RAMACHANDRA CHARITA PURANA (PAMPA RAMAYANA)

1.Title of the Text: a. ರಾಮಚಂದ್ರಚರಿತ ಪುರಾಣ (ಪಂಪ ರಾಮಾಯಣ)

b. raamachandra charita puraaNa

c. Story of the noble Ramachandra

2. Author : a. naagachandra (Abhinava Pampa)

b. Twelfth century (1149 A.D.)

c. vijayapura ( In Bijapur District) or vijayapura (Near talakaDu)

d. Jaina

e. A disciple of baalachandra muni

f. Abhinava Pampa

3. Genre : a. Poetry: Champu Kavya.

b. kanda padyas and vruttas

4. Publication details: a. Pampa Ramayana Manuscripts: Palm leaf, Paper

b. 1892, Year of Publication

c. B.L.Rice

d. Publisher, Place

e. 1. Edited by K. Varadachar and others, 1921, Kannada Sahitya Parishat

2. Pampa Ramayana Sangraha; D.L. Narasimhachar and Tiruvallur Srinivasaraghavachar (Abridged Version), 1951, Mysore University , Mysore .

3. The Pampa Ramayana or Ramachandracharita purana of Nagachandra or Abhinava Pampa: An ancient Jaina poem in the Kannada language by Nagacandra , 1889, Mysore Government Central Press.

4. Edited by R.C.Hirematha, 1975, Bharateeya Jnanapeetha, New Delhi

5. A Brief Summary of the work: Pampa Ramayana is an important epic belonging to the tradition of Jaina Ramayanas. This work draws heavily from Pauma Charia a prakrit work by Vimala Suri, Padmapuranam in Sanskrit by Ravishenacharya. The tradition was continued by poets such as Kumudendu, Devappa, Devachandra and Chandrasagara Varni. Nagachandra is well known for attributing the qualities of a tragic hero to Ravana. His creation of ‘Udaatta Ravana’ is appriciated by modern Kannada scholarship. He develops the character of Ravana in a piognanat manner and defends his short comings as evidences of human faliabilty. Non-violence a cardinal principle of Jainism forces him to make Lakshmana the slayer of Ravana rather than Rama.

Pampa Ramayana is rightly celebrated for the beauty of its discrptions whether it be nature or human nature as also the competent manner in which he makes use of the nuances of kannada languages.

6. Important Commentaries and Criticism:

a. Commentaries

b. Books : 1. Nagachandra Prashasti

2. Nagachandra (Selections from) by Dabbe, Vijaya, Published by Karnataka Sahitya Academy , 1996

3. Kannada sahityda naalku naayaka ratnagalu, D.R. Bendre, Karnataka University , Dharawada

4. Nagachandra- Ondu adhyayana, by Vijaya Dabbe, Prasaranga, Mysore University .

c. Articles 1. Kannada Sahitya Sangaati, K.D.Kurtakoti

2. Tragic Ravana , B.M.Srikantaiah

d. Translations :

1. Ramachandracharitapurana (Excrepts from) Tr. by Pradhana Gurudatta and C.K.Sukumar.

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