Sarala Dasa (born as Siddheswara Parida ) was a 15th-century poet and scholar of Odia literature. Best known for three Odia books — Sarala Mahabharata , Vilanka Ramayana and Chandi Purana — he was the first scholar to write in Odia and his revered as the Adi Kabi (First Poet) of Odia literature. As an originator of Odia literature, his work has formed an enduring source of information for succeeding generations.
40-608: The early life of Sarala Dasa is not accurately known. He was a contemporary of the Gajapati King Kapilendra Deva . Though the date of his birth cannot be accurately determined, he can safely be placed to the 15th century AD. He was born at a village called kanakavati patana known as Kanakapura at the Tentuliapada, Jagatsinghpur district . Sarala Dasa belonged to Chasa community. Sarala Dasa had no organized early education, and what he achieved through self-education
80-608: A king with an army of elephants or master of elephants . Gajapati was one of the four titles adopted by kings who ruled in pre-colonial era India, the others being Narapati (e.g. Vijayanagara emperors ), Aswapati (e.g. the Bahmani sultans ), and Chattrapati . The region known as Kalinga (present-day Odisha) was ruled by the Eastern Gangas .The early Eastern Gangas ruled from Kalinga-nagara (currently Mukhalingam near Srikakulam , Andhra Pradesh). They shifted their capital to Cuttack in
120-605: A salute was serving this great deity and hereby destroying the sins of the Kali age. Though Sarala Dasa followed the main outline of the Sanskrit Mahabharata in writing the Odia Mahabharata , he made numerous deviations and added to it copiously the stories of his own creation and various other matters known to him. In the final form Sarala Dasa's Mahabharata is a new creation analogous to Kalidasa's Raghuvamsa based on
160-672: A stipulated number of soldiers at the time of war and had to fight for the Gajapati in the battle field. Some of the military titles include: The Odia poet Sarala Das who lived during the reign of Kapilendra Deva , has given descriptions about the military divisions in his Odia Mahabharata. The divisions mentioned are: The infantry units of the Gajapati military are as follows: Musical instruments used to motivate soldiers during march and warfare. The names of musical instruments include Damalu, Damame, Tamaka, Bizighosa, Daundi, Ghumura, Bheri, Turi, Ranasingha etc. The names of weapons used by
200-509: A term for periods in Indian history has often been objected to, and is probably becoming more rare (there is a similar discussion in terms of the history of China ). It is argued that neither the start nor the end of the period really mark fundamental changes in Indian history, comparable to the European equivalents. Burton Stein still used the concept in his A History of India (1998), referring to
240-663: The Suryavamsa dynasty ( transl. Solar dynasty ) or the Routray dynasty , was a medieval Hindu dynasty in the Indian subcontinent, originally from the region of Trikalinga . At its peak, it ruled over an empire stretching from the Ganges in the north to the Kaveri in the south, comprising large parts of Andhra Pradesh and some parts of western regions of West Bengal. It succeeded
280-471: The Eastern Gangas . 20°31′25″N 85°47′17″E / 20.52361°N 85.78806°E / 20.52361; 85.78806 The Gajapati kings patronized Vaishnavite Hinduism and were ardent devotees of the God Vishnu . They also commissioned many temples dedicated to the God Vishnu . In Odia , "Gaja" means elephant and "Pati" means master or husband . As such, Gajapati etymologically means
320-528: The Emperor Kapilendra Deva having an elephantry numbering two hundred thousand. Such a large number of war elephants is highly unusual even when compared with any contemporary military of the existing kingdoms during the times of Kapilendra Deva himself, in India. Nizzamuddin writes that the Gajapati encamped on the banks of the river Godavari with an infantry of seven hundred thousand. Fernão Nunes ,
360-669: The Ganges in the north near Hoogly to the Kaveri in the south under the Emperor Kapilendra Deva . But by the early 16th century, the Gajapatis lost great portions of their southern dominion to the Vijayanagara Empire and the Turko-Persian Golconda Sultanate . This period was marked by the influence of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and by the expansion of Jagannath temple across the length and breadth of
400-467: The Ghoda-nacha (Horse Dance), Dandanacha and Sakhinacha (Puppet Dance). One metrical peculiarity of these songs is that both the lines of a verse do not contain an equal number of letters though the last letters of both the lines produce the same sound. All Sarala Dasa's works were composed with this metrical peculiarity, and so the metre used by him can be regarded as a direct descendant of that used in
440-513: The Mughal Empire in 1526 marked the beginning of the early modern period of Indian history, often referred to as the Mughal era. Sometimes, the Mughal era is also referred as the 'late medieval' period. Modern historical works written on medieval India have received some criticism from scholars studying the historiography of the period. E. Sreedharan argues that, from the turn of the century until
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#1733085275019480-403: The Mughal Empire , although some historians regard it as both starting and finishing later than these points. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the early medieval and late medieval eras. In the early medieval period, there were more than 40 different states on the Indian subcontinent, which hosted a variety of cultures, languages, writing systems, and religions . At the beginning of
520-593: The Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia . The subsequent cultural and technological developments transformed Indian society, concluding the late medieval period and beginning the early modern period . One definition includes the period from the 6th century, the first half of the 7th century, or the 8th century up to the 16th century, essentially coinciding with the Middle Ages of Europe. It may be divided into two periods: The 'early medieval period' which lasted from
560-669: The 13th century. The Hindu philosopher Ramanujacharya had a great influence on the Raja Choda Ganga Deva, who renovated the temple at Puri . Narasingha Deva I built the Sun Temple at Konark and Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam at Visakhapatnam . The Gangas were succeeded by the Gajapati monarchs. Two copper plates of the early Pallava dynasty have been found in the Kolleru Lake, traced to Gajapati Langula Narasimha Deva, an Oriya ruler (Odia Raja). According to legend,
600-470: The 1960s, Indian historians were often motivated by Indian nationalism . Peter Hardy notes that the majority of modern historical works on medieval India up until then were written by British and Hindu historians, whereas the work of modern Muslim historians was under-represented. He argues that some of the modern Muslim historiography on medieval India at the time was motivated by Islamic apologetics , attempting to justify "the life of medieval Muslims to
640-417: The 6th to the 13th century and the 'late medieval period' which lasted from the 13th to the 16th century, ending with the start of the Mughal Empire in 1526. The Mughal era, from the 16th century to the 18th century, is often referred to as the early modern period , but is sometimes also included in the 'late medieval' period. An alternative definition, often seen in those more recent authors who still use
680-424: The Gajapati army are also mentioned like Dhanu, Trona, Sara, Asi, Parigha, Pattisa, Kunta, Jathi, Buruja, Saveli etc. Information with regards to breaking of gateways and walls of forts with the help of horses, elephants and iron instruments are also found in the same text. Other contemporary sources also reveal details on characteristics of the Gajapati military. Muslim texts like Buhan-m-Mansir give accounts of
720-494: The Gajapati fort was located at Kolleti Kota on one of the eastern islands of the lake, which protected the Odia forces. The enemy general encamped at Chiguru Kota located on the shores and tried to excavate a channel in the modern-day Upputeru, so that the water of the lake would empty into the sea and allow an attack on the Gajapati fort. The Gajapatis at the height of their power in the 15th century, ruled over an empire extending from
760-517: The Gajapati soldiers at their capital Cuttack. During the reign of the Emperor Purushottama Deva , the overlordship of Bhimanagari was established in 1471 CE by Narahari Singh who was a scion of the family of the ruling Suryavamshi Gajapati kings. Later in 1578, under the reign of Padmanabha Birabara Harichandan, the kingdom was renamed as Talcher in the honor of their family goddess Taleshwari. The kingdom acceded to India and merged into
800-525: The Portuguese-Jewish traveler who spent three years at Vijayanagara , the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire estimates size of the army of Emperor Prataparudra to the extent of 13,000 elephants, 20,000 horses, while fighting against the Vijayanagara Empire and also notes that the Odia soldiers were excellent fighters. Rayavachakamu also gives interesting accounts about the feats and exercises practised by
840-548: The Ramayana. Mahabharata brought to light about the 18 parvas . The Chandi Purana was based on the well-known story of Goddess Durga killing Mahishasura (the buffalo headed demon) given in Sanskrit literature but here also the Odia poet chose to deviate from the original at several points. His earliest work, Vilanka Ramayana , was a story of the fight between Rama and Shahasrasira Ravana (thousand headed Ravana). He wrote
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#1733085275019880-584: The benefit of "human beings". There are several indications in his Mahabharata that he served as a soldier in the army of the Gajapati King of Odisha and his association with the army brought to him a variety of experiences. The stories he heard the battle scenes which he witnessed, the places that he visited with the company of the army the historical incidents and names that he could know all remained stored up in his mind to be utilized in his writings. Gajapati Empire The Gajapati dynasty , also called
920-462: The book Laxmi Narayana Vachanika . The Adi Parva Mahabharata opens with a long invocation addressed to the Lord Jagannatha of Puri , from which it is known that Sarala Dasa started writing his Mahabharata in the reign of Kapileswar, otherwise known as Kapilendra Deva , the famous Gajapati king of Odisha (AD 1435–67). He tells us that Maharaja Kapilesvara with innumerable offerings and many
960-525: The empire. One of the causes of the reduction in militarism among the population has been attested to the Bhakti movement initiated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who arrived in the empire during the reign of Emperor Prataparudra and stayed for 18 long years at Puri . Emperor Prataparudra was highly influenced by the works of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and gave up the military tradition of the Kalinga emperors. He retired to
1000-559: The far South, the Vijayanagara Empire resisted Muslim conquests, sparking a long rivalry with the Bahmani Sultanate . The turn of the 16th century would see introduction of gunpowder and the rise of a new Muslim empire—the Mughals , as well as the establishment of European trade posts by the Portuguese colonists . Mughal Empire was one of the three Islamic gunpowder empires , along with
1040-546: The folk songs. By the fifteenth century the Odia language had assumed almost its modern form and had become ripe for literary compositions. The predominant sentiment in Sarala Dasa's poem is not love but war. He was also motivated by a strong religious zeal to compose religious books in a language intelligible to all and to make them available to the general public in Odisha. He tells in no uncertain words that he composed his poems for
1080-477: The goddess Saraswati – tells that Siddheswara as a boy was once ploughing his father's field and singing so melodiously that the goddess Sarala stopped and listened to his song and endowed him with her power of composing beautiful poems. There are several indications in his Mahabharata that he served as a soldier in the army of the Gajapati King of Odisha. Sarala Dasa spent his last time at Bila Sarala but
1120-629: The history of art or religion. Another alternative for the preceding period is "Early Historical" stretching "from the sixth century BC to the sixth century AD", according to Romila Thapar . At least in northern India, there was no larger state until the Delhi Sultanate , or certainly the Mughal Empire, but there were several different dynasties ruling large areas for long periods, as well as many other dynasties ruling smaller areas, often paying some form of tribute to larger states. John Keay puts
1160-753: The late medieval period, a series of Islamic invasions by the Arabs , the Ghaznavids and the Ghurids conquered large portions of Northern India. Turkic general Qutb ud-Din Aibak declared his independence from the Ghurid Empire and founded the Delhi Sultanate which ruled until the 16th century. As a consequence, Buddhism declined in South Asia , but Hinduism survived and reinforced itself in areas conquered by Muslim empires. In
1200-559: The life of an ascetic leaving the future of the empire uncertain. Govinda Vidyadhara took the opportunity to assassinate the sons of the emperor and usurped the throne for himself. The records of the Suryavamsi Gajapatis gives a picture of their military administration which they had inherited from the Eastern Gangas rulers. The Gangas had a vast and well-organised military which was improved upon by Kapilendra Deva . The empire
1240-409: The native place Kanakavati Patana known as Kanakapura at Tentuliapada with a religious establishment known as Munigoswain , which marks as the traditional spot, where he composed his works. This period of his lifetime was known as the medieval period. As well as the three books for which he is best known – Sarala Mahabharata , Vilanka Ramayana and Chandi Purana - Sarala Dasa also wrote
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1280-617: The period from the Guptas to the Mughals, but most recent authors using it are Indian. Understandably, they often specify the period they cover within their titles. The start of the period is typically taken to be the slow collapse of the Gupta Empire from about 480 to 550, ending the "classical" period , as well as "ancient India", although both these terms may be used for periods with widely different dates, especially in specialised fields such as
1320-468: The poems in Dandi chand (in which chand the number of letters in the verses is not fixed is called as dandi chand). The verse of Sarala Dasa is simple, forceful and musical, without artificiality. Applying colloquial words for his poetical purpose, his writing was free from Sanskritisation. His work can be seen as adapting the popular oral conventions of earlier Odia folk songs which were used in folk dances such as
1360-408: The state of Odisha following independence in 1947. Medieval India Medieval India refers to a long period of post-classical history of the Indian subcontinent between the "ancient period" and "modern period". It is usually regarded as running approximately from the break-up of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century CE to the start of the early modern period in 1526 with the start of
1400-403: The term at all, brings the start of the medieval times forward, either to about 1000 CE, or to the 12th century. The end may be pushed back to the 18th century, Hence, this period can be effectively considered as the beginning of Muslim domination to British India . Or the "early medieval" period as beginning in the 8th century, and ending with the 11th century. The use of "medieval" at all as
1440-701: The time period, Buddhism was predominant throughout the area , with the Pala Empire on the Indo Gangetic Plain sponsoring the Buddhist faith's institutions. One such institution was the Buddhist Nalanda mahavihara in modern-day Bihar , India , a centre of scholarship and brought a divided South Asia onto the global intellectual stage. Another accomplishment was the invention of the Chaturanga game which later
1480-514: The typical number of dynasties within the subcontinent at any one time at between 20 and 40, not including local rajas . This period follows the Muslim conquests of the Indian subcontinent and the decline of Buddhism, the eventual founding of the Delhi Sultanate and the creation of Indo-Islamic architecture , followed by the world's major trading nation, the Bengal Sultanate . The start of
1520-586: Was attributed to the grace of Sarala, goddess of devotion and inspiration. Though his early name was Siddheswara Parida , he was later known as Sarala Dasa , or 'by the boon of Sarala'. (The title Dasa means a slave or a servant of a particular god or goddess. A long list of poets, preceding and succeeding Sarala Dasa, have names ending this way. For example: Vatra Dasa, Markanda Dasa, Sarala Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa, Balarama Dasa, and Yasovanta Dasa.) A story – similar to those told of other Indian poets, such as Kalidasa , supposedly illiterate in early life until helped by
1560-455: Was built on the lines of a military state, with the protection of the state and its expansion being the responsibilities of the state and population. Militarism had penetrated into different ranks of the society and the Emperor had a large standing army which included a large number of soldiers and local-militants in the standing army. Besides the feudal tributary states of the Gajapatis also provided
1600-542: Was exported to Europe and became Chess . In Southern India, the Tamil Hindu Kingdom of Chola gained prominence with an overseas empire that controlled parts of modern-day Sri Lanka , Malaysia , and Indonesia as overseas territories, and helped spread Hinduism and Buddhism into the historic cultural area of Southeast Asia . In this time period, neighbouring regions such as Afghanistan , Tibet , and Southeast Asia were under South Asian influence . During
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