is the only municipality of the district. Konark, Pipili and Nimapara are the thre ...
of Odisha, the son of Bhagirathi Das. He was a resident of Puri, where he kept the accounts for the
Puri Jagannath temple. This explains his ability to recount his personal experiences of the festivals and other ceremonies observed in the temple, as shown in the lines of the "Kanchi Kaveri". He was conversant with the facts of history and the myths and legends connected with the deities and the Gajapati Kings of Puri. The "Kanchi Kaveri" described the myths connected with Jagannath as an unseen power leading the army of the Gajapati king of Odisha, the legends of
Manika Gauduni and the
Lord Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...
and
Balaram
Balarama (Sanskrit: बलराम, IAST: ''Balarāma'') is a Hindu god and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Balad ...
, and the story of King
Purushottama Deva
Vira Pratapa Purushottama Deva (Odia: ବୀରପ୍ରତାପ ପୁରୁଷୋତ୍ତମ ଦେବ) was the second Gajapati emperor of Odisha who ruled from 1467 to 1497 C.E. He was the second ruler from the Suryavamsa Gajapati Empire. ...
's love for and marriage to a princess of
Kanchi
Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its templ ...
; these were all woven skilfully into the poem, rendering it a piece of classic historical literature in verse.
Das’s "Kanchi Kaveri" is considered a unique and pioneering work, and it was translated into
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 ...
by
Rangalal Bandyopadhyay. Of his other works, "Ganga Mahatmya" (Greatness of the Ganga), a puranic poem on the mythological theme of the first flow of the sacred river, was popular enough to be printed in Bengali script for use among the Bengali readers. "Mriguni Stuti", "Dutia Osha" and "Gundicha Bije" are also ascribed to his authorship.
See also
*
Manika (film)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasa, Purushottama
Indian male poets
Odia-language poets
Poets from Odisha
Odia people
Year of birth uncertain
16th-century Indian poets
Devotees of Jagannath
Odia Hindu saints