Ranna (Kannada: ರನ್ನ) was one of the earliest and arguably one of the greatest poets of the Kannada language. His style of writing is often compared to that of Adikavi Pampa who wrote in the early 10th century. Together, Ranna, Adikavi Pampa and Sri Ponna are called "three gems of ancient Kannada literature".[1][2][3]
Ranna was a 10th-century Kannada poet.[4] He was born in 949 C.E. in ancient Belagali, known now as RannaBelagali in the Bagalkot district of the modern Karnataka state in India, to a family of bangle sellers.[5]
Literature
During his early days as a writer, Ranna may have been patronised by Chavundaraya (or Chavundaraya), the famous minister of the Western Ganga Dynasty.[6] With the rise of the imperial Western Chalukya Empire, Ranna became an important poet in the court of King Tailapa II and his successor King Satyashraya who bestowed upon him the title Kavi Chakravarti (lit, "Emperor among poets").[5]
The writings of Ranna are in Halegannada (lit, "old Kannada"). Of the five known major works accomplished by him, two are available in full and one in part. They are: Ajitha purana, Parashuramacharithe (extinct), Saahasabhima Vijaya (also known as Gadaayuddha), Rannakanda and Chakresvaracharite (extinct).[7][5][6][8][9]
Ajitha Purana (993 C.E.) is a Jain champu (a form of composition) purana written in twelve sections on the life of Ajitanatha, the second Tirthankar. Ranna wrote this purana under the patronage of a Jain lady called Attimabbe, the wife of general Nagavarma.[5]RannaKanda (990 C.E.), so called because it is written in the Kanda meter, is the earliest extant dictionary in the Kannada language. Only twelve sections of this writing are available.[5][8]Parusharama Charite (around 980 C.E.) is a eulogy of the Ganga minister and commander Chamundaraya. The poet held his patron in such high esteem that he claims to have named his son "raya" in honor of his patron (who had the honorific Samara Parashurama).[6]
Saahasabhimavijaya or Gadayuddha (lit, "The duel of maces") is undoubtedly Ranna's magnum opus that was accomplished in an age of writings on "heroism", that describe the valor of important personalities (vira rasa and roudrarasa). Written around 1000 C.E. (though some scholars believe it was a product of a more youthful Ranna), it is one of the enduring classics of the language where the poet compares the valor of his patron Chalukya King Satyashraya to the Pandava prince Bhima of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.[9] Ranna keeps with the trend started by Adikavi Pampa who in 941 C.E. compared his patron Chalukya King Arikesari (a Rashtrakuta vassal) to the Pandava prince Arjuna in the classic Vikramarjunavijaya (also called Pampa Bharata).[9] While acknowledging that Ranna may have found some inspiration from earlier writings such as Urubhanga of Bhasa and Venisamhara or Bhattanarayana, scholars concede that Gadayuddha has an originality of its own. Modern scholars see similarities between Ranna's usage of the "adult imps" (called murulgal) that stalk the battlefield of Kurukshetra and warn Kaurava prince Duryodhana (Bhima's adversary in battle) about his impending death, and the description of witches by latter day famed English playwright, Shakespeare. Some scholars believe that Gadayuddha may have been conceived as a play before being completed as a champukavya (epic poem in kavya style and champu meter).[10]
While the theme of the narration centers around the battle of maces between Bhima and Duryodhana on the last day of the eighteen-day war, the poet uses a technique similar to flashbacks in modern cinema to enlighten the reader with important events that led to the war and those events that transpired on the battlefield.[11] Bhima is undoubtedly the hero of the day for slaying his foe and thus avenging the insult suffered by his wife Draupadi at the hands of Dushshasana (Duryodhana's brother) prior to the war. However, Ranna skillfully depicts Duryodhana as a "great soul" (mahanubhava), who despite his sins, was a brave kshatriya on the battlefield, and a true friend to Karna (another important character in the epic).[11]
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kannada language literature.
Notes
^Kamath 1980, p. 114. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKamath1980 (help)
^Sastri 1955, p. 356. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSastri1955 (help)
Kamath, Suryanath U. (2001) [1980], A concise history of Karnataka : from pre-historic times to the present, Bangalore: Jupiter books, LCCN 80905179, OCLC 7796041
Nagaraj, D.R. (2003) [2003], "Critical Tensions in the History of Kannada Literary Culture", in Sheldon I. Pollock (ed.), Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia, Berkeley and London: University of California Press. Pp. 1066, pp. 323–383, ISBN0-520-22821-9
Sastri, K.A. Nilakanta (2002) [1955], A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar, New Delhi: Indian Branch, Oxford University Press, ISBN0-19-560686-8
ranna, kannada, poet, ranna, kannada, ರನ, earliest, arguably, greatest, poets, kannada, language, style, writing, often, compared, that, adikavi, pampa, wrote, early, 10th, century, together, ranna, adikavi, pampa, ponna, called, three, gems, ancient, kannada,. Ranna Kannada ರನ ನ was one of the earliest and arguably one of the greatest poets of the Kannada language His style of writing is often compared to that of Adikavi Pampa who wrote in the early 10th century Together Ranna Adikavi Pampa and Sri Ponna are called three gems of ancient Kannada literature 1 2 3 RannaNative nameರನ ನBorn949 ADRann Belagali Bagalkot District KarnatakaDied1020 AD aged 71 OccupationPoetNotable worksSaahasabhima Vijaya Ranna KandaRelativesJinavallabha father Abbalabbe mother Inscrbed handwriting in Kannada characters of Ranna reads Kavi Ratna gem among poets at Shravanabelagola Contents 1 Biography 2 Literature 3 See also 4 Notes 5 ReferencesBiography EditRanna was a 10th century Kannada poet 4 He was born in 949 C E in ancient Belagali known now as RannaBelagali in the Bagalkot district of the modern Karnataka state in India to a family of bangle sellers 5 Literature EditDuring his early days as a writer Ranna may have been patronised by Chavundaraya or Chavundaraya the famous minister of the Western Ganga Dynasty 6 With the rise of the imperial Western Chalukya Empire Ranna became an important poet in the court of King Tailapa II and his successor King Satyashraya who bestowed upon him the title Kavi Chakravarti lit Emperor among poets 5 The writings of Ranna are in Halegannada lit old Kannada Of the five known major works accomplished by him two are available in full and one in part They are Ajitha purana Parashuramacharithe extinct Saahasabhima Vijaya also known as Gadaayuddha Rannakanda and Chakresvaracharite extinct 7 5 6 8 9 Ajitha Purana 993 C E is a Jain champu a form of composition purana written in twelve sections on the life of Ajitanatha the second Tirthankar Ranna wrote this purana under the patronage of a Jain lady called Attimabbe the wife of general Nagavarma 5 RannaKanda 990 C E so called because it is written in the Kanda meter is the earliest extant dictionary in the Kannada language Only twelve sections of this writing are available 5 8 Parusharama Charite around 980 C E is a eulogy of the Ganga minister and commander Chamundaraya The poet held his patron in such high esteem that he claims to have named his son raya in honor of his patron who had the honorific Samara Parashurama 6 Saahasabhimavijaya or Gadayuddha lit The duel of maces is undoubtedly Ranna s magnum opus that was accomplished in an age of writings on heroism that describe the valor of important personalities vira rasa and roudrarasa Written around 1000 C E though some scholars believe it was a product of a more youthful Ranna it is one of the enduring classics of the language where the poet compares the valor of his patron Chalukya King Satyashraya to the Pandava prince Bhima of the Hindu epic Mahabharata 9 Ranna keeps with the trend started by Adikavi Pampa who in 941 C E compared his patron Chalukya King Arikesari a Rashtrakuta vassal to the Pandava prince Arjuna in the classic Vikramarjunavijaya also called Pampa Bharata 9 While acknowledging that Ranna may have found some inspiration from earlier writings such as Urubhanga of Bhasa and Venisamhara or Bhattanarayana scholars concede that Gadayuddha has an originality of its own Modern scholars see similarities between Ranna s usage of the adult imps called murulgal that stalk the battlefield of Kurukshetra and warn Kaurava prince Duryodhana Bhima s adversary in battle about his impending death and the description of witches by latter day famed English playwright Shakespeare Some scholars believe that Gadayuddha may have been conceived as a play before being completed as a champukavya epic poem in kavya style and champu meter 10 While the theme of the narration centers around the battle of maces between Bhima and Duryodhana on the last day of the eighteen day war the poet uses a technique similar to flashbacks in modern cinema to enlighten the reader with important events that led to the war and those events that transpired on the battlefield 11 Bhima is undoubtedly the hero of the day for slaying his foe and thus avenging the insult suffered by his wife Draupadi at the hands of Dushshasana Duryodhana s brother prior to the war However Ranna skillfully depicts Duryodhana as a great soul mahanubhava who despite his sins was a brave kshatriya on the battlefield and a true friend to Karna another important character in the epic 11 See also Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kannada language literature Notes Edit Kamath 1980 p 114 sfn error no target CITEREFKamath1980 help Sastri 1955 p 356 sfn error no target CITEREFSastri1955 help Sen 1999 p 583 Upinder Singh 2016 p 29 a b c d e Sastri 2002 p 356 a b c Kamath 2001 p 45 Kamath 2001 p 114 a b Mukherjee 1999 p 324 a b c Datta 1988 p 1335 Datta 1988 pp 1335 1336 a b Datta 1988 p 1336 References EditKamath Suryanath U 2001 1980 A concise history of Karnataka from pre historic times to the present Bangalore Jupiter books LCCN 80905179 OCLC 7796041 Nagaraj D R 2003 2003 Critical Tensions in the History of Kannada Literary Culture in Sheldon I Pollock ed Literary Cultures in History Reconstructions from South Asia Berkeley and London University of California Press Pp 1066 pp 323 383 ISBN 0 520 22821 9 Sastri K A Nilakanta 2002 1955 A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar New Delhi Indian Branch Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 560686 8 Datta Amaresh 1988 1988 Encyclopaedia of Indian literature vol 2 Sahitya Akademi ISBN 81 260 1194 7 Mukherjee Sujit 1999 1999 Dictionary of Indian Literature One Beginnings 1850 New Delhi Orient Blackswan ISBN 81 250 1453 5 Sen Sailendra Nath 1999 1999 Ancient Indian History and Civilization New Age Publishers ISBN 81 224 1198 3 Singh Upinder 2016 A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India From the Stone Age to the 12th Century Pearson Education ISBN 978 93 325 6996 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ranna Kannada poet amp oldid 1119887857, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
