Nagachandra

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Nagachandra
Indian Republic Day celebration 217th flower show 2025, Lalbagh, Bangalore 73.jpg
Sculpture of the poet in Lal Bagh, Bangalore, in January 2025
Born11th century CE
Died12th century CE
OccupationPoet
WorksMallinatha-Purana, Rama-Chandra-Charita-Purana
TitleAbhinava Pampa
Noted Kannada poets and writers in Hoysala Empire
(1100-1343 CE)
Nagachandra 1105
Kanti1108
Rajaditya12th. c
Harihara 11601200
Udayaditya1150
Vritta Vilasa1160
Kereya Padmarasa1165
Nemichandra1170
Sumanobana1175
Rudrabhatta 1180
Aggala1189
Palkuriki Somanatha 1195
Sujanottamsa(Boppana)1180
Kavi Kama12th c.
Devakavi1200
Raghavanka 12001225
Bhanduvarma1200
Balachandra Kavi1204
Parsva Pandita1205
Maghanandycharya1209
Janna 12091230
Puligere Somanatha13th c.
Hastimalla13th c.
Chandrama13th c.
Somaraja1222
Gunavarma II1235
Polalvadandanatha1224
Andayya 12171235
Sisumayana1232
Mallikarjuna1245
Naraharitirtha 1281
Kumara Padmarasa13th c.
Mahabala Kavi1254
Kesiraja 1260
Kumudendu1275
Nachiraja1300
Ratta Kavi1300
Nagaraja1331
Noted Kannada poets and writers in the Seuna Yadava Kingdom
Kamalabhava1180
Achanna1198
Amugideva1220
Chaundarasa1300

Nagachandra or Abhinava Pampa was a 12th-century poet in the Kannada language.

Contents

Biography

Nagachandra, a scholar and the builder of the Mallinatha Jinalaya (a Jain temple in honor of the 19th Jain tirthankar, Māllīnātha, in Bijapur, Karnataka), wrote Mallinathapurana (1105), an account of the evolution of the soul of the Jain saint. According to some historians, King Veera Ballala I was his patron. [1]

Works

He wrote his magnum opus, a Jain version of the Hindu epic Ramayana called Ramachandra Charitapurana (or Pampa Ramayana). [2] Written in the traditional champu metre and in the Pauma charia tradition of Vimalasuri, it is the earliest extant version of the epic in the Kannada language. [3] The work contains 16 sections and deviates significantly from the original epic by Valmiki. Nagachandra represents King Ravana, the villain of the Hindu epic, as a tragic hero, who in a moment of weakness commits the sin of abducting Sita (wife of the Hindu god Rama) but is eventually purified by her devotion to Rama. In a further deviation, Rama's loyal brother Lakshmana (instead of Rama) kills Ravana in the final battle. [3] Eventually, Rama takes jaina-diksha (converts to Digambara monk ), becomes an ascetic and attains nirvana (enlightenment). Considered a complementary work to the Pampa Bharatha of Adikavi Pampa (941, a Jain version of the epic Mahabharata), the work earned Nagachandra the honorific "Abhinava Pampa" ("new Pampa"). [4] Only in the Kannada language do Jain versions exist of the Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, in addition to their Vedic version. [5]

Notes

  1. Kamath (2001), p. 133
  2. Upinder Singh 2016, p. 29.
  3. 1 2 Sahitya Akademi (1988), p. 1180
  4. Sastri (1955), pp. 357358
  5. Narasimhacharya (1988), p. 66

Sources