Odia Books

Purushottama Das was born in 1550.He is a poet and author of Kanchi-Kaveri (published 1906) was the grandson of Baruna Das and son of Bhagirathi. A gopala (literally, rearer of cows) by caste, he was a resident of Puri where he served as the keeper of accounts in the kothabhandara (general store) of the temple of Lord Jagannatha. This accounts for his personal experiences regarding the festivals and other ceremonies observed in the temple regularly, as manifest in the lines of the Kanchi-Kaveri. He was conversant with the facts of history and the myths and legends connected with the deities as well as the Gajapati Kings of Puri.

Das will be ever remembered for his long narrative poem, Kanchi-Kaveri, describing the military
conquest of Kanchi (1st century) by the Gajapati King Purushottama Deva of odisha. The myth connected with the movement of Jagannatha as an unseen power ahead of the national army of odisha, the legends of Maniki Gauduni (literally, the cowherd woman, Maniki or Manika), who sold curd to the Lord, and the King’s love, romance and marriage with Padmavati, princess of Kanchi, have all been woven with great artistic skill into this kavya, rendering it into a piece of successful historical literature in verse.

Very much in conformity with his own devotional statement that Jagannatha is the Monarch of odisha, the kavya has been conceived as a manifestation of His all-pervading super-power that works through His agent, Gajapati King, but the poet in him depicts the Lord as a character, a veritable jolly horseman of the King’s cavalry. The importance of the work also lies in the graphic and lively descriptions of the details of warfare. For its success in its experiment with a historical theme, its novelty in depicting Jagannatha as a character in human flesh and blood, and finally as the artistic record of a war.

Das’s Kanchi-Kaveri stands out as a unique and pioneering work. It has been translated into Bengali. His other work, Gangamahatmya (Greatness of the Ganga), a puranic kavya on the mythological theme of the first flow of tbat sacred river was popular enough to be printed in Bengali script for use among the Bengali readers. Mriguni Stuti. Dutia Osa and Gundicha Bije are also ascribed to his authorship.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Surendra Mahanti; Odia Sahityara Madhyaparba (1967).

Odia Books By Purushottama Das

Kanchi-Kaveri
Maniki Gauduni
Gangamahatmya