Nagavarma I

Who is Nagavarma I?

Nagavarma I was a noted Jain writer and poet in the Kannada language in the late 10th century. His two important works, both of which are available are, Karnataka Kadambari, a champu based romance novel and an adaptation of Bana's Sanskrit Kadambari, and Chandombudhi, the earliest available work on prosody in the language which Nagavarma I claims would command the respect even of poet Kalidasa. According to the scholars K.A. Nilakanta Shastri and R. Narasimhacharya, Nagavarma I belonged to a migrant Brahmin family originally from Vengi. According to the modern Kannada poet and scholar Govinda Pai, Nagavarma I lived from 950 AD to 1015 AD. So popular was Nagavarma I's poetic skills that King Bhoja of Malwa presented him with horses, in appreciation of his poetic skills.