Kesiraja
| Kesiraja | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13th century CE |
| Died | 13th or 14th century CE |
| Occupation | Kannada grammarian, poet and writer |
| Works | Shabdamanidarpana |
| Parent(s) |
|
Kēśirāja, also spelled Keshiraja (Kannada: ಕೇಶಿರಾಜ), was a 13th-century 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". He was also a scholar in Sanskrit as well and a court poet (Aasthaana kavi) in the Hoysala Court.
Kesiraja was born in a literary family, comprising several well-known Kannada writers. His father, Mallikarjuna (C. 1245 CE), was a Kannada poet and brother-in-law of the epic writer Janna. Kesiraja was also the grandson on his mother's side of another noted poet, Śankara (Sumanōbana), who was priest of the Yadava capital and poet laureate to Hoysala King Narasimha I. In some of his works, Kesiraja has referred to himself as Kesava.
Shabdamanidarpana (Kannada: ಶಬ್ದಮಣಿದರ್ಪಣ), ("Jewel-mirror of Grammar") was authored by Kesiraja in 1260 CE. This work remains a comprehensive, authoritative work on Kannada grammar. The rules mentioned therein were penned in kanda metre and followed a vrutti style (illustrative commentary by the author himself). 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.
The text of Shabdamanidarpana begins with poetry ehalting earlier generations of writer who are cited by Kesiraja as authoritative examples:
The expert way (sumārgam) of Gajaga, Gunanandi, Manasija, Asaga, Candrabhatta, Gunavarma, Srivijaya, Honna (Ponna), Hampa (Pampa), Sujanōttamsa – 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.
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