Raghavanka ( kn, ರಾಘವಾಂಕ) was a noted

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 ...

writer and a poet in the

Hoysala The Hoysala Empire was a Kannada people, Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially loca ...

court who flourished in the late 12th to early 13th century. Raghavanka is credited for popularizing the use of the native ''

shatpadi Shatpadi ( ) is a native meter in Kannada prosody that has been used extensively in Kannada poetry. It meter can usually have six padas of syllables, divided into groups of various fixed number of matra (beats) in each line. It was most efficien ...

'' metre (hexa metre, 6 line verse) in

Kannada literature Kannada literature is the Text corpus, corpus of written forms of the Kannada language, a member of the Dravidian language, Dravidian Language family, family spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka and written in the Kannada script. A ...

.Sastri (1955), p. 362 ''Harishchandra Kavya'', in ''shatpadi'' metre, is known to have been written with an interpretation unlike any other on the life of King

Harishchandra Harishchandra () is a legendary king of the Solar dynasty, who appears in several legends in texts such as the ''Aitareya Brahmana'', ''Mahabharata'', the ''Markandeya Purana'', and the ''Devi Bhagavata Purana''. The most famous of these storie ...

is well known and is considered one of the important classics of

Kannada language 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 sp ...

. He was a nephew and protégé of the noted Early 12-century Kannada poet

Harihara Harihara (Sanskrit: हरिहर) is the fused sattvika characterisation of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara) from Hindu theology. Hari is the form of Vishnu, and Hara is the form of Shiva. Harihara is also known as Shankaranarayana ("Shankara ...

.Narasimhacharya (1988), p. 20Kamath (2001), p. 134 Although the ''shatpadi'' metre tradition existed in Kannada literature prior to Raghavanka, Raghavanka inspired the usage of the flexible metre for generations of poets, both

Shaiva Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

(devotees of God

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

) and

Vaishnava Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

(devotees of God

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

) to come.Shiva Prakash in K. Ayyappapanicker (1997), p. 208

Epic Writings

*''Harishchandra Kavya'' *''Siddharama charitra'' *''Somanatha charitra'' *''Viresvara charita'' *''Hariharamahatva'' *''Sarabha charitra'' Although ''Harishchandra Kavya'' (c. 1200 or c. 1225) is Raghavanka's ''magnum opus'', it was rejected by his guru, poet Harihara (or Harisvara). In some ways, Raghavanka's writing surpasses his guru's talent, especially in describing characters in his story. Legend has it that his guru was aghast at Raghavanka Pandita, a devotee of Hindu God

, for writing about ordinary mortals (such as King Harishchandra) instead of writing about Veerashaiva saints. According to the same legend, five of Raghavanka's teeth "fell off instantly" for going against his guru's wishes. In order to expiate his sin, he authored five writings eulogising Veerashaiva saints, one writing for each fallen tooth, and the teeth "returned one by one".Shiva Prakash (1997), p. 206 According to another source, Raghavanka's guru physically abused him, punishing him for wasting his poetic talent in eulogising a mere mortal.Nagaraj in Pollock (2003), p. 364 These five writings are the ''Siddharama charitra'' (or ''Siddharama Purana''), a eulogy of the dynamic and compassionate 12th century Veerashiava saint Siddharama of Sonnalige which brings out a larger-than-life image of the saint in a simple yet stylistic narrative; the ''Somanatha charitra'', a propagandist work which describes the life of saint Somayya (or Adaiah) of Puligere, his humiliation after being lured by the charms of a

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an 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 time cycle being ...

girl, and his achievement of successfully converting a Jain temple into a Shiva temple; the ''Viresvara charita'', a dramatic story of the blind wrath of a Shaiva warrior Virabhadra; the ''Hariharamahatva'', a eulogy of Harisvara of

Hampi Hampi or Hampe, also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Hampi (town), Hampi town, Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire i ...

, and ''Sarabha charitra'', the last two works now considered lost.Shiva Prakash (1997), p. 207

Magnum opus

In the ''Harishchandra Kavya'', Raghavanka brings out the clash of personalities with lively dialogues; between sage

Vishvamitra Vishvamitra ( sa, विश्वामित्र, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gayatri Mant ...

and sage

Vashishta Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha an ...

, between Harishchandra and Vishvamitra and between Harishchandra and the "unreal" girls ("dancing girls"). Also narrated is Harishchandra's fidelity to truth against all odds and the redemption of Harishchandra after being rescued by an untouchable he had once rejected. According to professor L. S. Sheshagiri Rao of the Sahitya Akademi, in no other language has the story of King Harishchandra been dealt with this interpretation. The writing is original both in tradition and inspiration fully utilizing the potential of the ''shatpadi'' metre.Rao in Datta, Sahitya Akademi (1988), pp. 1181 One piece of

elegiac The adjective ''elegiac'' has two possible meanings. First, it can refer to something of, relating to, or involving, an elegy or something that expresses similar mournfulness or sorrow. Second, it can refer more specifically to poetry composed in ...

verse, written in the ''mandanila ragele'' metre (rhymed couplets) is the mourning of Chandramati over the death of her young son Lohitashva from snake bite, while gathering firewood for his Brahmin taskmaster.Sahitya Akademi (1988), p. 1149 The poem has remained popular for centuries and is recited by '' Gamakis'' (narration of story accompanied by music).

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{Karnataka topics History of Karnataka Kannada poets Poets from Karnataka 13th-century Indian poets 12th-century Indian poets Indian male poets Hoysala Empire