Odia Books

Krishnachandra Singha was born 1739,as the second son of Niladri Singh, king of Dharakot, a state in the district of Ganjam. During his boyhood and youth he studied Sanskrit while staying at Nayagarh where his father settled after a quarrel with his elder brother Rajendra Singh. After the death of Rajendra Singh, Krishna Singh was accepted as the next heir to the throne. He was crowned in 1781 and ruled Dharakot for only seven years. From his third reigning year he entrusted the affairs of the state to his ministers and advisers and completely absorbed himself in literary work.

He engaged five Sanskrit scholars to help him with the translation of the Sanskrit Mahabharata of
Vyasadeva into odia, and after endeavouring for five years, he completed the work excepting ‘Drona Parva’ (the chapter on Drona), which had been translated earlier by his uncle. Krishnachandra Singha is known in odia literature for his Mahabharata in odia, which is a faithful translation of the original text. The great Sarala Dasa (l5th c.) took up only the skeleton of the original Sanskrit text, changing even the original epic characters in his own way and adding many invented stories on his own, but the Mahabharata of Krishnachandra Singha became the true and faithful odia rendering of the original text.

Nowhere in the translation do we find any omission or alteration in the portrayal of the original characters or depiction of events. He has, however, used book language and Sanskrit words while rendering the philosophical and religious discourses. We also find contemporary usages and descriptions of social customs of the period reflected in his translation. After working on the original text he completed the translation in 1828. He also translated Sanskrit Harivamsha (Annals of Hari) into odia.

Like most of the ancient poets he unashamedly speaks of himself as most ignorant, sinful, proud, impure and dishonest. This was not true and this kind of profound humility earned him adoration and respect for all times. Though encircled by all sorts of sensual enjoyments of a royal palace, he abstained from the vagaries of the rich society and led the pure, honest and devoted life of a true Vaishnava.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mayadhar Mansingh, History of odia Literature, (1962); Surya Narayan Das, odia
sahityara itihasa (Cuttack, 1966).

Odia Books By Krishnachandra Singha

Mahabharata
Drona Parva
Vaishnava