Land of Lime

Last week, in Raghavanka -1, I wrote about Harihara’s criticism of his nephew Raghavanka, when the latter presented his first epic poem, Hariscandra kavya; Harihara believed that poetry should be written on Siva and his men, not on mortal kings. Moreover, Harihara, I suggested, may also have been offended by Raghavanka’s ambitions and quest for wordly recognition. Today, I will chronicle narratives on Raghavanka’s life, which offer more evidence about how Raghavanka’s poetic sensibilities and attitudes towards worldly recognotion evolved.

Brief accounts of Raghavanka’s life, his visits to the Kakatiya court at Warangal and the Hoysala court in Dorasamudra are available to us from many literary texts: Kumara Padmarasa’s Sanandacarite (c 1360), Padmananka’s Padmarajapurana (c 1430), Santalingadesika’s Bhairavesvarakavyada kathasutraratnakara (c 1675) and Basavalinga’s Basavapurana Kathasagara (c 1650). Perhaps the most detailed account is provided by Siddhananjesa, who wrote Raghavanka Caritra (c 1680). Siddhananjesa appears to be a Raghavanka acolyte and has written kavyas (including Hariscandrakavya) on all the themes that the latter himself wrote.

Siddhananjesa and other poets describe Raghavanka’s childhood as well as his fight with his uncle, which I narrated in an earlier posting. Afterwards, Harihara apparently once again narrated to Raghavanka the discourses and practices of Saivas. Henceforth, Raghavanka wrote on the lives of devotees of Siva and gained fame widely, earning the title Kavisharabhabherunda. However, unlike Harihara, Raghavanka actively sought recognition for his poetic achievements; whereas his uncle chose to remain in the company of his favorite god, Pampapati of Hampe, Raghavanka traveled far and wide, to the courts of kings to defeat non-saiva poets or to recite his own poem. This contrast in attitude towards worldly recognition isn’t insignificant.

Let us focus on two events from Raghavanka’s life. A Saiva Jangama (wandering ascetic) once arrived at the house of Hoysala minister Padmarasa and began reading Raghavanka’s Siddharamacaritra, a kavya on the life of the 12th century vacana composer and philanthrophist, Siddharama. When he began reading a verse in which Raghavanka had described Sonnalige as Kailasa (which is Siva’s abode in the Himalayas) on earth, Siddharama’s associates as ganas of Siva and Siddharama as Siva himself, Padmarasa stopped the Jangama and characterized that description as improper. An offended Jangama reported this objection to Raghavanka, who rushed to Dorasamudra to defend himself. Little did he realize that Padmarasa had deliberately provoked the Jangama to ensure Raghavanka’s visit; the latter was pleasantly surprised with the grand reception upon his arrival in Dorasamudra and spent many months in the company of Padmarasa, who himself was an accomplished Virasaiva theologian and author. Padmarasa wrote one of the earliest texts on initiation - Diksabodhe (the teaching of initiation) – to initiate a Vaisnava Brahmin scholar from the Andhra region, Tribhuvanatata, who came to Dorasamudra, the Hoysala capital and challenged Saivas to a debate. After he was defeated in the debate by Padmarasa, Tribhuvanatata as per a prior agreement became a Saiva. It is believed that Raghavanka too was present at this debate and assisted Padmarasa.

Even this incident illustrates Raghavanka’s pride, impatience and lack of judgment. He clearly hadn’t internalized his uncle’s equanimity as well as detachment. As we see in the next episode as well, Raghavanka was easily provoked and in his eagerness to establish the supremacy of Saiva devotees, he often acted hastily. Once he was invited by Chatura kavi to visit Prataparudrara, the Kakatiya king of Warangal in the Telugu speaking Telangana region. Chatura wanted Raghavanka to defeat three poets who were in the Kakatiya court and who would through trickery condemn all visiting poets. The three poets, Ekasandhigrahi, Dvisandhigrahi and Trisandhigrahi, had one strength: memory. When a visiting poet would recite his poem, Ekasandhigrahi would recite it back and claim that poem to be his composition. His two fellow poets would recite the poem again and support Ekasandhigrahi by claiming that they had heard the poem before. Chatura appeals to Raghavanka’s competitive spirit and takes him to Warangal to take on these poets. Before entering the city, Raghavanka went to the Virabhadra temple and composed Viresa carite; King Prataparudra, it is said, witnessed this event, prompted by god Virabhadra himself. When Raghavanka recited the poem in the court the next day, the three poets couldn’t instantly memorize due to its complicated metrical structure and repeat it. King Prataparudra then felicitated Raghavanka and 107 other poets with gold, cloth and other gifts. Now, a mature Raghavanka refused to accept these gifts, by saying ‘they aren’t appropriate for devotees of Siva’. But his aggressive desire to establish Saiva supremacy caused trouble to him; a Jangama, hired by the three poets, stabbed Raghavanka when he was returning to Hampi. A severely injured Raghavanka returned to Hampi and as per his uncle’s orders, traveled to Dorasamudra, where he dies.

Thus ends the life of one of the most important Kannada poets. I am reading Hariscandra kavya now and the life of the poet has been on my mind. For reasons that I outlined earlier, this period, especially the poetry of Harihara and Raghavanka, is a critical moment in Kannada literary history. A posting on Harihara himself would further clarify the key innovations that occurred in early 13th century, both in terms of new forms as well as the new subject matter of poetry. But the legends associated with these poets often provide key insights into literary culture and my intention here has been to recuperate such insights.