Raghavanka

Raghavanka
Born	late 12th century Hampi
Died	early 13th century
Occupation	Poet, Writer
Works	Harishchandra Kavya (magnum opus)

Raghavanka (Kannada: ರಾಘವಾಂಕ) was a noted Kannada writer and a poet in the Hoysala court which flourished in the late 12th to early 13th century. Raghavanka is credited for popularizing the use of the native shatpadi metre (hexa metre, 6 line verse) in Kannada literature.Harishchandra Kavya, in shatpadi metre, is known to have been written with an interpretation unlike any other on the life of King Harishchandra is well known and is considered one of the important classics of Kannada language. He was a nephew and protégé of the noted 12th-century Kannada poet Harihara. Although the shatpadi metre tradition existed in Kannada literature prior to Raghavanka, Raghavanka inspired the usage of the flexible metre for generations of poets, both Shaiva (devotees of God Shiva) and Vaishnava (devotees of God Vishnu) to come.

Although Harishchandra Kavya (c. 1200 or c. 1225) is Raghavanka's magnum opus, it was rejected by his guru, poet Harihara (or Harisvara). In some ways, Raghavanka's writing surpasses his guru's talent, especially in describing characters in his story. Legend has it that his guru was aghast at Raghavanka, a Veerashaiva by faith (devotee of Hindu God Shiva), for writing about ordinary mortals (such as King Harishchandra) instead of writing about Veerashaiva saints. According to the same legend, five of Raghavanka's teeth "fell off instantly" for going against his guru's wishes. In order to expiate his sin, he authored five writings eulogising Veerashaiva saints, one writing for each fallen tooth, and the teeth "returned one by one". According to another source, Raghavanka's guru physically abused him, punishing him for wasting his poetic talent in eulogising a mere mortal. These five writings are the Siddharama charitra (or Siddharama Purana), a eulogy of the dynamic and compassionate 12th century Veerashiava saint Siddharama of Sonnalige which brings out a larger-than-life image of the saint in a simple yet stylistic narrative; the Somanatha charitra, a propagandist work which describes the life of saint Somayya (or Adaiah) of Puligere, his humiliation after being lured by the charms of a Jain girl, and his achievement of successfully converting a Jain temple into a Shiva temple; the Viresvara charita, a dramatic story of the blind wrath of a Shaiva warrior Virabhadra; the Hariharamahatva, a eulogy of Harisvara of Hampi, and Sarabha charitra, the last two works now considered lost.

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