YASHODHARACHARITE

1. ಯಶೋಧರಚರಿತೆ (Yashodharacharite)
2. yashODharacarite
3. The Exalted Story of King Yashodhara
4. Janna (janna)
5. Second half of the 12th Century and the first half of the 13th century
6. Halebeedu region in Hassan district. A disciple of Nagavarma-2(? Disputed by Dr M.M.Kalburgi) and a maternal uncle of Keshiraja
7. Jaina (Ramachandradeva Muni was his mentor) He has built Jaina temples including the one at Pannaladurga (Ananthanatha Basadi) and renovated the Vijaya Parshvanatha Basadi at Dorasamudra.
8. Hoysala Ballala (1173-1220) and a minister with Narasimha Ballala (1220-1235)
9. Kavi Chakravarthi
10. Poetry
11. Kanda Padya
12. Palm leaf and Manuscript
13. 1894
14. Padmarajapandita
15. Svakeeya Sri Bharathibhavana Mudraksharashale, Bangalore.Karnataka Kavyakalanidhi, Mysore
16. 1. Ramanuja Iyengar M.A. and S.G.Narasimhachar
17. 1. 1899-02(Magazine), 1911, (Book form) Ed by Ramanuja Iyyengar and S.G.Narasimhachar, Karnatala Kavyakalanidhi Maale, Mysore 2. Yashodharachariteya Sangraha, K.V.Raghavachar, 1941, Mysore 3. S.Bommarasa Pandita, 1951, Jainasahitya Pracharasangha, Mysore 4. Yashodharacharite (With Vadiraja’s work in Kannada translation) C.P.Krishnakumar,1994 5. Yashodharacharite (with prose translation, Tekkunja Gopalakrishna Bhat, 1976, Kannada Sahitya Parishattu, Bangalore. 6. Janna Samputa, C.P.Krishnakumar, Kannada University, Hampi.
18. ‘Yashodharacharite’ by Janna is one of literary texts which have received serious critical attention through out twentieth century, by critics belonging to different schools. They have thrown light on the text from various angles. Some have subjected it to an interdisciplinary study. The characters of the main protagonists have undergone a close scrutiny. Not to be out done many creative writers have tried to restructure the story with a different perspective. ‘Hittina Hunja’ by Girish Karnad is an important attempt. Even Yakshaganas are written making use of this theme. In spite of these discussions one is still left with a feeling that many problems are yet to be resolved. ‘Yashodharacharite’ is the story of a king and his mother who breach the tenets of Jainism by deciding to sacrifice a cock made of flour to satisfy the irate gods. This unfortunate decision by Yashodhara and Chandramathi was caused by the infidelity of his wife Amritamati. She falls in love with Ashtavanka who is portrayed as abhorrently ugly and beastly. The mother and the son are exposed to a cycle of births as animals that destroy one another in fits of frenzy. Finally they are liberated from this cycle by the grace of a Jaina saint. This short summary does not do justice to the complex work.

Yashodharacharite is based on two different sources. They are ‘Yashastilaka Champu’ by Somadeva and ‘Yashodharacharite’ by Vadiraja. Apparently these two have borrowed the story from folk literature and molded it to suit their purposes. Janna composed this work when Jainism was in a state of flux in Karnataka. It was facing serious challenges from Veerashavism and Vaishnava religion. The poet wanted to re assert the tenets of his religion and capture the situation in his geographical region. However he was an artist of rare caliber and he was besieged with some fundamental problems related to human existence. The problem of crime and punishment and the problem of freedom of choice given to human beings were uppermost in his mind. Sexuality and cruelty two themes that are not really nuclear to his religion are chosen as the areas of human behavious that he wants to delve in to. Amritamathi with her independent spirit adds another dimension to the story by asserting her rights. The feminist critics of modern times have taken up her cause quite appropriately. This plurality of themes and the ease with which the poet handles them make the work an absorbing study. The poet has kept the text quite open in spite of his own preferences. These thematic preoccupations should not make us blind to the poetic merits of ‘Yashodharacharite’. For one thing the descriptions of nature and the material world are always in tune with the tempo and tenor of the situation. The work does not restrict itself to the mode of chronological narration. The story begins with the last incarnation of Yashodhara and his mother and meanders back to past. The work is full of metaphors and images related to hunting and cruelty to animals and the atmosphere is virtually suffocating. The language is a nice mixture of medieval Kannada and Sanskrit. ‘Yashodharacharite’ is a perennial favourite of Kannada readers and critics because of these reasons.

19. References and Criticism: 1. Janna, C.P.Krishnakumar, 1965, Prsaranga, Mysore University, Mysore. 2. Yashastilaka and Indian Culture, K.K.Handiqui, 1949, Jain Samskriti Samrakshak Sangha, Sholapur 3. Janna – Kavi Kavya Parampare, Ed. V.Seetharamaiah, 1975, I.B.H.Prakashana, Bangalore . 4. Janna- ondu adhyayana, K.Y.Shivakumar, 1999, Chethana Bookhouse, Mysore . 5. Yashodharachariteya Kavyatantra, Keerhinatha Kurthakoti, 1982, Bangalore University , Bangalore . 5. Janna (ondu maruchintane) Ed. Giraddi Govindaraja, 2008, Karnataka Sahitya Academy , Bangalore 6. Masterpieces of Indian Literature, Ed. K.M.George, Published by the National Book Trust, Kannada Editor: G.S.Shivarudrappa 7. Jannana Kavyagalalli Pranaya Nirupane, T.N.Srikantaiah, Kavyasameekshe 8. Yashodharachariteyalli Kamavikara Nirupaneya Uddesha, Kuvempu, (BAgina) 7. G.Rajashekhara. 8. Giraddi Govindaraja, Navyavimarshe, 1965. 9. Yashodharacharite (An article in English by C.P.Krishnakumar, Masterpieces of Indian Literature, Ed. K.M.George, Pub.: National Book Trust, Kannada Editor: G.S.Shivarudrappa

20. Links:

21. Translations 1. ‘The Glory Bearer’s Tale’, T.R.S. Sharma, Penguin Classics, New Delhi

2. Janna by T.R.S. Sharma in Ancient Indian Literature volume 2, Ed. T.R.S. Sharma, Sahitya Academy, 2000

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