Kēśirāja, also spelled
Keshiraja, was a 13th century
KannadaKannada is one of the major Dravidian languages of India, spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas , number roughly 38 million, making it the 27th most spoken language in the world...
grammarian and a poet. He is particularly known for authoring
ShabdamanidarpanaShabhamanidarpana , also spelled Śabdamaṇidarpaṇa, is a comprehensive and authoritative work on Kannada grammar authored by Kesiraja in 1260 CE. This work, which literally means "Jewel-mirror of Grammar", remains till now as the comprehensive and early authoritative work on Kannada grammar...
, an authoritative work on Kannada grammar. Because of this work, he is considered to be the "greatest theorist of Kannada grammar". He was also a scholar in Sanskrit and a court poet (
Aasthaana kavi) at the Hoysala Court.
Kesiraja was born in a literary family, comprising several, well-known
KannadaKannada 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....
writers.
Kēśirāja, also spelled
Keshiraja, was a 13th century
KannadaKannada is one of the major Dravidian languages of India, spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas , number roughly 38 million, making it the 27th most spoken language in the world...
grammarian and a poet. He is particularly known for authoring
ShabdamanidarpanaShabhamanidarpana , also spelled Śabdamaṇidarpaṇa, is a comprehensive and authoritative work on Kannada grammar authored by Kesiraja in 1260 CE. This work, which literally means "Jewel-mirror of Grammar", remains till now as the comprehensive and early authoritative work on Kannada grammar...
, an authoritative work on Kannada grammar. Because of this work, he is considered to be the "greatest theorist of Kannada grammar". He was also a scholar in Sanskrit and a court poet (
Aasthaana kavi) at the Hoysala Court.
Early life
Kesiraja was born in a literary family, comprising several, well-known
KannadaKannada 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....
writers. His father, Mallikarjuna (C. 1245 CE), was a Kannada poet and brother-in-law of
JannaJanna 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...
. Kesiraja is also the grandson on his mother's side of another poet, Śankara (Sumanōbana), who was priest of the Yadava capital and poet laureate to King
Narasimha INarasimha I was a ruler of the Hoysala Empire. Apart from his victory over his overlord Chalukya Tailapa III which paved way for declaration of independence by his successor, his importance to historians is considered little....
. In some of his works, Kesiraja has called himself
Kesava.
Shabdamanidarpana
ShabdamanidarpanaShabhamanidarpana , also spelled Śabdamaṇidarpaṇa, is a comprehensive and authoritative work on Kannada grammar authored by Kesiraja in 1260 CE. This work, which literally means "Jewel-mirror of Grammar", remains till now as the comprehensive and early authoritative work on Kannada grammar...
, ("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). And 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 of earlier generations who are cited by Kesiraja as authoritative examples:
An attempt at vocabulary building is provided in several parts of the work. There is a list of verbal roots and words containing ḷ and ḹ sounds. There is also a chapter called "PrayŌgasāra" where Kesiraja has quoted a number of rare words along with their meanings.
Passion for grammar
Kesiraja had an interest in grammar, which is evident from his writings through his grammar work
ShabdamanidarpanaShabhamanidarpana , also spelled Śabdamaṇidarpaṇa, is a comprehensive and authoritative work on Kannada grammar authored by Kesiraja in 1260 CE. This work, which literally means "Jewel-mirror of Grammar", remains till now as the comprehensive and early authoritative work on Kannada grammar...
.
Literary works
Apart from his major grammar work
Shabdamanidarpana, Kesiraja has authored several other works in Kannada:
- Prabodhachandra (ಪ್ರಬೋಧಚಂದ್ರ)
- Chorapalaka Charitam (ಚೋರಪಾಲಕ ಚರಿತ)
- Kiratam (or Kiratarjuniyam) (ಕಿರಾತ)
- Shubhadraharana (ಸುಭದ್ರಾ ಹರಣ)
- Sri Chitramale (ಶ್ರೀ ಚಿತ್ರಮಾಲೆ)
However, no copy of these books exist.