Medieval Kannada Literature - Secular Literature

Secular Literature

Kannada literary works treating algebra, arithmetic and geometry have been written by Rajaditya, Bhaskaracharya of Bijapur, Thimmarasa and others. The 9th century mathematician Mahaviracharya, a native of Gulbarga, was patronised by the Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha I. Commentaries on the theories in his ganitasarasangraha (a Sanskrit work) were later translated to Kannada. Rajaditya (1190) showed skill in reducing to easy verse the mathematical subjects (ganita) in his writings called Vyavahara-ganita, Kshetraganita and Lilavati. In the court of Hoysala Veera Ballala III, Ratta Kavi (1300) wrote Rattamala and Rattasutra bearing on the subjects of natural phenomena such as rain, lightning, earthquakes, planets and omens. The earliest available writing on astrology is Jatakatilaka by Sridharacharya (1049), a Jain who also authored a work on general science called Sastrakavita and was patronised by Western Chalukya King Somesvara I. In the field of medicine, Jagadalla Somanatha's Karnataka-Kalyanakara of 1150 prescribing a totally vegetarian and non-alcoholic diet, a translation of Pujyapada's Sanskrit Kalyanakaraka is the earliest available and is in champu style. Gajanakusha (also known as Gajaga or Narayana) who wrote on erotics in the mid 10th century was a minister in the court of Rashtrakuta King Krishna III, though his works have not come down to us. Chandraraja (1025), who was patronised by Machiraja, a feudatory of Western Chalukya Jayasimha II wrote the earliest available book on erotism called Madanakatilaka, in champu metre in 18 chapters. The writing dwells on the subject as a conversation between the author's patron and his wife.

Govidya is the earliest available writing on veterinary science. It was authored by prince Kirtivarma in 1100 in the court of his brother and the famous Western Chalukya King Vikramaditya VI. Nagavarma I (980), a Brahmin scholar from Vengi in modern Andhra Pradesh who was patronised by Chavundaraya, a Western Ganga minister wrote Chandombudhi (ocean of prosody) addressed to his wife. This is considered the earliest available Kannada writing in prosody. He also wrote one of the earliest available romance classics called Karnataka Kadambari in sweet and flowing champu (mixed verse and prose). It is based on an earlier romance work in Sanskrit by poet Bana and is popular among critics. The earliest known grammarian in Kannada is Nayasena (1112) but his works are considered extinct. Among existing literature, Nagavarma II's Karnataka-bhashabhushana is from 1145. Nagavarma II was the poet laureate in the court of Western Chalukya King Jagadhekamalla II. In this book, the sutras and short explanation are in Sanskrit and the illustrations are from Kannada literature. In 1260, Kesiraja wrote a comprehensive book on Kannada grammar called Sabdamanidarpana (mirror of word jewels). The rules here are set forth in kanda metre and followed by a prose commentary by the author and is considered a writing of high value.

Sisumayana introduced the earliest writings in the sangatya metre in his works Anjanacharita and Tripura-dahana, the later being a poem on the destruction of the triple fortress of birth, decay and death. The earliest known lexicon in Kannada is the Ranna Kanda (990) by the great poet Ranna with each verse ending with kaviratna. Ranna was the poet laureate (Kavichakravarti) of Western Chalukya kings Tailapa II and Satyasraya and was bestowed the royal attributes of golden rod, royal umbrella and an elephant by his patrons. The earliest books on cookery were written by Jayabandhunandana, Mangarasa. A book on toxicology was written by Mangaraja I in 1360 called Khagendramani-darpana. Among fiction writers, Nemichandra who was patronised by Hoysala Veera Ballala II wrote Lilavati in 1170. This story is a romance fiction based on an earlier work in 610 called Vasavadatta by Subhandu with the scene of action in Banavasi. A Kadamba prince and a princess dream of each other, meet after many delays and are finally wedded to live happily ever after. Dramas make their arrival into Kannada literature with Malavi-Madhava by Karnaparya (1140) and Subhadraharana and Prabodhachandra by Kesiraja (1260) being the earliest dramas now considered extinct. Of the once that are available, Mitravinda-govinda by Singararaya (1680) is a Kannada version of Sriharsha's Ratnavali. Writings of local history made their appearance after the fall of Vijayanagara Empire. Some well known works of history are Maisururajara-charitre, Chikkadevarajavamsavali (17th century), Keladinripavijaya by Linganna, the last book being an important source of information on the origin of Vijayanagara Empire, etc. Among Biographies, Rajanripa-vijaya, Kanthiravanarasaraja-vijaya, Chikkadevaraja-vijaya (17th century) and Bijjalaraya-charite etc., are well known works.