- Lakshmisa
Lakshmisa (or Lakshmisha, _kn. ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀಶ) was a noted
Kannada language Brahmin writer who lived during the mid–16th or late–17th century period. His most important writing, "Jaimini Bharata" is a version of the Hindu epicMahabharata . The writing focuses on the events following the battle ofIndraprastha between thePandava s andKaurava s, using theAshvamedha ("horse sacrifice") conducted byYudhisthira as the subject of the story. The writing is in the "shatpadi" metre (hexa-metre, 6 line verse) and was inspired by theSanskrit original written by sageJaimini .Sastri (1955), p. 365]His life
The place, time and religious sect that Lakshmisa belonged to has been an subject of controversy among historians. Some historians believe he was a native of Devanur in modern
Kadur taluk,Chikkamagaluru district ,Karnataka state. It is claimed that his family deity was "Lakshmiramana" (a form of Hindu GodVishnu ) to whom he dedicated his writing. Devanur was called by multiple names in his writing; Surapura and Girvanapura.Narasimhacharya (1988), p. 58] Other historians feel Surapura is located in the erstwhileHyderabad region. Some historians believe that Lakshmisa was a Advaitin or aSmartha Brahmin (believer of monistic philosophy) of theBhagavata sect because the poet has invoked the names of Hindu GodShiva , his consortParvati and sonGanapati in the beginning of his writing. However, despite these invocations, he may have been a Srivaishnava (a follower of theVisishtadvaita philosophy preached by 12th century philosopherRamanujacharya ), there being examples of other Srivaishnava poets (who wrote in Kannada) who praised the God Shiva, Parvati and Ganapati in their writings.Narasimhacharya (1988), p. 59]There is also controversy about when he wrote "Jaimini Bharata". Scholars have assigned him various dates, the earliest being c. 1415, but more generally mid–16th century,Shiva Prakash (1997), p. 210] Sahitya Akademi (1988), p. 1182] and late 17th century.Narasimhacharya in Narasimhacharya (1988), p. 59] Kamath (2001), p. 230] Sastri (1955), p. 365] The 16th century or earlier dating is based on similarities between Virupaksha Pandita's (1584 CE) "Chennabasava Purana" and Lakshmisa's work,Narasimhacharya (1988), p. 60] while the 17th century dating is based on the claim that no author, Brahmin or otherwise, has referenced his writing and directly mentioned his name in any literature during the period 15th century through late 17th century. Whereas, authors who do mention Lakshmisa regularly in their writings are from the 18th century.
Magnum opus
The "Jaimini Bharata", one of the most well known stories in
Kannada literature was written in the tradition of sageJaimini . It has remained popular through the centuries. In a writing full ofsimiles andmetaphor s,pun s andalliteration s, Lakshmisa created a human tale out of an epic, earning him the honorific "Upamalola" ("One who revels in similes and metaphors") and "Nadalola" ("Master of melody").Sahitya Akademi (1988), p. 1182] The writing focusses on the events following the battle when the victorious Pandavas conducted the AshvamedhaYagna to expiate the sin offratricide . The writing differs entirely fromKumara Vyasa 's rendering of the same epic (called "Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari") of c. 1430, both in metre and content. Kumara Vyasa had used the flexible "bhamini shatpadi" metre and followed theVyasa tradition where as Lakshmisa used the "vardhaka shatpadi" metre which is well suited for figures of speech.Shiva Prakash in Ayyappapanicker (1997), p. 210] The work has been criticised though, for failing to achieve the level of devotion towards Hindu GodKrishna that Kumara Vyasa managed in the various stages of his story.However, Lakshmisa is considered a successful story-teller with an ability to narrate the "Upakhyanas" ("story within a story"), describe the physical beauty of a women at length and to hold the reader with his rich Kannada diction and rhetoric. The writing has been considered an asset to the enlightened reader as well as those not so educated. Lakshmisa authored some poems reminiscent of the
Haridasa poetry but without the same success.Notes
References
*cite book |last= Various|first= |title= Encyclopaedia of Indian literature - vol 2|origyear=1988|year=1988|publisher= Sahitya Akademi|location= |isbn=8126011947
*cite book |last=Shiva Prakash|first=H.S.|editor=Ayyappapanicker|title=Medieval Indian Literature:An Anthology |year= 1997|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=|isbn=8126003650|chapter= Kannada
*cite book |last= Sastri|first= K.A. Nilakanta|title= A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar|origyear=1955|year=2002|publisher= Indian Branch, Oxford University Press|location= New Delhi|isbn= 0-19-560686-8
*cite book |last= Narasimhacharya|first= R|title= History of Kannada Literature|origyear=1988|year=1988|publisher= Asian Educational Services|location= New Delhi, Madras|isbn=8120603036
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.