KUSUMAVALI  

 

  1. ಕುಸುಮಾವಳಿ
  2. kusumAvaLi
  3. A Bunch of Flowers (Name of the heroine)
  4. Devakavi (dEvakavi)
  5. 1200 A.D.
  6. Not known
  7. Brahmana
  8. Not Known (Chikkaraja Chamupa?)
  9. Kavindrottamsa, Krutiratiramana, Bharatibhushana
  10. Poetry: Champu Kavya
  11. Vrutta, Kanda and Prose
  12. ..
  13. 1972
  14. Kadabada Nanjunda Shastry
  15. Kannada Sahitya Parishath
  16. Later Editions
  17. Brief Introduction: ‘Kusumavali’ belongs to the genre of pure fiction not based on either history or mythology. However elements of folklore are intertwained with an intention of giving recreation. There story line has some resemblance to ‘Leelavathy’ of Nemichandra, The story of Kusumavali and Kandarpadeva unfolds in the text as narrated to Manikundaladeva the king of Madanavathy Pura from a sage called Kapila. Manikundala meets Kapila consequent of a dream. He gets to see a marble statue of a beautiful woman and wonders as to her antecedents. Kapila narrates the main story which involves many an adventure, escapades, separations and a final reunion. It turns that it was Kapila himself who transformed Kusumavali in to a statue so that she does not come to any harm by people with evil intentions. This Champu work contains many motifs that are common to folklore all over the world and they may reflect medeival life situations in a symbolic way.‘Kusumavali’ contains fifteen chapters and 2068 poems. Scholars have opined that the work is incomplete and three more chapters may be missing.                                                                                               

The language used in the work is a healthy combination of Sanskrit and Kannada. It contains many descriptions of nature which are varied and powerful. Early morning breeze, sugar cane, tender grass, darkness and buffalo are some items described with a tender care. It’s pity that many works like this go in to oblivion due to the processes of marginalisation. It is to be noted with concern that this manuscipt was published in book form almost forty years after Nanjunda Shastry edited it.                                                              

  1. Criticism
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