sarvajna bio gokak

8/11/2019 Sarvajna Bio Gokak

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Sarvajna of Karnataka:

The People's Poet

BY V. K. GOKAK

In the realm of Kannada literature, that rich expression of the life of Karnataka and of the

various grand phases of her experience through the ages, are the glorious demesnes ofgreat poets, great philosophers. Among them stand in the forefront such poet!kings" as

#ampa, #onna and $anna. %he& are not poets of Karnataka merel&, 'ut (orld poets. %he&

can, (ith )ustice, 'e classed (ith *ilton, +ante and Goethe, in the ualit& of theircontri'ution to the literature of the (orld, and conseuentl&, as interpreters of divine

truths to man.

But it is a fact (hich is generall& recognised that poets like *ilton or +ante secure 'ut a

small num'er of readers. %heir intensit& of vision and their richness of expression cannot

stir the masses and illumine the dark corners of their souls. In a (ord, the& are notpopular.%hat is exactl& the case (ith our o(n poets like #ampa. %he praise of these

poets is universal and &et the intelligent appreciation, or even the perusal of their (orks,is limited to a fe(. Is it the fault of exalted genius that its expression is incomprehensi'le,

or the fault of the people that the& cannot understand them-

Among the popular poets (ho are distinguished '& a certain poetic plainness of

expression as contrasted (ith the poetic magnificence and aloofness" of the literar&giants, 'ut not unlike them in their realiation of %ruth, (hich all pursue, /arva)na stands

supreme. 0is verses are on the lips of ever& countr&man of his, rich or poor, learned or

unlearned. If #ampa and others are poets of the grand" st&le, /arva)na is the poet of the

simple, the lucid current st&le. If the former express eternal truths in a magicall& 'eautifullanguage, surrounding them (ith a certain highl& imaginative atmosphere, the latter

expresses the same in verses couched in plain and terse language, (hich, '& their ver&plainness and terseness, are pleasing and penetrating. But this should not 'e understood

to appl& to all his verses. 0is real poetr& comes in (hen /arva)na stands as a Yogi" (ith

the vision of the 1ternal 'efore him, singing his o(n rich experience of the Be&ond.

/econdl&, he 'rings this vision of his to 'ear upon the societ& of his time, denouncing itssophistr&, its idolatr&, its complicated and soul!killing s&stem of castes and creeds. 2ot

that idolatr&, as such, is to 'e condemned3 'ut (hen people have lost or misunderstood its

purpose and have made it an end in itself, then the /arva)nas have to rise and roll up thecurtain of darkness that hinders the true vision of the people. %he verses that express this

phase of /arva)na ma& 'e called verses of social satire, instruction and criticism. %hen inthe third categor&, stand his miscellaneous verses such as those on astrolog&, (eather!loreand the like!terse and pith& expressions of almost all the sides of Karnataka culture.

%here are even riddles (ritten '& him and verses (hich prophes& the events taking place

in the future, such as the one foretelling the fall of the Vi)a&anagara 1mpire. %hus

/arva)na is a t&pical Kannadiga, one (ho kne( himself and his countr& and (hounderstood the secret of the (ell!'eing of the societ& of his time, and devoted his life to

the uplift of his countr&men.


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%he time in (hich /arva)na lived is dou'tful. %here have 'een other /arva)nas pro'a'l&,

(ho also composed verses in the %ripadi" metre, and confusion as to (hich of these is

the real /arva)na, is the result. And &et, it is fairl& (ell!esta'lished that he lived in thesixteenth centur&, some &ears 'efore the decline of the Vi)a&anagara 1mpire. It (as the

time (hen great preachers like #urandaradasa of Karnataka, %ukaram of *aharashtra and

Vemana of Andhra +esa lived and preached the need of sincerit& in life", devotion,puritanism and renunciation. All of them agreed in denouncing lo( indulgence, lo(l&

conduct and a life (ithout, love for God. And the 'urden of /arva)na4s verses is the same.

%he sternness of their re'uke, the saintliness of their lives, and an almost similarundertone in their preaching, lead us to conclude that all of them lived in a time of

spiritual laxit& and 'rought a'out a spiritual renaissance (hich served greatl& to lift the

people from their degradation. It is definitel& kno(n that #urandaradasa, %ukaram and

Vemanna lived near the close of the sixteenth centur&. 5e can also consider /arva)na astheir contemporar&, as (e find some of /arva)na4s verses selected '& /ampadane&a

/iddha Viranachar&a for his 'ook of selections from Vachanakaras." %his great compiler

lived some(here a'out 6788. %here are internal evidences also. 0is conception of ideal

kings and ministers, for instance, reminds us of the glorious time of the Vi)a&anagara1mpire.

/arva)na himself tells us that he (as the son of Basavarasa, a /haiva Brahmin of *asur

in the +istrict of +har(ar, '& a potter4s (ido( named *ali. Basavarasa had gone on apilgrimage to Kashi (here he had 'een told '& the God Vish(anath 9in his dream: that he

(ould 'e 'lessed (ith a son endo(ed (ith man& virtues. 0e met *ali in a village called

Am'alur on his (a& 'ack to his native place, fell in love and lived (ith her. /arva)na (asthe fruit of their union.

0is real name (as #ushpadatta. 5hile &et a child, he defied his father and his mother and

refused to ackno(ledge them as his parents, telling them that the& (ere mere agents of a+ivine (ill in 'ringing a'out his 'irth3 and that his real parents (ere /hiva and #arvati,the god and goddess of Kailasa. 2aturall&, the parents (ere incensed at this strange

conduct of their son, and finding all persuasive methods of 'ringing him to his senses 9as

the& thought him deranged: futile, the& 'anished him from home. ;rom that time up tohis death, /arva)na (as an exile from home and parents. A lonel&, virtuous man, (ith

unconventional (a&s of thought, and a true heart &earning after the m&steries of God, he

(andered from one end of Karnataka to the other, assimilating the uintessence of itsculture and singing, as he (ent, his verses of m&stic experience and elevated preaching.

All of /arva)na4s verses are in the popular %ripadi" metre, a fit medium for conve&ing

great ideas in a 'rief and effective manner. It is hard to 'elieve that he himself (rote them

do(n< he never cared to (rite. 0e (andered from place to place a(akening the people(ith the chanting of his verses (hich invaria'l& end in his name /arva)na" or that of his

sole +eit&, the one God, the one supreme Being having its a'ode in him3 and that (as all

that he cared for his verses. But the people could not thro( a(a& such (ondrous gems of

splendid hues, even if the& had no value for their o(ner. %he& carefull& stored his versesup in their memor&, handing them do(n orall& from generation to generation and some

(rote them do(n in manuscripts of palm leaves. %here (ere man& interpolaters, as also


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in the case of %ukaram and Vemana. It (as comparativel& eas& to compose verses in the

%ripadi" metre and the& palmed off their o(n verses as his, rounding them off (ith a

formal /arva)na" at the end. But their verses lack the high moral tone and sincerit& of/arva)na and can easil& 'e distinguished. 2earl& t(o thousand verses of /arva)na are

no( extant and it is 'elieved that man& more ma& still 'e found (ith a little exertion.

One could imagine /arva)na rising earl& in the morning (hen the da(n still lingered like

a maiden (ith her sandaled feet, and (alking ma)esticall& to(ards the river flo(ing nearthe temple (here he had passed his night in gentle sleep or un'roken meditation,

murmuring to himself in clear ringing tones (ith a passionate voice=the man& h&mns and

verses=of others and of himself=that he loved to linger over. One could, again, picture tohimself /arva)na (andering from door to door (ith an alms!'o(l in his hand, declaring

the immortal truths and principles of 0induism in his clear, liuid voice, and in the 'rief

and memora'le verses of his, (aiting for the simple charit& that (ould assuredl& come tohim. 0is mind could never have lain idle in the mean(hile. 0e (ould 'e 'us& noting the

pett& vanities and antics of his fello( creatures, their hustle and 'ustle, and their interest

in all the pett& things that surrounded them. %his (ould cause a slight smile to pass overhis lips and a prett& verse to 'e coined in his memor&. 0o( vain and strange, he (ould

think, (ere the (a&s of men (hen %ruth la& flo(ering in their o(n garden> 0o( the&

cursed, shrieked and laughed and gloried in the (orship of images of cla&> But it (as not

scorn or mere indignation that stirred his (hole 'eing. It (as sheer pit&, the pit& ofBuddha and of ?hrist that made him 'ear (ith the follies of his fello(men and seek to lift

them out of the mire in (hich the& (ere hopelessl& struggling. 0is (as the dut&, he

thought, to let a gleam of sunshine into the darkness of their cham'er (hich might lighttheir path to 0eaven. 2o( and then he (ould catch a glimpse of a righteous face in the

cro(d and reverence it in his o(n heart. 0e (ould then go to his place, eat (hat had 'een

given and then (ander a(a& in the afternoon to the next to(n or village (hich (ould, on

the morro(, ring (ith the message that he had to impart.

0is poetr& is a revolt against all conventions. Its spirit is the spirit of independence and

highmindedness=(hich is the true spirit of poetr&. Its distinguishing note is its

humanness. *ere scholarship has no place in it, for /arva)na has little art in him, 'uta'undance of poetr&. 0e has not the pedantr& of learning (hich sho(s itself in the

la'oriousl& cultivated alankaras" of other poets and their g&mnastics in expression and

hard t(ists of st&le. 2or can (e find in him a sustained poetic endeavour (hich is the(ork of an essentiall& artistic temperament, rather than that of the purel& human. But the

simple graces of st&le one can here find in plent&, and can light upon rare )e(els of

idioms as often as one likes. Indeed, the chief feature of /arva)na4s st&le is its (ealth of

idioms 'ound together '& a natural lucidit& of expression. 0is verses are popular even tothe present da& as sa(s and (ise sa&ings, prover's and epigrams, and constitute the chief

part of the stock of learning of the masses. An&one cannot 'ut 'e pleased '& the variet&,

cleverness and appropriateness of /arva)na4s expression.

2or can a lover of conventions 'ear (ith the lashes of satire and the unflinchingstatements of the naked truth that /arva)na emplo&ed (hen exposing the moral laxities of

his age. But a man=and here lies /arva)na4s glor&=a man (ith his e&es open and (ith his


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In the soft heart of palm- Bo( do(n> Bo( do(n>

0e made all things and made the kokil" sing.@

It is greatl& to /arva)na4s credit that he sa( through the foul mist of castes and creeds in

an age 'linded '& the same I )ourne& on and on>@

%hese lines, summing up as the& do the (hole personalit& of /arva)na, verif& for us the

truth of his religious experience '& their unfaltering tone and sureness of vision. In hispure )o& of living and his un'ounded love of humanit&, he could also find (ords to sa&

sarvajna bio gokak

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