Nagavarma II
Encyclopedia
Nagavarma II was a Kannada language
scholar and grammarian of the 11th or 12th century Western Chalukya court centred in Basavakalyan
, modern Karnataka
state, India
. He was the earliest among the three most notable and authoritative grammarians of Old-Kannada language (Keshiraja of c. 1260 and Bhattakalanka Deva
of c. 1604 being the other two). Nagavarma II's reputation stems from his notable contributions to various genres of Kannada literature
including prosody, rhetoric
, poetics
, grammar
and vocabulary
. According to the scholar R. Narasimhacharya, Nagavarma II is unique in all of ancient Kannada literature, in this aspect. His writings are available and are considered standard authorities for the study of Kannada language and its growth.
Nagavarma II was awarded the title "poet laureate" (Katakacharya) and "military teacher" (Katakopadhyaya) by Chalukya King Jagadhekamalla. His most famous works are Kavyavalokana ("Treatise on the art of poetry) on grammar, rhetoric and poetics, Karnataka-Bhashabhushana ("Ornament of the Karnataka language"), on grammar, Vastukosa (or Abhidanavastukosa, lit, "Treasury of significations"), a lexicon
, and Varadhamanapurana, on Jain purana (doctrine). Nagavarma II's grammatical model is based on the Katantra school of Sanskrit grammar and the author styles himself Abhinava Sarvavarma ("Modern Sarvavarma"), Sarvavarma being a noted Sanskrit grammarian to a Satavahana
king.
(r. 1138–1153) and his works are hence datable to c. 1145–1150. The modern Kannada poet and scholar Govinda Pai, in his research Nagachandrana Kala Vichara ("Nagachandra's age", 1955) identified three famous Nagavarmas in medieval Kannada literature. Pai estimated that Nagavarma II lived from c. 1120–1200. However, after the discovery of the writing Varadhamanapurana, dated to c. 1042, and authored by Nagavarma II, it is now held by scholars such as D.R. Nagaraj and Sheldon Pollock that the grammarian was under the patronage of Chalukya King Jayasimha II
(r.1015–1042) who also went by the title "Jagadekhamalla", and therefore all of his works were written around c. 1042.
. With reference to earlier Kannada language grammarians or rhetoricians, Nagavarma II named Gunavarma and Sankavarma as "path makers", and the phrase "Gunavarma Nagavarmara adhvanagal" may refer to an earlier literary or grammatical tradition.
Despite being a work on poetics and rhetoric, the historically important Kavyavalokanam, in its first section called Sabdasmriti, deals with grammar. By adding a section on grammar, Nagavarma II had emulated the style of the previous Sanskrit grammarians, Daṇḍin
(author of Kavyadarsha) and Bhamaha (author of Kavyalankara). The Sabdasmriti comprises five chapters (prakarnas) which deal with euphonic combinations (sandhis), nouns, compounds, nominal derivatives and verbs respectively. The 422 verses in the text are written in kanda metre (chaper format), of which 96 are aphorism
s (sutras) (the 18th among which focusses on framing grammatical rules based on the spoken language), and the remaining verses are example quotations from the writings of earlier notable Kannada poets such as Adikavi Pampa
, Ponna
and Ranna
.
His Abhidanavastukosa is a dictionary (nighantu) of 8,000 Sanskrit words for Kannada language users, again an attempt to integrate the Kannada literary culture into the popular Sanskritic cultural cosmopolitan.
Nagavarma II's authoritative Kannada grammar, Karnataka Bhashabhushana, which is based on his Sabdasmriti, and follows the general framework of Sanskrit grammar, is actually written in Sanskrit language. This has prompted claims that the author did so to prove to Sanskrit scholars of the day, who may have had a callous attitude towards the Kannada the local language (Prakrita Bhasa), that it was a rich literary language. From an invocatory verse in the text, another probable reason is also proposed, in that, being a Jain, Nagavarma II saw all languages as equals. Though the aphorisms are written in Sanskrit, the gloss
es (vrittis) are in Kannada, and as a whole, the writing is considered simple to understand, requiring of a student just the basic knowledge of Sanskrit.
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
scholar and grammarian of the 11th or 12th century Western Chalukya court centred in Basavakalyan
Basavakalyan
Basavakalyan is a town in Bidar District of the state of Karnataka, India, and was historically known as Kalyan.-History:Basavakalyan's history dates back to 3000 years with its name being mentioned in Guru Charitra....
, modern Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
state, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He was the earliest among the three most notable and authoritative grammarians of Old-Kannada language (Keshiraja of c. 1260 and Bhattakalanka Deva
Bhattakalanka Deva
Bhattakalanka Deva was the third and the last of the notable Kannada grammarians from the medieval period. In 1604 CE, he authored a comprehensive text on old-Kannada grammar called Karnataka Sabdanusasana in 592 Sanskrit sutras with glossary and commentary...
of c. 1604 being the other two). Nagavarma II's reputation stems from his notable contributions to various genres 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....
including prosody, rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
, poetics
Poetics
Aristotle's Poetics is the earliest-surviving work of dramatic theory and the first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory...
, grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
and vocabulary
Vocabulary
A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge...
. According to the scholar R. Narasimhacharya, Nagavarma II is unique in all of ancient Kannada literature, in this aspect. His writings are available and are considered standard authorities for the study of Kannada language and its growth.
Nagavarma II was awarded the title "poet laureate" (Katakacharya) and "military teacher" (Katakopadhyaya) by Chalukya King Jagadhekamalla. His most famous works are Kavyavalokana ("Treatise on the art of poetry) on grammar, rhetoric and poetics, Karnataka-Bhashabhushana ("Ornament of the Karnataka language"), on grammar, Vastukosa (or Abhidanavastukosa, lit, "Treasury of significations"), a lexicon
Lexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
, and Varadhamanapurana, on Jain purana (doctrine). Nagavarma II's grammatical model is based on the Katantra school of Sanskrit grammar and the author styles himself Abhinava Sarvavarma ("Modern Sarvavarma"), Sarvavarma being a noted Sanskrit grammarian to a Satavahana
Satavahana
The Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indian dynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar and Prathisthan in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward...
king.
Life
Historians are divided about the actual period when Nagavarma II lived. According to the scholars R. Narasimhachar (author of Kannada Kavicharitre), and K.A. Nilakanta Shastri, Nagavarma II was the poet laureate of Chalukya king Jagadhekamalla IIJagadhekamalla II
Jagadhekamalla II followed Somesvara III to the Western Chalukya throne. His rule saw the slow decline of the Chalukya empire with the loss of Vengi entirely, though he was still able to control the Hoysalas in the south and the Seuna and Paramara in the north...
(r. 1138–1153) and his works are hence datable to c. 1145–1150. The modern Kannada poet and scholar Govinda Pai, in his research Nagachandrana Kala Vichara ("Nagachandra's age", 1955) identified three famous Nagavarmas in medieval Kannada literature. Pai estimated that Nagavarma II lived from c. 1120–1200. However, after the discovery of the writing Varadhamanapurana, dated to c. 1042, and authored by Nagavarma II, it is now held by scholars such as D.R. Nagaraj and Sheldon Pollock that the grammarian was under the patronage of Chalukya King Jayasimha II
Jayasimha II
Jayasimha II , also known by the titles Jagadekhamalla and Mallikamoda, succeeded his brother Vikramaditya V on the Western Chalukya throne. Jayasimha had to fight on many fronts to protect his kingdom...
(r.1015–1042) who also went by the title "Jagadekhamalla", and therefore all of his works were written around c. 1042.
Writings
Nagavarma II wrote his grammatical works at a time when native Kannada language writers were focussed on establishing Kannada language on an equal footing with Sanskrit and PrakritPrakrit
Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
. With reference to earlier Kannada language grammarians or rhetoricians, Nagavarma II named Gunavarma and Sankavarma as "path makers", and the phrase "Gunavarma Nagavarmara adhvanagal" may refer to an earlier literary or grammatical tradition.
Despite being a work on poetics and rhetoric, the historically important Kavyavalokanam, in its first section called Sabdasmriti, deals with grammar. By adding a section on grammar, Nagavarma II had emulated the style of the previous Sanskrit grammarians, Daṇḍin
Dandin
Dandin can refer to:* Daṇḍin, 6th-7th century Sanskrit writer* The Dandin Group, a wireless internet thinktank* Dandin the Sword Carrier, a character appearing in Mariel of Redwall and The Bellmaker, two books from the fictional Redwall series by Brian Jacques....
(author of Kavyadarsha) and Bhamaha (author of Kavyalankara). The Sabdasmriti comprises five chapters (prakarnas) which deal with euphonic combinations (sandhis), nouns, compounds, nominal derivatives and verbs respectively. The 422 verses in the text are written in kanda metre (chaper format), of which 96 are aphorism
Aphorism
An aphorism is an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and memorable form.The term was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates...
s (sutras) (the 18th among which focusses on framing grammatical rules based on the spoken language), and the remaining verses are example quotations from the writings of earlier notable Kannada poets such 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...
, Ponna
Ponna
Ponna is a comune in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 km north of Milan and about 20 km north of Como. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 264 and an area of 6.0 km²....
and Ranna
Ranna
Ranna was one of the earliest poets of Kannada language.Ranna, Adikavi Pampa and Sri Ponna together are called "three gems of Kannada literature".-Early days:Ranna was born on 949 C.E. in Muduvolalu Bagalkot district, Karnataka....
.
His Abhidanavastukosa is a dictionary (nighantu) of 8,000 Sanskrit words for Kannada language users, again an attempt to integrate the Kannada literary culture into the popular Sanskritic cultural cosmopolitan.
Nagavarma II's authoritative Kannada grammar, Karnataka Bhashabhushana, which is based on his Sabdasmriti, and follows the general framework of Sanskrit grammar, is actually written in Sanskrit language. This has prompted claims that the author did so to prove to Sanskrit scholars of the day, who may have had a callous attitude towards the Kannada the local language (Prakrita Bhasa), that it was a rich literary language. From an invocatory verse in the text, another probable reason is also proposed, in that, being a Jain, Nagavarma II saw all languages as equals. Though the aphorisms are written in Sanskrit, the gloss
Gloss
A gloss is a brief notation of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text, or in the reader's language if that is different....
es (vrittis) are in Kannada, and as a whole, the writing is considered simple to understand, requiring of a student just the basic knowledge of Sanskrit.