Who is honoured as the Adikavi of Odia literature and wrote the Mahabharata in Odia?
- A.Jagannatha Das
- B.Sarala Das
- C.Upendra Bhanja
- D.Radhanath Ray
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Sarala Das. The fifteenth century poet composed the Odia Mahabharata, along with the Chandi Purana and the Vilanka Ramayana, and in writing the epic in the speech of ordinary people rather than in Sanskrit he earned the title Adikavi, the first poet of Odia. Option A, Jagannatha Das, is wrong but closely related: he was one of the Panchasakha, the five devotional companions of the sixteenth century, and he wrote the Odia Bhagabata, which is the commonest confusion in this question. Option C, Upendra Bhanja, is wrong; he was the ornate poet of the riti era titled Kabi Samrat, the poet emperor, and wrote Baidehisha Bilasa. Option D, Radhanath Ray, is wrong; he belongs to the nineteenth century and is a pioneer of modern Odia poetry with Chandrabhaga and Chilika.
Read the full article: Regional Literature: Gujarati, Punjabi, Odia and Assamese Notes
Practice Questions
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Read the full explanation →The Odia novel Chha Mana Atha Guntha, translated into English as Six Acres and a Third, was written by
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