Sri Ponna

Sri Ponna (Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ ಪೊನ್ನ ) was the royal poet in the court of Rashtrakuta King Krishna III.Narasimhacharya (1988), p20] Sastri (1955), p356] Kamath (2001), p84] He was honoured by the title Kavichakravarthi for his prowess and domination of the Kannada literary circles at that time. He also earned the title "Ubhayakavi Chakravarti" (master of two languages) for his command over Sanskrit as well.

His most famous extant works in Kannada are "Santipurana" and "Jinaksaramale" and "Gatapratiyagata". His yet to be recovered work is the "Bhuvanaika-Ramabhyudaya", a writing on the Ramayana in 14 chapters. The "Shantipurana" is a eulogy of the 16th Jain Tirthankar, Shantinath. The "Jainaksaramale" is a Jaina Purana written with dignity and style. While most of the work is original, some 200 verses were translated into Kannada from a work by the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa.

Notes

References

* Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, A Concise history of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present, Jupiter books, MCC, Bangalore, 2001 (Reprinted 2002)
* Prof K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002).
* R. Narasimhacharya, History of Kannada Literature, 1988, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, Madras,1988
* [http://www.ourkarnataka.com/history.htm Sri Ponna, Kavichakravarthi]
* [http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/deccan/rashtrakutas/literature_kannada.htm Kannada literature under Rashtrakutas, Dr. Jyotsna Kamat]