Ranna was one of the earliest and arguably one of the greatest poets of the Kannada language. His style of writing is often compared to that of Adikavi Pampa who wrote in the early 10th century. Together, Ranna, Adikavi Pampa and Sri Ponna are called "three gems of ancient Kannada literature".
Biography
Ranna was a 10th-century Kannada poet. He was born in 949 C.E. in ancient Muduvolal, known now as Mudhol in the Bagalkot district of the modern Karnataka state in India, to a family of bangle sellers.
Literature
During his early days as a writer, Ranna may have been patronised by Chavundaraya, the famous minister of the Western Ganga Dynasty. With the rise of the imperial Western Chalukya Empire, Ranna became an important poet in the court of KingTailapa II and his successor King Satyashraya who bestowed upon him the title Kavi Chakravarti. The writings of Ranna are in Halegannada. Of the five known major works accomplished by him, two are available in full and one in part. They are: Ajitha purana, Parashuramacharithe, Saahasabhima Vijaya, Rannakanda and Chakresvaracharite. Ajitha Purana is a Jain champupurana written in twelve sections on the life of Ajitanatha, the second Tirthankar. Ranna wrote this purana under the patronage of a Jain lady called Attimabbe, the wife of general Nagavarma. RannaKanda, so called because it is written in the Kanda meter, is the earliest extant dictionary in the Kannada language. Only twelve sections of this writing are available. Parusharama Charite is a eulogy of the Ganga minister and commander Chamundaraya. The poet held his patron in such high esteem that he claims to have named his son "raya" in honor of his patron. Saahasabhimavijaya or Gadayuddha is undoubtedly Ranna's magnum opus that was accomplished in an age of writings on "heroism", that describe the valor of important personalities. Written around 1000 C.E., it is one of the enduring classics of the language where the poet compares the valor of his patron Chalukya King Satyashraya to the Pandava prince Bhima of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Ranna keeps with the trend started by Adikavi Pampa who in 941 C.E. compared his patron Chalukya King Arikesari to the Pandava prince Arjuna in the classic Vikramarjunavijaya. While acknowledging that Ranna may have found some inspiration from earlier writings such as Urubhanga of Bhasa and Venisamhara or Bhattanarayana, scholars concede that Gadayuddha has an originality of its own. Modern scholars see similarities between Ranna's usage of the "adult imps" that stalk the battlefield of Kurukshetra and warn Kaurava prince Duryodhana about his impending death, and the description of witches by latter day famed English playwright, Shakespeare. Some scholars believe that Gadayuddha may have been conceived as a play before being completed as a champukavya. While the theme of the narration centers around the battle of maces between Bhima and Duryodhana on the last day of the eighteen-day war, the poet uses a technique similar to flashbacks in modern cinema to enlighten the reader with important events that led to the war and those events that transpired on the battlefield. Bhima is undoubtedly the hero of the day for slaying his foe and thus avenging the insult suffered by his wife Draupadi at the hands of Dushshasana prior to the war. However, Ranna skillfully depicts Duryodhana as a "great soul", who despite his sins, was a brave kshatriya on the battlefield, and a true friend to Karna.
