Yukeshrbs at 09:02, 19 April 2026

2026-04-19T09:02:01Z

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{{Short description|Genre of Indian literature}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2020}}

'''Chautisa''' or '''Chautisha''' ({{langx|or|'''ଚଉତିଶା'''}}) is a genre of literary composition in [[Indian literature]]. It was popular form of writing in [[medieval India]]n poetry. It is a form of [[constrained writing]] where each verse begins with consecutive letters of the alphabet, typically starting with the first [[consonant]]. The word 'Chautisa' means thirty four, signifying the number of consonants in Odia script.<ref name="Mansinha 1962 p.45 ">{{cite book | last=Mansinha | first=M. | title=History of Oriya Literature | publisher=New Delhi | series=Sahitya Akademi. Histories of literature | year=1962 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gwFIAAAAMAAJ | access-date=2020-09-07 | page=45}}</ref>

==History==
Chautisa is one of the earliest form of poetry in Odia language.<ref name="Mazumdar 1921 p.xxi ">{{cite book | last=Mazumdar | first=B.C. | title=Typical selections from Oriya literature | publisher=Baptist Mission Press | issue=v. 1 | year=1921 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ky9IAQAAMAAJ | access-date=2020-09-07 | page=xxi|quote= the chautisa forms appear to be as old as Oriya literature.}}</ref> Numerous Chautisas have been written in medieval Odia literature. The Prachi Samiti (1925–34) collected and published four volumes of medieval poetry and contains hundreds of Chautisas.<ref name="Datta 1988 p. 1740">{{cite book | last=Datta | first=A. | title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Devraj to Jyoti | publisher=Sahitya Akademi | issue=v. 2 | year=1988 | isbn=978-81-260-1194-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zB4n3MVozbUC&pg=PA1740 | access-date=2020-09-15 | page=1740}}</ref><ref name="Mansinha 1962 p.45 "/> The earliest known Chautisa is the Kesaba koili of Markanda Dasa.<ref name="Mansinha 1962 p.46 ">{{cite book | last=Mansinha | first=M. | title=History of Oriya Literature | publisher=New Delhi | series=Sahitya Akademi. Histories of literature | year=1962 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gwFIAAAAMAAJ | access-date=2020-09-07 | page=46|quote=The poem that is supposed to be the earliest in present Oriya, combines in itself the twin lyrical patterns of a chautisa and a koili. That is the Kesaba koili of Markanda Dasa. It is the most famous of the koili songs in Oriya, in spite of being the most ancient among them.}}</ref>

[[Baladeba Ratha]], [[Banamali Dasa]], [[Dinakrushna Dasa]] are some of the most famous poets who wrote Chautisas.

==Structure==
Typically the poetry starts with the letter '''କ''' and ends with '''କ୍ଷ'''. Each verse or line of each couplet starts with the same letter.

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Kamalalochana Chautisha''', [[Balarama Dasa]]
! Transliteration
|-
| '''କ'''ମଳ ଲୋଚନ ଶ୍ରୀହରି। '''କ'''ରେଣ ଶଙ୍ଖ ଚକ୍ରଧାରୀ॥<br>'''ଖ'''ଗ ଆସନେ ଖଗପତି। '''ଖ'''ଟନ୍ତି ଲକ୍ଷ୍ମୀ ସରସ୍ୱତୀ॥<br>'''ଗ'''ରୁଡ଼ ଆସନେ ମୁରାରି। '''ଗୋ'''ପରେ ରଖିଲେ ବାଛୁରୀ॥
| '''Ka'''mala lochana srihari; '''ka'''rena sankha chakradhaari.<br>'''Kha'''ga aasane khagapati; '''kha'''tanti Laxmi Saraswati.<br>'''Ga'''ruda aasane Murari; '''go'''pare rakhile baachuri.
|}

There are some poetic liberties taken by the poets. Such as in place of the letter '''ଙ'''/'''ଞ''', words beginning with '''ନ''' are used as there are no words that begin with those letters.

Some poets reverse the order of the letters and wrote starting from '''କ୍ଷ''' and ends with '''କ'''. This is called ''Olata Chautisa''.<ref name="Mohanty 1993 p. 32">{{cite book | last=Mohanty | first=J.B. | title=Banamali Das | publisher=Sahitya Akademi | series=Makers of Indian literature | year=1993 | isbn=978-81-7201-449-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xNi10M-NkOYC&pg=PA32 | language=de | access-date=2020-09-15 | page=32}}</ref>

Typically the Chautisas have 34 couplets/stanzas. Other popular variants include:

*Chautisa with 2 couplets – each couplet containing 17 consonants.
*Chautisa with 3 couplets – two couplets containing 12 consonants and one couplet with 10 consonants.
*Chautisa with 6 couplets – E.g. Chitau chautisa by [[Upendra Bhanja]].
*Chautisa with 9 couplets – E.g. Hanumanta Janana Chautisa by Damodara Dasa.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Odia language}}
{{Odia literature}}

[[Category:Odia literature]]
[[Category:Indian literature]]
[[Category:Poems in Odia]]
[[Category:Literary genres]]
[[Category:Medieval Indian literature]]
[[Category:Odissi music repertoire]]

Chautisa - Revision history

Yukeshrbs at 09:02, 19 April 2026