Janna (

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

: ಮಹಾಕವಿ ಜನ್ನ) was one of the well-known

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 The Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur, but was later moved ...

King

Veera Ballala II Veera Ballala II ( kn, ವೀರ ಬಲ್ಲಾಳ 2) (r. 1173–1220 CE) was the most notable monarch of the Hoysala Empire. His successes against the Yadavas of Devagiri, the Southern Kalachuris, the Pandyas of Madurai and the wani ...

and earned the title ''Kavichakravarthi'' ("Emperor among poets"). His noteworthy writings include ''Yashodhara Charitre'' (c.1209) which deals with

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

tenet A tenet is a synonym for axiom, one of the principles on which a belief or theory is based. Tenet may also refer to: Media * Tenet (band), a heavy metal band * TENET (ensemble), an American early music vocal and instrumental group * ''Tenet'' ( ...

s, ''Ananthnatha Purana'' (c.1230) which deals with the teachings of the 14th Jain

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the '' dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable pass ...

Anantanatha Anantanatha was the fourteenth Tirthankara of the present age (Avasarpini) of Jainism. According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Biography Anantanatha was the fourteenth Tirthankara ...

and a short piece called ''Anubhava Mukura''. Although all his works are known for the grace and style, ''Yashodhara Charite'' is his ''magnum opus'' and one of the classics of

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. Attestations in literature span one and a half ...

.Sastri (1955), pp. 358–359Kamath (2001), p. 133 Janna finds an important place in

, though he is not as famous as Adikavi Pampa. He came from a family of Kannada writers; Mallikarjuna, the well known anthologist was his brother-in-law and Kesiraja the grammarian, was his nephew.Nagaraj in Pollock (2003), p. 364 Janna's style essentially belonged to the classical ''marga'' (mainstream) brand of Kannada writers and his works were primarily meant to propagate the

philosophy.Shiva Prakash (1997), p. 204

Magnum opus

Amrutesvara Temple,Amruthapura- Large Stone Inscription

''Yashodhara Charite'', an epic written in the ''kandapadya'' metre is a unique set of stories in 310 verses dealing with perverted sex and violence and contains cautionary morals on the issue of extreme desires.Nagaraj in Pollock (2003), p. 377 Inspired by the Sanskrit writing of the same name by Vadiraja, the Janna transcreates stories of king Yashodhara and his mother and their passing from one life to the next without attaining ''

moksha ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologic ...

'' (liberation from cycle of death and rebirth). In one of the stories, the king intends to perform a ritual sacrifice of two young boys to a local deity, Mariamma. Taking pity on the boys, the king releases them and gives up the practice of human sacrifice.Sastri (1955), p. 359E.P. Rice (1921), pp. 43–44 In another story, the poet narrates the infatuation of the king for his friends wife. Having killed his friend, the king abducts the wife who however dies of grief. Overcome by repentance, he burns himself on the funeral pyre of the woman.Sahitya Akademi (1988), p. 1181 The stories of infatuation reaches a peak when Janna narrates the attraction of Amrutamati, the queen, to the ugly

mahout A mahout is an elephant rider, trainer, or keeper. Mahouts were used since antiquity for both civilian and military use. Traditionally, mahouts came from ethnic groups with generations of elephant keeping experience, with a mahout retaining h ...

Ashtavakra, who pleases the queen with kicks and whip lashes—a story that has piqued the interest of modern research. To expiate the queen from her sinful act, King Yashodhara takes his mothers advice and decides to perform a symbolic sacrifice of a cock made of flour, to please the gods. But the cock comes to life and crows at its time of death. For committing the sin of violence, Yashodhara and his mother are reborn as animals. After much suffering, they are eventually born as the children of Yashodhara's son in their seventh rebirth. The writing powerfully narrates the consequences of passion gone awry and the terrible suffering it brings in human life.Sahitya Akademi (1992), p. 4629

Other writings

Janna's ''Anubhava Mukhura'' is a treatise on erotics and the science of lovemaking, a topic that was well established as a genre of Kannada literature by his time.Nagaraj in Pollock (2003), p. 375

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{Karnataka topics 13th-century Indian poets History of Karnataka 13th-century Indian Jain poets Kannada poets Poets from Karnataka Indian male poets