Things to know about Labanyabati by Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja
Labanyabati is one of the famous and eminent Kabya or Odia poem of Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja written in Odia during the Seventeenth century. The Kavya Labanya Bati is written on the love story of Princess Labanyabati and Prince Chirtabhanu.
Chitrabhanu was the son of King of Karnata Shashi King Ratneswar and Queen Shashilekha. Labanyabati was the daughter of Sinhala King Ratneswar and Queen Bidyulata.
About Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja
Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja was born during 1670 as per Wikipedia. Wiki also posts that the opinions differ between 1670 and 1688 at Kullada, Ghumusara a princely state in Bhanjanagar, 80 km from Berhampur city in the south of Odisha and died during 1740. He was one among the greatest poet of Odia Literature and was awarded the title “Kabi-Samrat” which means “The Emperor of Poets”. He was born in a royal family.
Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja had thorough training in Sanskrit classical literature and mastered Sanskrit dictionaries such as Amara Kosha, Trikanda Kosha, and Medini Kosha. He even wrote a dictionary Geetabhidhana in Odia for helping poets. The town of Bhanjanagar near Silk City Berhampur is named after him.
Upendra Bhanja wrote some 52 books of which only 22 are available now. Due to the absence of a printing press, many of the hand-copied books have been lost. Some of his eminent Kavyas are Baidehisha Bilasa, Rasalila, Brajaleela, Subhadra Parinaya, Labanyabati, Premasudhanidhi, Rasika Harabali, Subhadra Parinaya, and Chitrakabya Bandodhya, Labanyabati, Koti Brahmanda Sundari, Kala Koutuka, Satisha Bilasa, Damayanti Bilasa, and Padmavati Parinaya, etc.
The first published work of Upendra Bhanja is “Rasapanchaka”. The first dictionary “Gita Abidhan” was written by Upendra Bhanja in Odia literature. Kabi Samrat was not the first title of Upendra Bhanja. He was rather entitled as “Bira Bara” as admitted by Upendra Bhanja in his kavya’s such as Baidehisha Bilasa, Subhadra Parinaya, etc.
Labanyabati by Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja.
Type : Poetry
Language: Odia
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