Nagavarma II
Nagavarma II (mid-11th or mid-12th century) was a
Nagavarma II was honored with the title "poet laureate" (Katakacharya) and "military teacher" (Katakopadhyaya) by Chalukya King Jagadhekamalla.
Life
Historians are divided about the actual period when Nagavarma II lived. According to the scholars R. Narasimhachar (author of Kannada Kavicharitre), and K.A. Nilakanta Shastri, Nagavarma II was the poet laureate of Chalukya king
Writings
Nagavarma II wrote his grammatical works at a time when native Kannada language writers were focused on establishing Kannada language on an equal footing with Sanskrit and Prakrit.[8] With reference to earlier Kannada language grammarians or rhetoricians, Nagavarma II named Gunavarma and Sankavarma as "path makers", and the phrase Gunavarma Nagavarmara adhvanagal may refer to an earlier literary or grammatical tradition.[7]
Despite being a work on poetics and rhetoric, the historically important Kavyavalokanam, in its first section called Sabdasmriti, deals with grammar. By adding a section on grammar, Nagavarma II had emulated the style of the previous Sanskrit grammarians,
His Abhidanavastukosa is a dictionary (nighantu) of 8,000 Sanskrit words for Kannada language users, again an attempt to integrate the Kannada literary culture into the popular Sanskritic cultural cosmopolitan.[8]
Nagavarma II's Kannada grammar, Karnataka Bhashabhushana, which is based on his Sabdasmriti, and follows the general framework of Sanskrit grammar, is actually written in Sanskrit language. This has prompted claims that the author did so to prove to Sanskrit scholars of the day, who may have had a callous attitude towards Kannada the local language (Prakrita Bhasa), that it was a rich literary language. From an invocatory verse in the text, another probable reason is also proposed, in that, being a Jain, Nagavarma II saw all languages as equals.[7] Though the aphorisms are written in Sanskrit, the glosses (vrittis) are in Kannada, and as a whole, the writing is considered simple to understand, requiring of a student just the basic knowledge of Sanskrit.[7]
Notes
- ^ Sahitya Akademi (1987), p. 476
- ^ a b Pollock (2006), p. 340, p. 349
- ^ a b c Narasimhacharya (1988), pp. 64–65, p. 19
- ^ a b c Shastri (1955), p. 358
- ^ a b Kamath (2001), p. 115
- ^ a b c d e f g h Sahitya Akademi (1988), p. 1475
- ^ a b c d Nagaraj (2003), p. 327
- ^ Mugali (2006), p. 176
- ^ Bhat (1993), p. 106
- ^ Singh (2001), p. 6147
References
- Bhat, Thirumaleshwara (1993) [1993]. Govinda Pai. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 81-7201-540-2.
- Kamath, Suryanath U. (2001) [1980]. A concise history of Karnataka : from pre-historic times to the present. Bangalore: Jupiter books. OCLC 7796041.
- Mugali, R.S. (2006) [2006]. The Heritage of Karnataka. Lightning Source Inc. ISBN 1-4067-0232-3.
- Nagaraj, D.R. (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. 323–383. ISBN 0-520-22821-9.
- Narasimhacharya, R (1988) [1934]. History of Kannada Literature. Mysore: Government Press. Reprinted by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi. ISBN 81-206-0303-6.
- ISBN 0-520-24500-8.
- ISBN 81-206-0977-8.[1]
- Rice, E.P. (1982) [1921]. A History of Kanarese Literature. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-0063-0.
- 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.
- Singh, Nagendra K R (2001). Encyclopaedia of Jainism. Anmol Publications. ISBN 978-81-261-0691-2.
- Various (1987) [1987]. Encyclopaedia of Indian literature – vol 1. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 81-260-1803-8.
- Various (1988) [1988]. Encyclopaedia of Indian literature – vol 2. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 81-260-1194-7.
- Various (1992) [1992]. Encyclopaedia of Indian literature – vol 5. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 81-260-1221-8.