Odia literature is literature written in the Odia language, mostly from the Indian state of Odisha. The modern Odia language is mostly formed from Tadbhava words with significant Sanskrit (Tatsama) influences, along with loanwords from Desaja, English and Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu). Its earliest written texts date from around 1000 CE. The earliest Odia newspaper was Utkala Deepika, first published on August 4, 1866.
Historians have divided Odia literature into five main stages: Old Odia (800 AD to 1300 AD), Early Medieval Odia (1300 AD to 1500 AD), Medieval Odia (1500 AD to 1700 AD), Late Medieval Odia (1700 AD to 1850 AD) and Modern Odia (1870 AD to present). Further subdivisions, as seen below, more precisely chart the language's development.
4th century BC The creativity and development of the Odia language and literature can be seen in its spoken forms, such as folk tales, and in written forms, such as rock edicts and manuscripts. Songs sung to memorialize birth, death, work, and festivals helped to preserve the language in its oral form, passing it through the generations. Stories depicted in cave paintings preserved the language in the written form.
Kharavela's Hatigumpha inscription serves as evidence of past Odia cultural, political, ritual, and social status, and is the first poetic stake inscription. Though Ashoka had created rock edicts and inscriptions before Kharavela, his instructions for administration were written in a rude and choked style. However, the Hatigumpha inscription shows the language's flexibility and flow.
The main feature of this inscription is based on principles of Sanskrit poetic structure, such as:
When the Hatigumpha Inscription was created, its principles had been traced before. They were followed by Rudradaman (Girinar inscription 150 AD), Samudragupta (Prayaga inscription 365 AD), Kumargupta (Mandasore inscription 473 AD), who created their own works in a poetic style on many rocks, in Sanskrit. The writing trend was not obstructed after Kharavela. The Asanapata inscription in Keonjhar created by Satru Bhanja, (a warrior of Odisha) was engraved in the temple, Laxminarayana of Simhanchalam by Mukunda Deva. In the beginning, these inscriptions had a dynamic journey from Pali to Sanskrit. Odia language, literature, script and culture are based on the discussions of these inscriptions. The words written in the Hatigumpha Inscription are still used.
Age of Charya literature (7th to 8th centuries CE) The beginnings of Odia poetry coincide with the development of Charyapada or Caryagiti, literature started by Vajrayana Buddhist poets.Mukherjee, Prabhat. The History of medieval Vaishnavism in Odisha. Chapter: The Sidhacharyas in Odisha Page 55. This literature was written from the "Sandhya Bhasha" metaphor. Some of its poets such as Luipa and Kanhupa came from present-day Odisha. The language of Charya was considered to be Prakrit. In one of his poems, Kanhupa wrote:
This poet used images and symbols from the social milieu/collective psychology so that deep realization could be grasped by readers. This kind of poetry, full of the mystery of tantra, spread throughout northeastern India from the 10th to the 14th centuries, and its style of expression was revived by the Odia poets of the 16th to the 19th centuries.
Pre-Sarala Age (12th to 14th centuries) In the pre-Sarala period, Natha and Siddha literature flourished. The main works of this period are Shishu veda (an anthology of 24 dohas), Amara Kosha and Gorakha Samhita. Shishu veda is mentioned in the works of Sarala Das and the later 16th century poets. It is written in Dandi brutta. Raja Balabhadra Bhanja wrote the love story, Bhababati (ଭାବବତୀ).Orissa Review Other important works of this period include Kalasha Chautisha(କଳସା ଚଉତିଶା), by Baccha Das; Somanatha bratakatha (ସୋମନାଥ ବ୍ରତକଥା), Nagala chauthi (ନାଗଲ ଚଉଠି), Ta'poi (ତ'ପୋଇ), and Saptanga (ସପ୍ତଙ୍ଗ).
Rudrasudhanidhi is considered the first work of Odia prose, written by Abhadutta Narayan Swami.
Markanda Das composed the first Koili (an ode to a cuckoo) in Odia just before Sarala Das. His composition Kesava Koili describes the pain of separation of Yasoda from her son Krishna. He is known to have composed the epic Daasagriba badha, Jnaanodaya koili.
Sarala Dasa In the 15th century, Sanskrit was the language of literature while Odia was often considered the language of the peasants and outcastes, who had no access to education.Sarala dasa is also known as ଆଦି କବି. The first great poet of Odisha with widespread readership was Sarala Das, who translated the Mahabharata into Odia. He also written chandi purana .This was not an exact translation from the Sanskrit original, but rather an imitation. It can be seen as an original work. Sarala Das was given the title Shudramuni(Peasant-sage). He had no formal education and did not know Sanskrit.
This translation provided subsequent poets with the necessary foundation for a national literature, providing a fairly accurate idea of the Odia culture at the time. Dasa, born in 15th century Odisha under Gajapati emperor Kapilendra Deva, was acclaimed as the "Adikabi" or first poet. The reign of the Gajapatis is considered to be the golden period for Odisha art and literature. Kapilendra Deva patronized Odia language and literature along with Sanskrit, unlike his predecessors who used only Sanskrit. A short Odia poem Kebana Munikumara was found in the Sanskrit Drama Parashurama Vijaya, ascribed emperor Kapilendra Deva.Prachina_Odia_Kabita Sarala Dasa's poetic gift was believed to come from Sarala (Saraswati), and that Sarala Das wrote the Mahabharata while she dictated it. Though he wrote many poems and epics, he is best remembered for Mahabharata. His other notable works are Chandi Purana and Vilanka Ramayana. He composed Lakshmi-Narayana Bachanika.
Arjuna Dasa, a contemporary of Sarala-Das, wrote Rama-Bibaha(ରାମ ବିବାହ), which is a significant long poem in Odia. He is the author of Kalpalata (କଳ୍ପଲତା).
Panchasakhas Five notable Odia poets emerged during the late 15th and early 16th centuries: Balarama Dasa, Atibadi Jagannath Das, Achyutananda Das, Ananta Dasa, and Jasobanta Dasa. Although their works spanned over one hundred years, they are collectively known as the "Panchasakhas", since they adhered to the Utkaliya Vaishnavism school of thought. The word pancha means five, while the word sakha means friend.
The Panchasakhas were Vaishnavas by faith. In 1509, Shri Chaitanya came to Odisha carrying his Vaishnava message of love. Before him, Jaydev had prepared the ground for Vaishnavism through his Gita Govinda. Chaitanya's path of devotion was known as Raganuga Bhakti Marga. He introduced chanting as a way to form a spiritual connection and taught the importance of Hare Krishna mantras. Unlike Chaitanya, the Panchasakhas believed in Gyana Mishra Bhakti Marga, similar to the Buddhist philosophy of Charya literature.
The Panchasakhas were significant because of their poetry and their spiritual legacy. In the holy land of Kalinga (Odisha) saints, mystics, and devotional souls were born, fortifying its culture and spiritualism. The area uniquely includes temples of Shakti, Shiva and Jagannatha Vishnu. Rituals and traditions were sustained by various seers – including Buddhist ceremonies, Devi "Tantra" (tantric rituals for Shakti), Shaiva Marg and Vaishnava Marg.
The origin of the Panchasakhas were described in Achyutananda's Shunya Samhita. As per his narration, towards the end of Mahabharat when Lord Krishna was leaving his mortal body, Nilakantheswara Mahadeva appeared and revealed to him that the Lord's companions Dama, Sudama, Srivatsa, Subala, and Subahu would reincarnate in the Kali Yuga and be known as Ananta, Acyutananda, Jagannatha, Balarama and Yasovanta, respectively. Thus, believers in the Panchasakha consider them to be the most intimate friends of Lord Krishna in Dvapara Yuga, who came again in Kali Yuga to serve him. They are instrumental in performing the crucial and much-awaited Yuga-Karma, where they destroy the sinners and save the saints, according to Sanatana-Hindu beliefs.
Balaram Das's Jagamohana Ramayana provided one pillar, along with Sarala-Das's Mahabharata, upon which subsequent Odia literature was built. His Lakshmi Purana is considered the first manifesto of women's liberation or feminism in Indian literature. His other major works are Gita Abakasa, Bhava samudra, Gupta Gita, Vedanta Sara, Mriguni Stuti, Saptanga Yogasara Tika, Vedanta Sara or Brahma Tika, Baula Gai gita, Kamala Lochana Chotisa, Kanta Koili, Bedha Parikrama, Brahma Gita, Brahmanda Bhugola, Vajra Kavacha, Jnana Chudamani, Virata Gita, Ganesha Vibhuti, and Amarakosha Gita.Orissa Review July 2014
The most influential work of this period was Atibadi Jagannath Das's Bhagabata, which had a great influence on the Odia people as a day-to-day philosophical guide, as well as a lasting one in Odia culture. His other works include Gupta Bhagavat, Tula vina, Sola Chapadi, Chari Chapadi, Tola Bena, Daru Brahma Gita, Diksa Samyad, Artha Koili, Muguni Stuti, Annamaya Kundali, Goloka Sarodhara, Bhakti Chandrika, Kali Malika, Indra Malika, Niladri Vilasa, Nitya Gupta Chintamani, Sri Krishna Bhakti Kalpa Lata.
Shishu Ananta Das was born in Balipatana near Bhubaneswar in the late 15th century. He wrote Bhakti mukti daya gita, Sisu Deva gita, Artha tarani, Udebhakara, Tirabhakana, a Malika and several bhajan poetries.
Yashobanta Das was the composer of Govinda Chandra (a ballad or Gatha- Sangeeta), Premabhakti, Brahma Gita, Shiva Swarodaya, Sasti mala, Brahma gita, Atma pariche gita, a Malika and several bhajans.
Mahapurusha Achyutananda is the most prolific writer of the Panchasakhas. He is believed to have been born through special divine intervention from Lord Jagannath. The name Achyuta literally means "created from Lord Vishnu". He is also referred to as "Achyuti", i.e. "He who has no fall" in Odia. He was born to Dinabandhu Khuntia & Padma Devi in Tilakona, Nemal around 1485 AD. He established spiritual energetic centers called "gadis" across east India (in the former states of Anga, Banga, Kalinga, Magadha) and Nepal. Gadis such as Nemal, Kakatpur, Garoi, and Jobra Ghat were places for spiritual action, discourse and penance. He was learned in Ayurveda, sciences and social regulations. His works are Harivamsa, Tattva bodhini, Sunya samhita, Jyoti samhita, Gopala Ujjvala, Baranasi Gita, Anakara Brahma Samhita, Abhayada Kavacha, Astagujari, Sarana panjara stotra, Vipra chalaka, Manamahima, Maalika.
The Panchasakha's individual characteristics are described as follows (in Odia and English):
During the Panchasakha era another seer, Raghu Arakhsita, who was not part of the Panchasakhas but was a revered saint, composed several padabalis in Odia. The Panchasakha and Arakhshita together are known as the Sada-Goswami (six Lords).
Madhavi Pattanayak or Madhavi Dasi is considered as the first Odia woman poet who was a contemporary of Prataprudra Deva and wrote several devotional poems for Lord Jagannatha.
Riti Juga (16th to mid 17th centuries)