Janna
Encyclopedia
Janna was one of the well-known Kannada poets of the early 13th century who also served in the capacity of a minister and a builder of temples. He graced the court of Hoysala empire
king Veera Ballala II
and earned the title Kavichakravarthi ("Emperor among poets"). His noteworthy writings include Yashodhara Charitre (1209) which deals with Jain tenet
s, Ananthnatha Purana (1230) which deals with the teachings of the 14th Jain tirthankara and a short piece called Anubhava Mukura. Although all his works are known for the grace and style, Yashodhara Charite is his magnum opus and one of the classics of Kannada literature
.
Janna finds an important place in Kannada literature
, though he is not as famous as Adikavi Pampa
. He came from a family of celebrated Kannada writers; Mallikarjuna, the well known anthologist was his brother-in-law and Kesiraja
the grammarian, was his nephew. Janna's style essentially belonged to the classical marga (main stream) brand of Kannada writers and his works were primarily meant to propagate the Jain philosophy.
(liberation from cycle of death and re-birth). In one of the stories, the king intends to perform a ritual sacrifice of two young boys to a local deity, Mariamma. Taking pity on the boys, the king releases them and gives up the practice of human sacrifice. In another story, the poet narrates the infatuation of the king for his friends wife. Having killed his friend, the king abducts the wife who however dies of grief. Overcome by repentance, he burns himself on the funeral pyre of the woman. The stories of infatuation reaches a peak when Janna narrates the attraction of Amrutamati, the queen, to the ugly mahout
Ashtavakra, who pleases the queen with kicks and whip lashes—a story that has piqued the interest of modern research. To expiate the queen from her sinful act, King Yashodhara takes his mothers advice and decides to perform a symbolic sacrifice of a cock made of flour, to please the gods. But the cock comes to life and crows at its time of death. For committing the sin of violence, Yashodhara and his mother are reborn as animals. After much suffering, they are eventually born as the children of Yashodhara's son in their seventh re-birth. The writing powerfully narrates the consequences of passion gone awry and the terrible suffering it brings in human life.
Hoysala Empire
The Hoysala Empire was a prominent South Indian Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the modern day state of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur but was later moved to Halebidu....
king Veera Ballala II
Veera Ballala II
Veera Ballala II was the greatest monarch of the Hoysala Empire. This is proven by his successes against the Seuna, Southern Kalachuri, and the waning Kalyani Chalukya dynasties. He caused the demise of the Kalyani Chalukya dynasty. His period also saw prolific literary activity in Kannada. He...
and earned the title Kavichakravarthi ("Emperor among poets"). His noteworthy writings include Yashodhara Charitre (1209) which deals with Jain tenet
Tenet
A tenet is one of the principles on which a belief or theory is based. Tenet may also refer to:* Tenet , a Canadian heavy metal band* Tenet Healthcare, a hospital holding company* Tenet people, an ethnic group in Sudan...
s, Ananthnatha Purana (1230) which deals with the teachings of the 14th Jain tirthankara and a short piece called Anubhava Mukura. Although all his works are known for the grace and style, Yashodhara Charite is his magnum opus and one of the classics of Kannada literature
Kannada literature
Kannada literature is the corpus of written forms of the Kannada language, a member of the Dravidian family spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka and written in the Kannada script....
.
Janna finds an important place in Kannada literature
Kannada literature
Kannada literature is the corpus of written forms of the Kannada language, a member of the Dravidian family spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka and written in the Kannada script....
, though he is not as famous as Adikavi Pampa
Adikavi Pampa
Pampa , called by the honorific Ādikavi is one of the greatest Kannada poets of all time.He is very famous even today for his philosophical beliefs...
. He came from a family of celebrated Kannada writers; Mallikarjuna, the well known anthologist was his brother-in-law and Kesiraja
Kesiraja
Kēśirāja, also spelled Keshiraja, was a 13th century Kannada grammarian and a poet. He is particularly known for authoring Shabdamanidarpana, an authoritative work on Kannada grammar. Because of this work, he is considered to be the "greatest theorist of Kannada grammar"...
the grammarian, was his nephew. Janna's style essentially belonged to the classical marga (main stream) brand of Kannada writers and his works were primarily meant to propagate the Jain philosophy.
Magnum opus
Yashodhara Charite, an epic written in the kandapadya i vanu kalla metre is a unique set of stories in 310 verses dealing with perverted sex and violence and contains cautionary morals on the issue of extreme desires. Inspired by the Sanskrit writing of the same name by Vadiraja, the Janna transcreates stories of king Yashodhara and his mother and their passing from one life to the next without attaining mokshaMoksha
Within Indian religions, moksha or mukti , literally "release" , is the liberation from samsara and the concomitant suffering involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death and reincarnation or rebirth.-Origins:It is highly probable that the concept of moksha was first developed in...
(liberation from cycle of death and re-birth). In one of the stories, the king intends to perform a ritual sacrifice of two young boys to a local deity, Mariamma. Taking pity on the boys, the king releases them and gives up the practice of human sacrifice. In another story, the poet narrates the infatuation of the king for his friends wife. Having killed his friend, the king abducts the wife who however dies of grief. Overcome by repentance, he burns himself on the funeral pyre of the woman. The stories of infatuation reaches a peak when Janna narrates the attraction of Amrutamati, the queen, to the ugly mahout
Mahout
A mahout is a person who drives an elephant. The word mahout comes from the Hindi words mahaut and mahavat. Usually, a mahout starts as a boy in the 'family business' when he is assigned an elephant early in its life and they would be attached to each other throughout the elephant's life.The most...
Ashtavakra, who pleases the queen with kicks and whip lashes—a story that has piqued the interest of modern research. To expiate the queen from her sinful act, King Yashodhara takes his mothers advice and decides to perform a symbolic sacrifice of a cock made of flour, to please the gods. But the cock comes to life and crows at its time of death. For committing the sin of violence, Yashodhara and his mother are reborn as animals. After much suffering, they are eventually born as the children of Yashodhara's son in their seventh re-birth. The writing powerfully narrates the consequences of passion gone awry and the terrible suffering it brings in human life.