The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Smriti texts and Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered in Hinduism, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succession between two groups of princely cousins, the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas.
Draupadi, also referred to as Krishnā, Panchali, and Yajñaseni, is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, and the wife of the five Pandava brothers—Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. She is noted for her beauty, courage, and polyandrous marriage.
Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which were originally composed in Sanskrit and later translated into many other Indian languages, and the Five Great Epics of Tamil literature and Sangam literature are some of the oldest surviving epic poems ever written.
Indian poetry and Indian literature in general, has a long history dating back to Vedic times. They were written in various Indian languages such as Vedic Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit, Ancient Meitei, Modern Meitei, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Maithili, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese, Urdu, and Hindi. Poetry in foreign languages such as English also has a strong influence on Indian poetry. The poetry reflects diverse spiritual traditions within India. In particular, many Indian poets have been inspired by mystical experiences. Poetry is the oldest form of literature and has a rich written and oral tradition.
Kannada literature is the corpus of written forms of the Kannada language, spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka and written in the Kannada script.
The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its office is located in Rabindra Bhavan near Mandi House in Delhi.
Hoysala literature is the large body of literature in the Kannada and Sanskrit languages produced by the Hoysala Empire (1025–1343) in what is now southern India. The empire was established by Nripa Kama II, came into political prominence during the rule of King Vishnuvardhana (1108–1152), and declined gradually after its defeat by the Khalji dynasty invaders in 1311.
Chamarasa was a 15th century Virashaiva poet in the Kannada language, during the reign of Vijayanagar Empire, a powerful empire in Southern India during 14th - 16th centuries. A contemporary and competitor to a noted Brahmin Kannada poet Kumara Vyasa, Chamarasa was patronised by King Deva Raya II. The work is in 25 chapters (gatis) comprising 1111 six-line verses (arupadi).
Mysore literature in Kannada is a body of literature composed in the Kannada language in the historical Kingdom of Mysore in Southern India and written in the Kannada script. The writings date from the Kingdom of Mysore, which existed from around 1600 CE until the establishment of modern India in 1947. Many of the works of this literature written on religious themes are labeled Veerashaiva or Vaishnava in acknowledgment of the two faiths that gave form to the literature and fostered it until the advent of the modern era. Despite a gradual decline in the popularity of Jainism, authors devoted to the faith produced some works of merit. Secular themes dealing with a wide range of subjects were also written on. Kannada literature flourished for a short while in the court of the neighbouring kingdom of the Nayakas of Keladi whose territory was annexed by Mysore in 1763.
Ganjam Venkatasubbiah, also known as G. V., was a Kannada writer, grammarian, editor, lexicographer, and critic who compiled over eight dictionaries, authored four seminal works on dictionary science in Kannada, edited over sixty books, and published several papers. Recipient of the Kannada Sahitya Akademi Award and the Pampa Award, Venkatasubbiah's contribution to the world of Kannada Lexicography is vast. His work Igo Kannada is a socio-linguistic dictionary which encompasses an eclectic mix of Kannada phrases, usages, idioms, and serves as a reference for linguists and sociologists alike.
Modern Kannada literature refers to the body of literature written in the Kannada language, a language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka. The Kannada script is the writing system used in Kannada literature. In the last forty years, eight modern Kannada authors have been awarded the Jnanpith award, a prestigious private literary award in India. In addition, the Sahitya Akademi Award, the second-highest award for literature granted by the Government of India, has been conferred upon Kannada writers fifty times.
Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa is an Indian novelist, philosopher and screenwriter who writes in Kannada. His work is popular in the state of Karnataka and he is widely regarded as one of modern India's popular novelists. His novels are unique in terms of theme, structure, and characterization. He has been among the top-selling authors in the Kannada language and his books have been translated into Hindi and Marathi which have also been sellers.
Sumathendra Raghavendra Nadig was an Indian professor and writer in Kannada. Nadig came upon the literary scene as a prominent modern poet in the 1960s. He was a close associate of Gopalakrishna Adiga, the leader of the modernist movement.
Dr. H. R. Vishwasa is a Sanskrit scholar residing in Mangalore, India. He won a Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 2010 for translating S. L. Bhyrappa's Kannada novel Aavarana into Sanskrit.
Sondekoppa Ramachandrasastri Ramaswamy is an Indian writer, journalist, biographer, social activist and environmentalist. He has authored more than 50 books and thousand articles both in Kannada and English. He is recipient of the "Karnataka State Sahitya Akademi Award" (1992) for year's best work in social science. In 2015, he was honoured by Hampi University, Karnataka with the 'Nadoja' award. An avid campaigner for environmental issues and people's rights, he has led numerous movements both at state and national level for conservation of vast tracts of rich flora and fauna from ill-planned Government policies. His years as a writer and chronicler brought him under the influence of doyens of literature and public life such as D. V. Gundappa, V. Sitaramayya, Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma, Yadava Rao Joshi and P. Kodanda Rao. His writings essentially mirror the literary, cultural, nationalist and developmental problems that are contemporaneous to the present day scenario. S. R. Ramaswamy is currently the honorary Editor-in-Chief of Kannada monthly "Utthana" and "Rashrothana Sahitya" at Bangalore.
Shantinath Kuberappa Desai was one of the leading modern authors of the Navya (modernist) movement in Kannada Literature.
Daatu is a novel by Kannada writer S L Bhyrappa for which he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for the year 1975. The Book has story which goes through the complex caste system that is deep rooted into Indian society demonstrated through the characters. This book has been translated to 14 major Indian Languages. The novel name indicated the crossing over the boundaries of castes and colors.
Ini Njan Urangatte is a Malayalam-language novel written by P. K. Balakrishnan in 1973. The novel's inspiration is the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. It may be regarded as a historically notable Malayalam-language novel as it has become a yardstick for epic Malayalam fiction, spawning many Mahabharata based-novels.
Malathi Chendur was a popular Indian writer, novelist and columnist. She started her career as a novelist in 1949 and went on to write 26 novels in the Telugu language. She also translated more than 300 novels from other languages into Telugu. In 1992, she was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for her novel Hrudaya Netri. She wrote a weekly column, "Pramadaavanam", in the Andhra Prabha newspaper which appeared continuously for 47 years.
The Mahabharata is one of the epics of Sanskrit literature that is translated as well as literarily adapted into Meitei language, thereby creating a space for Hindu literature within the granary of Meitei literature.
