Question

Kavirajamarga is the earliest available writing on poetry and grammar in Kannada literature. It was written by which of the following?
A- Halayudha
B- Pampa
C- Poona
D- Srivijaya

Answer 1

Hint:The name means "Royal Path for Poets" literally. It was published as a guide book for poets and scholars (Kavishiksha). From references made in this writing to earlier Kannada poetry and literature it is clear that a substantial body of work in prose and poetry must have existed in the preceding centuries.

Complete answer:
The earliest available work on rhetoric, poetics and grammar in the Kannada language is Kavirajamarga.
 It was influenced by or written in part by the famous King Amoghavarsha I of Rashtrakuta, and some historians say it is based in part on Kavyadarsha, the Sanskrit text.
Kavirajamarga has been co-authored by the Kannada language theorist Sri Vijaya, a poet in the king's court.
Additional Information:-
Kavirajamarga focuses on earlier styles of composition: the Bedande, the Chattana, and the Gadya Katha, suggesting that puratana kaviakatha accepted these styles (lit, "earlier poets"). Also used was the word pruvacharyar (lit, earlier grammarians or rhetoricians).
The book mentions many early Kannada writers who preceded Amoghavarsha I as the best writers of Kannada prose; Srivijaya, Kavisvara, Chandra Pandita and Lokapala as the best writers of Kannada poetry; Wimalachandra, Udaya, Nagarjuna, Jayabhandu and 6th century King Durvinita of the Western Ganga Dynasty. But these early writers' works and compositions have yet to be discovered.
 In the literary development of Kannada, Kavirajamarga was formative and is a guide book to the grammar of Kannada that existed in that period. For guiding many aspiring authors, it laid the "royal path".

Therefore, Option D) Srivijaya is the correct answer.

Note:-The name ‘Kavirajamarga” literally means "Royal Path for Poets" and was written for poets and scholars as a guide book (Kavishiksha).
- From references made in this writing to earlier Kannada poetry and literature it is clear that a substantial body of work in prose and poetry must have existed in the preceding centuries.
- In addition to earlier Kannada authors and poets, the book makes significant references to early literary styles that were in vogue in the various written dialects of the Kannada language.
 These written styles were to standardize the purpose of this writing.