Marathi Poets of Southern India

BY B. R. DESHPANDE, M.A., LL.B.

The credit for spreading Marathi towards Southern India goes to Ramadasa who advocated a policy of Maharashtrian expansion in his famous lines:

Maratha tituka melawawa
Marathas all should be united
Maharashtra dharma Wadhawawa
Maratha culture should be extended

This policy of unity and expansion, a sort of imperialism, held the Marathas well together as a nation even in the difficult and chaotic days which followed the death of Shivaji.

From the times of Shahaji, Shivaji’s father, the Marathas had started migrating towards the South, and even to this day in the district of Tanjore we find many Maratha families who had settled there in times of Shahaji. When Shivaji went to Tanjore, Ramadasa Swami had sent his disciples, chief amongst whom were Bhimaswami, Ananta Mauni and Raghavaswami, to spread his religious order in those regions. These missionaries spread the religious tenets and the cult of Ramadasa, and incidentally they spread the Marathi language.

Amongst these the story of Bhimaswami is a little interesting. Bhima was the grandson of Kamalajipant of Shahapur near Karhad. His grandmother Gangabai was a disciple of Ramadasa. Ramadasa once visited her and was impressed with the sharpness of Bhima, then a child of seven years. Ramadasa asked him whether he would be a member of the Order. On his reply in the affirmative, Ramadasa said to him, "Well, you will have to obey all our orders." "Yes!" said the young enthusiast. Pointing to a well near by, Ramadasa asked him to jump into it. Instantly, Bhima dropped himself into the well. At this proof of discipline and obedience Ramadasa immediately made him a disciple and educated him under his own supervision. Later on, he was appointed to the math at Shahapur as a Mahanta. After this he went over to Tanjore with Shivaji. There Shivaji’s step-brother Vyankoji, built a math for him. His descendants are still to be found there. He composed various songs and also a Life of Ramadasa.

The other two who went to Tanjore at the same time were Ananta and Raghava. Their maths are also in existence to this day in Tanjore. Meruswami, the disciple of Ananta, has written several works of a spiritual type. Madhava, the disciple of Raghava, was a voluminous author. He composed Ramayana in metres as well as in ‘Ovee’ verses. He also wrote Mahabharata fully in 18 parts, which work occupied his time for not less than four years. It runs into 924 chapters and was written at Gaurimayur, as the author has mentioned, on the banks of the river Cauvery. This is one of the biggest works in Marathi but it is lacking in poetic quality, and its language and style are also of an inferior type.

A poet, Ranganath by name, had written a work in praise of the Cauvery. He had also written on some mythological themes. On the banks of the river Cauvery lived many Marathi poets such as Dasanudasa, Bhagwant and Vaidyanath. All these mainly wrote on themes of spiritual life.

There is one thing to note about the Marathi Literature of these regions. It is the unique composition of dramas which were written under the name of the king, Shahu, who was a son of Vyankoji. Whether the author be the king himself or one of his court poets, the dramas, although not of very high quality, show what kind of technique the dramatic performances had at that time. Many of the possible authors of these works must have known Sanskrit which is rich in dramatic literature, but none seems to have taken into his head to translate the works of Kalidasa or Bhavabhuti. This apathy towards the drama, as a form, in the Marathi literature of olden times, must have been due to the fact that the people were not in a condition to see, act or appreciate dramatic works. They were, in the bulk, a poor people: their prime need was food and, after food, the wisdom of life or the easiest way of spiritual life. This need, the poets of the Age of Devotion had fully supplied.

Ananta, a disciple of Ramadasa, (to be distinguished from another disciple of the same name) formerly resident of the Satara District, later on became a Mahanta of the math at Vilangabad. In addition to his being a disciple of Ramadasa, he was also devoted to God Vitthala and the Varkaree Faith. He wrote a great deal of poetry on themes from the Ramayana.

Very similar to this Ananta is another poet Ananda-tanaya (son of Ananda) in his choice of themes, his language and his style. Both these poets appear to have known Sanskrit and Hindi, and seem to have been interested in prosody. Their poems are simple and easy, and have a dramatic quality which has made them dear to women and children. These poems were profusely used by ethical-musical preachers (Kirtankars). Both the poets suffer a little from the common defects of forced arrangement of words and unintellegibility arising out of alliterative construction, but Ananda-tanaya is no doubt superior in poetic genius. He is regarded as the inventor of a new metre, termed as ‘dindi,’ which became immensely popular on account of its ringing music. His poetry is profoundly musical. In his Seeta Swayamvar (Marriage of Seeta), his rhymes ending at the line, as well as marking regular intervals in his feet, make sweet jingling throughout, like the ringing of wedding bells, constantly in our ears. He wrote on various themes from the epic of Ramayana and the life of Krishna (Bhagwat) besides on other mythological themes. He also composed about a hundred and fifty sweet songs. His choice of subjects is restricted to stories of poetic and artistic interest. He belonged to a place called Arni in Karnatak. His personal name was Gopal and it may be that he liked the profession of arms, for he mentions himself in one of his works as a ‘soldier, of Arni.’

It is generally supposed that to a son of Ananda-tanaya was given in marriage a daughter of Raghunath Pandit who was a very great Marathi poet, ranking with the first-rate poets of Marathi Literature. His "Story of the Marriage of Nala and Damayanti," is a perfect poem, patterned on the Sanskrit rules of poetics. His verse is laboured, artistic and replete with various figures of speech. He undoubtedly chose the best words and set them in the best order. He was a learned man, well-versed in literary composition. He has drawn beautiful character-sketches in his master-piece, ‘the Marriage of Nala and Damayanti.’ The episode of the Swan and of its being caught by Nala could not have been told as it has been, but by a master-artist. One is often reminded of Keats while reading the luxurious, rich and languorous verses of Raghunath Pandit. He had to pass the evening of his life in extreme poverty of which he left a touching account, He wrote poems on ‘Ramadasa’ and ‘Gajendra Moksha,’ but they are not so famous or well written as his "Story of the Marriage of Nala and Damayanti."