Pampa (Kannada: ಪಂಪ, born 902 CE), also known as Adikavi Pampa (Kannada: ಆದಿಕವಿ ಪಂಪ), is one of the greatest Kannada poets of all time. He was born either in Annigeri or Banavasi, in modern Karnataka state, or in Vemulavada, Karimnagar District in modern Andhra Pradesh, and was the court poet of Chalukya King Arikesari, a Rashtrakuta feudatory. There is also a story that the Adikavi belongs to Bodhan in Nizamabad district district. Dr. C. Narayanareddy in a function in Indur (Nizamabad) revealed this........! Very little is known about Pampa's early life. Whatever is known has been obtained from inscriptions, references by other poets, Pampa's own accounts in some of his poems and a few other such meager sources. It is believed that he was born in Annigeri near Gadag to a Jaina family of Brahmin ancestry. His father was Abhiramaradevaraya (also Bheemappayya as per Pampa's younger brother Jinavallabha's Gangadharam inscription) and mother Abbanabbe. They have been basically Kannada speaking and must have migrated to the Kannada speaking country of Banavasi when Pampa was a young boy. In fact, Pampa's mother hailed from Annigeri which was a part of the Kannada country. The beautiful Banavasi, located in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, with thick forests, mountains, streams and waterfalls, must have made a great impact on this poet at a very young age. Through the lines 'aarankusamittodam nenevudenna manam banvaasi deshamam' and 'maridumbiyaagi men kogileyaagi puttuvudu nandanadol banavaasideshadol' he has expressed his deep attachment towards Banavasi. It is very evident from his works that he had mastered Sanskrit and Prakrit and that he must have had a good all-round education including Vedic literature and Jain philosophy. He may have studied and mastered various subjects like music, philosophy, dance, economics, medicine, kamashastra (the science of sensual pleasure). He is said to have studied under a guru by name Devendra Muni of Sharvanabelagola. Sensitive, modest and imaginative, Pampa has earned a veritable place in the world of Kannada literature, which has remained unquestioned even today. [edit] Poetic life A well-traveled man, he settled down as the court poet of King Arikesari II, a Chalukya king and a Rashtrakuta feudatory. Flattered by his knowledge and poetic abilities Arikesari (who possessed the title Gunarnava) conferred on him the title 'Kavita Gunarnava'. At the age of 39 he wrote his first masterpiece, Adipurana in 941 and a little later he completed Vikramarjuna Vijaya popularly known as Pampa Bharata. These two works have remained unparalleled works of classic Kannada composition. Though there were several Kannada poets centuries prior to him, the quality of their works does not seem to have matched his. Such was the greatness of his literature that Pampa himself proudly proclaims that his works stamped and crushed all the other existing literature in Kannada. Rightly so, he is called the 'Adikavi' (first poet) of Kannada literature. He is also first of 'the three pearls' of Kannada poetry. A later poet Nagaraja says of him: "pasaripa kannadakkodayanorvane satkavi pampan' (the virtuous poet Pampa is the lone master of the famed Kannada). [edit] Adipurana Adipurana written in Champu style, a mixed form of prose and verse is a Kannada version of the Sanskrit work by Jinasena and details the life of Adinatha (Vrishabhadeva) in sixteen cantos, the first Jain Tirthankar. The work focusses in his own unique style the pilgrimage of a soul to perfection and attainment of mukti. In the work, Pampa describes the struggle for power and control over the entire world of two brothers Bharata and Bahubali, sons of Vrishabhadeva. While Bahubali wins, he renounces the worldly pursuits in favour of his brother. Many Jaina puranas of Middle Ages found a role model in this work. [edit] Vikramarjuna Vijaya Vikramarjuna Vijaya, also known as Pampa Bharata, is a Kannada version of the Mahabharata, which was originally written by Vyasa. It seems several poets prior to Pampa had composed poetry based on parts of the epic but not in its entirety. But Pampa prides in calling himself the first to narrate the 'Samasta Bharata'. The work was written in praise of his patron king Arikesari. He compares the king with Arjuna's character in the epic and centers his work around Arjuna. He says this himself in the 51st verse of the first chapter, thus '... kathaanaayakam maadi sandarjunanol polvi kathaabhittiyananunayadim pelal...' (Kannada: '... ಕಥಾನಾಯಕಂ ಮಾಡಿ ಸಂದರ್ಜುನನೊಳ್ ಪೋಲ್ವೀ ಕಥಾಭಿತ್ತಿಯನನುನಯದಿಂ ಪೇಳಲ್ ...'). Vyasa's original work, however, does not portray any particular character as the hero of the epic.TV9-KANNADA KANMANI - PAMPA - FULL....!

• published: 06 Nov 2010
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