>BrownHairedGirl at 18:25, 29 April 2021

2021-04-29T18:25:58Z

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{{short description|13th-century Kannada grammarian, poet and writer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| birth_date = 13th century CE
| death_date = 13th or 14th century CE
| father = Mallikarjuna
| occupation = [[Kannada language|Kannada]] grammarian, poet and writer
| works = ''[[Shabdamanidarpana]]''
}}{{Short description|13th century Kannada poet}}{{Kannada poets in Hoysala Empire}}
'''Kēśirāja''', also spelled '''Keshiraja''' ({{lang-kn|ಕೇಶಿರಾಜ}}), was a 13th-century [[Kannada language|Kannada]] grammarian, poet and writer. He is particularly known for authoring ''[[Shabdamanidarpana]]'', an authoritative work on Kannada grammar. According to Dravidian scholar [[Sheldon Pollock]], because of this work he is considered the "greatest theorist of Kannada grammar".{{sfn|Pollock|2003|p=364}} He was also a scholar in Sanskrit as well and a court poet (''Aasthaana kavi'') in the [[Hoysala Empire|Hoysala]] Court.

==Early life==
Kesiraja was born in a literary family, comprising several well-known [[Kannada literature|Kannada]] writers. His father, Mallikarjuna (C. 1245 CE), was a Kannada poet and brother-in-law of the epic writer [[Janna]].{{sfn|Rice|1982|p=44–45}} Kesiraja was also the grandson on his mother's side of another noted poet, Śankara (Sumanōbana), who was priest of the [[Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri|Yadava]] capital and poet laureate to [[Hoysala]] King [[Narasimha I]]. In some of his works, Kesiraja has referred to himself as ''Kesava''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chapter 6: Chalukyas of Badami |url=http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/pdf/gazeetter_reprint/History-I/chapter_6.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301213237/http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/pdf/gazeetter_reprint/History-I/chapter_6.pdf |archive-date= 1 March 2011 |work=Maharashtra State Gazetteer}}</ref>

==Shabdamanidarpana==
{{Main|Shabdamanidarpana}}
''[[Shabdamanidarpana]]'' ({{lang-kn|ಶಬ್ದಮಣಿದರ್ಪಣ}}), ("Jewel-mirror of Grammar") was authored by Kesiraja in 1260 CE. This work remains a comprehensive, authoritative work on Kannada grammar.<ref name="History of the Kannada Literature -III">{{cite web |url=http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/kar/literature/history3.htm |title=History of the Kannada Literature -III |website=Kamat's Potpourri |first=Jyotsna|last=Kamat|access-date=2008-05-01}}</ref>{{sfn|Rice|1982|p=111}} The rules mentioned therein were penned in ''kanda'' metre and followed a ''vrutti'' style (illustrative commentary by the author himself).{{sfn|Rice|1982|p=111}}{{sfn|Sastri|2002|p=359}} Though Kesiraja followed the model of Sanskrit grammar of the Katantra school, and that of earlier writings on Kannada grammar, his work has an originality of its own.<ref name="Sahitya Akademi">{{cite book |title= Encyclopaedia of Indian literature |volume=2 |year=1988|publisher= [[Sahitya Akademi]]|isbn=81-260-1194-7|page=1476}}</ref>

The text of ''Shabdamanidarpana'' begins with poetry ehalting earlier generations of writer who are cited by Kesiraja as authoritative examples:

{{Quote|The expert way (sumārgam) of Gajaga, Gunanandi, Manasija, [[Asaga]], Candrabhatta, Gunavarma, Srivijaya, Honna (Ponna), Hampa (Pampa), Sujanōttamsa{{spaced ndash}}these provide the illustrative instances (''lakshya'') in this work.
In ''Shabdamanidarpana'', about twenty poets and thirty different works are cited, and almost every rule is explained with quotations. This work points out the Kannada language development through the preceding three centuries.|Kesiraja (translated)}}

An attempt at vocabulary building is provided in several parts of the work. There is a list of verbal roots and words containing ḷ and ḹ sounds. There is also a chapter called "PrayŌgasāra" where Kesiraja has quoted a number of rare words along with their meanings.<ref name="Mishra">{{cite book|title=Lexicography in India : Proceedings of the First National Conference on Dictionary Making in Indian Languages|author=Bal Govind Misra|page=82}}</ref>

==Passion for grammar==
Kesiraja had a passion for grammar, which is evident from his writings through his work ''[[Shabdamanidarpana]]''.
{{Quote|Through grammar (correct) words originate; through the words of that grammar, meaning (originates); through meaning the beholding of truth; through the beholding of truth, the desired final beatitude; this (final beatitude) is the fruit for the learned.| sūtra 10 of the Preface, ''Shabdamanidarpana''{{spaced ndash}}Kesiraja{{sfn|Kittel|1903|p=4}}}}

==Literary works==
Apart from his extant grammar ''Shabdamanidarpana'', Kesiraja authored several other writings in Kannada, though they are deemed lost:<ref name="Sahitya Akademi" />
* ''Prabodhachandra'' (ಪ್ರಬೋಧಚಂದ್ರ)
* ''Chorapalaka Charitam'' (ಚೋರಪಾಲಕ ಚರಿತ)
* ''Kiratam'' (or ''Kiratarjuniyam'') (ಕಿರಾತ)
* ''Shubhadraharana'' (ಸುಭದ್ರಾ ಹರಣ)
* ''Sri Chitramale'' (ಶ್ರೀ ಚಿತ್ರಮಾಲೆ)

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
{{ref begin|2}}
*{{cite book |author-link=Ferdinand Kittel |first=Ferdinand |last=Kittel |title=A grammar of the Kannada language in English : comprising the three dialects of the language (ancient, mediæval and modern) |url=https://archive.org/details/grammarofkannada00kittuoft |publisher=Basel Mission Book and Tract Depository |location=Mangalore|year=1903|isbn=3-7648-0898-5}}
*{{cite book |first=Sheldon|last= Pollock |author-link=Sheldon Pollock|title=Literary cultures in history: reconstructions from South Asia |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |year=2003 |isbn=0-520-22821-9}}
*{{cite book |last= Rice|first=Edward P.|title=Kannada Literature|orig-year=1921|year=1982|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=New Delhi|isbn= 81-206-0063-0}}
*{{cite book |last=Sastri|first= Nilakanta K.A.|author-link=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri|title= [[A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar]] |orig-year=1955|year=2002|publisher= Indian Branch, Oxford University Press|location= New Delhi|isbn= 0-19-560686-8}}
{{ref end}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Kannada-language writers]]
[[Category:Linguists of Kannada]]
[[Category:13th-century Indian writers]]
[[Category:Sanskrit poets]]
[[Category:Indian male writers]]

Kesiraja - Revision history

>BrownHairedGirl at 18:25, 29 April 2021