Kumara Vyasa is the pen name of Gadhugina Naranappa who is one of the most famous poets in the Kannada language, spoken in the state of Karnataka, India. Kumara Vyasa's original name was Naranappa, and Kumara Vyasa is really his penname. The name is meaningful, since his magnum opus is a translation of the Sanskrit Mahabharata, written by the famous poet Vyasa. Kumara Vyasa literally means Little Vyasa or Son of Vyasa. Kannada - aptly described as sirigannada (known to few as Kanarese) is one of the oldest Dravidian languages and is spoken in its various dialects by roughly 45 million people. ... Karnātakā   (Kannada: ಕನಾ೯ಟಕ) (IPA: ) is one of the four southern states of India. ... Sanskrit ( , ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra The (Devanagari: ), is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the . ... Veda Vyasa(Contemporary painting) Vyāsa (DevanāgarÄ«: व्यास) is a central and much revered figure in the majority of Hindu traditions. ...

A statue of Kumara Vyasa in Gadag

Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 783 KB)Statue of Kumara Vyasa - taken during a trip to Gadag This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 783 KB)Statue of Kumara Vyasa - taken during a trip to Gadag This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Gadag, is a district of Karnataka state in India. ...

Place and Time

The period of Kumara Vyasa's life has now been accurately determined. While earlier opinions of historians varied from the 12th century to the 16th century, consensus is that he lived sometime around the late 14th and early 15th centuries. His magnum opus was probably completed in 1430 during the rule of Vijayanagara empire king Deva Raya II, in whose court Kumara Vyasa earned high esteem. This dating is based on the fact that other poets in the 15th century, such as Kanaka Dasa and Timmanna Kavi, seem to have referred to Kumara Vyasa's works. The Vijayanagara empire was based in the Deccan, in peninsular and southern India, from 1336 onwards. ... Background Deva Raya II (1426-1446 AD, note that Nuniz states differently in that his reign was for 25 years, not 20) was a monarch of the Vijayanagara Empire who succeeded his father , Veera Vijaya Bukka Raya (or simply Vijaya Raya) after Vijaya Rayas short uneventful two year reign... Kanaka Dasa was one of the devotees of Krishna and an influential person in the Vaishnava bhakti movement in Karnataka. ...

Kumara Vyasa's hometown was Gadag, in North Karnataka. Even now, there is a pillar in one of the temples of Gadag, where Kumara Vyasa is said to have composed and sung his works. This pillar is commonly called Kumara Vyasa's pillar. Gadag, is a district of Karnataka state in India. ... Karnātakā   (Kannada: ಕನಾ೯ಟಕ) (IPA: ) is one of the four southern states of India. ...

Works

Kumara Vyasa's most famous work is the Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari. His lifetime work, the Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari is a sublime adaptation of the first ten Parvas (chapters) of the Mahabharata. A devotee of Krishna, Kumara Vyasa ends his epic with the coronation of Udhishtira, the eldest of the Pandavas. The work is easily the most celebrated in Kannada literature. Its fame arises out of the fact that it has appealed to people of all strata of education and intellect right up to the present day. The work is entirely composed in the Bhamini Shatpadi meter, a form of six lined stanza. The range of human emotions that Kumara Vyasa explores and the versatility of his vocabulary are extensive. The work is particularly known for its use of sophisticated metaphors, earning Kumara Vyasa the title Rupaka Samrajya Chakravarti (Emperor of the World of Metaphors).^{[citation needed]} Manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra The (Devanagari: ), is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the . ... Krishna with Radharani, 18th C Rajasthani painting Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari, in IAST ), according to various Hindu traditions, is the eighth avatar of Vishnu. ... The Pandavas were the five sons of the king Pandu. ...

Kumara Vyasa is also known for his ability to depict human characters in crystal-clear clarity. Every one of his characters seem to have their own way to speak, to curse, to laugh and even to cry.

Another of Kumara Vyasa's works is Airavata, which is not as famous as Karnata Bharata KathaManjari.

Influence

Kumara Vyasa has been highly influential in the further development of Kannada literature. His magnum opus is still widely read, and a unique style of singing it, known as Gamaka, is quite famous to this day. The Kannada language belongs to the Dravidian family of languages and is the second oldest language currently spoken in India. ... Gamaka is a unique form of story telling used in Karnataka, India. ...

References

• Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, A Concise history of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present, Jupiter books, MCC, Bangalore, 2001 (Reprinted 2002)
• Prof K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002).

See also

• Kannada literature
• Kannada

The Kannada language belongs to the Dravidian family of languages and is the second oldest language currently spoken in India. ... Kannada - aptly described as sirigannada (known to few as Kanarese) is one of the oldest Dravidian languages and is spoken in its various dialects by roughly 45 million people. ...

External link

• Kumara Vyasa (Kannada)