Kannad Language
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State |
Family |
Some Facts |
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Karnataka |
Dravidian |
Kannada emerged as an independent language in the 9th
century. It is spoken by 65% of the population of Karnataka.
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¤ The official Language of
Karnataka State
Kannada is almost as old as Tamil, the truest of the Dravidian family.
Initially the area of the Kannada speech extended much further to the
north than present Karnataka, but was pushed back by the Aryan
Marathi.
¤ The Kannada Literature
The early (pre 800AD) bits and pieces of Kannada literature are
insufficient to lay claims to the literature’s origins. The
oldest extant book is king Nripatunga’s literary critique Kavi
Raja Marga (circa 840). Jainism being a popular religion at the time,
there were some Jaina poets like Srivijaya and Guna Varman I.
A new trend began with the ‘Three Gems’ of Kannada
literature, Pampa, Ponna and Ranna in the 10th century,
where prose and verse were mixed – the campu style. The three
poets extensively wrote on episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata
and Jain legends and biographies. Chavunda Raya, Ranna’s elder
contemporary then came up with an elaborate work – a history of
all the 24 Jaina tirthankaras (saintly teachers). The Chola kings of
Tamil-land got too aggressive around the 11th century and
fought wars.
This meant a lean phase in literary activities except for the works
of a few writers like Naga Chandra, known for his Jain Ramayana, the
Jain poetess Kanti, the grammarian Naga Varman II who wrote Karnataka
Bhasha Bhushana in Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms), and Kirtti Varman and
Vritta Vilasa.
¤ The middle phase--(1150-1800AD)
The middle phase of Kannada literature (1150-1800AD) saw the power of
Puranic Hinduism over Jainism. A very distinct phase of writing began
the second half of the 12th century in the Vira-Shaiva
phase with Basava’s Vachanas.
There was a spate of writers like Harihara, Raghavanka and Kereya
Padmarasa writing fervently about Shiva in the 12th-13th
centuries.
Rebellion against the orthodox rituals came from the brilliant
poetess Akkamahadevi, a harbinger of Bhakti poetry (see below).
The Jains, too, weren’t idle all this while; they composed
legendary histories of various tirthankaras (ford makers). In all, the
13th century was chock-full with poems, literary
criticism, grammar, natural science and translations from Sanskrit.
¤ Kannada literature Has Strong Hindu Influence
Kannada literature took a strong Hindu bend with the orthodox
Vijayanagara kings (14th-15th AD). Some
eminent names were Bhima Kavi, Padmanaka, Mallanarya, Singiraja and
Chamarasa. The Bhakti movement also affected Kannada literature in the
15th and 16th centuries. The Ramayana,
Mahabharata and Puranas were translated afresh using the folk meters
satpadi and regale. Devotional songs of dasas or singing mendicants
were compiled, which formed an important part of popular literature.
¤ The Change of Language From Middle To Modern Kannada
The next two centuries were a busy period with many rules, of the
Wodeyar kings, Bijapur Sultans and Mughals, and much literary
activity.
Bhattakalanka Deva’s Karnataka Shabdaushasana (1604AD) on
grammar, Sakdakshara Deva’s romantic campu the Rajshekhara Vilasa
(1657AD), the historical compositions of the Wodeyar period
(1650-1713AD), Nijaguna Yogi’s Viveka Chintamani of Shaiva lore
(mid 17th century), Nanja Raja’s Puranic works the
Shiva Bhakti Mahatmya and Hari Vamsa (circa 1760), were some of the
notable creations.
All this while the language was changing from Middle to Modern
Kannada. The popular Yakshagana, dramatization of Puranic tales with
much singing, was an innovation of the late 18th century.
A good mass of folk poetry thus came to be written.
Modern education made a late entry in Karnataka as compared to other
parts of India. Works based on Sanskrit models, like Shakuntala of
Basavappa Shastri, continued till the late 19th century.
With a little initiation from the Christian missionaries, the Academy
of Kannada Literature was set up in Bangalore in 1914.
Gradually modern literature gained tempo and translations were made
from English, Bengali and Marathi. Kerur and Galaganatha attempted the
first novels in Kannada, followed by a host of novelists like
Shivarama Karanta, K. V. Puttapa, G P Rajaratnam, Basavaraja
Kattimani, Nanjanagudu Tirumalamba (the first major woman writer in
modern Kannada) and others.
The short story too made its advent with Panje Mangesha Rao and Masti
Venkatesha Ayyangar. A new trend in drama began with the use of
colloquial language. Poetry, too, wasn’t left behind; B. M.
Shrikanthayya too Kannada poetry to great heights with innovations
like the blank verse.
Literature in Kannada today is a big enterprise, with bustling
centres like the University of Mysore, the Karnataka University at
Dharwar and the Kannada Sahitya Parishad of Mysore.
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