{{Short description|12th-century Kannada poet}} {{use dmy dates|date=June 2016}} {{use Indian English|date=June 2016}} {{Infobox person | image = Raghavanka-pic.jpg | image_size = 225px | birth_date = Late 12th century | birth_place = Hampi | death_date = Early 13th century | occupation = Poet, writer | works = ''Harishchandra Kavya'' (''magnum opus'') }}
'''Raghavanka''' was a noted Kannada writer and a poet in the Hoysala court who flourished in the late 12th to early 13th century. He was born into an Aradhya Brahmana family. Raghavanka is credited for popularizing the use of the native ''shatpadi'' metre (hexa metre, 6 line verse) in Kannada literature.<ref name="shat">Sastri (1955), p. 362</ref> ''Harishchandra Kavya'', in ''shatpadi'' metre, is known to have been written with an interpretation unlike any other on the life of King Harishchandra is well known and is considered one of the important classics of Kannada language. He was a nephew and protégé of the noted Early 12-century Kannada poet Harihara.<ref name="shat1">Narasimhacharya (1988), p. 20</ref><ref name="class">Kamath (2001), p. 134</ref> 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 (devotees of God Shiva) and Vaishnava (devotees of God Vishnu) to come.<ref name="trend">Shiva Prakash in K. Ayyappapanicker (1997), p. 208</ref>
==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.<ref name="lost"/> Legend has it that his guru was aghast at Raghavanka Pandita, a devotee of Hindu God Shiva, for writing about ordinary mortals (such as King Harishchandra). 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 saints, one for each fallen tooth, and the teeth "returned one by one".<ref name="five">Shiva Prakash (1997), p. 206</ref> According to another source, Raghavanka's guru physically abused him, punishing him for wasting his poetic talent in eulogising a mere mortal.<ref name="mere">Nagaraj in Pollock (2003), p. 364</ref> 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;<ref name="harish"/> 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 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, and ''Sarabha charitra'', the last two works now considered lost.<ref name="shat" /><ref name="lost">Shiva Prakash (1997), p. 207</ref>
===''Harishchandra Kavya'' === In the ''Harishchandra Kavya'', Raghavanka brings out the clash of personalities with lively dialogues; between sage Vishvamitra and sage Vashishta, 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.<ref name="lost"/> 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.<ref name="harish">Rao in Datta, Sahitya Akademi (1988), pp. 1181</ref> One piece of elegiac 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.<ref name="valour12">Sahitya Akademi (1988), p. 1149</ref> The poem has remained popular for centuries and is recited by ''Gamakis'' (narration of story accompanied by music).<ref name="valour12"/>
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==References== *{{cite book |last= Sastri|first= K.A. Nilakanta|title= A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar|orig-year=1955|year=2002|publisher= Indian Branch, Oxford University Press|location= New Delhi|isbn= 0-19-560686-8}} *{{cite book |last=Shiva Prakash|first=H.S.|editor=Ayyappapanicker|title=Medieval Indian Literature:An Anthology |year= 1997|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=81-260-0365-0|chapter= Kannada}} *{{cite book |last= Various|title= Encyclopaedia of Indian literature - vol 2|orig-year=1988|year=1988|publisher= Sahitya Akademi|isbn=81-260-1194-7}} *{{cite book |last=Nagaraj |first=D.R.|editor=Sheldon I. Pollock|title=Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia |orig-year=2003|year=2003|publisher=Berkeley and London: University of California Press. Pp. 1066|chapter=Critical Tensions in the History of Kannada Literary Culture|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xowUxYhv0QgC&dq=critical+tensions+in+history+kannada+literary+culture&pg=PA323|isbn=0-520-22821-9 |pages=323–383}} *{{cite book |last= Kamath|first= Suryanath U.|title= A concise history of Karnataka : from pre-historic times to the present|orig-year=1980|year= 2001|publisher= Jupiter books|location= Bangalore|oclc= 7796041 |lccn= 80905179}} *{{cite book |last= Shanthaveeraiah|first= Hi.Chi.|title= Siddarama Charithre|year=2009|publisher= Sachin Publishers |location= Bangalore}}
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Category:Kannada poets Category:Poets from Karnataka Category:13th-century Indian poets Category:12th-century Indian poets Category:Indian male poets Category:Hoysala people