1898.] M. M. Chakravarti— Language and literature of Orissa. 347 
16th century A.D. and might belong to its first half. Like the Sanskrit 
original it forms a gigantic undertaking and takes up about two thousand 
folios. It does not pretend to any literary finish, and the verses often 
rhyme unequally. But it has the merit of having superseded the San¬ 
skrit Mahabharata among the common mass. 
According to tradition, Saro]a Dasa was a resident of the village 
Kalinaga in Pargana Jhagkara. A casa by caste, he had three more 
brothers. He was considered the dunce of the family; but through the 
grace of Sarola Devi, the principal goddess of Jhaqkara, he is said 
to have acquired the power of versifying. The goddess ordered him to 
compose the Mahabharata in Oriya; and when he expressed his inability 
to distinguish good from bad verses, she said “ Write on palm leaves 
whatever comes to your mind. When you get disgusted, take the palm 
leaves so written to the river Candrabhaga, and float them on its water. 
Gather those leaves which will float up to you and stitch them according 
to the order of receipt. This will be your Mahabharata.” In this way 
Sarola Dasa is said to have composed his work. Candrabhaga is another 
name for the stream Budha that flows past the village Tentulipada in 
Pargana Jhaqkara. After composing, Sarola Dasa took his poem to Puri, 
but there the Pandits laughed at it. During the night, however, Lord 
Jagannatha appeared in a dream to the Raja, and strongly recommended 
the work to him. Then by order of the Raja, the work was re-examined 
by the Pandits, who unanimously approved it. Pleased with his poem, 
the Raja of Purl gave him, as jdgir , Jhaijkara and three other 
Parganas. Sarola Dasa’s descendants still live at Kalinaga, Tentuli¬ 
pada and the adjoining villages, and now pass as Karanas or members 
of the writer-caste. 
Another version of the Mahabharata into Oriya was prepared 
under the direction of the Raja Krsna Simha of Dharak5ta. But 
this version though literally more correct, is hardly known among 
the people. The influence of the Mahabharata, both Sanskrit and 
Oriya, may be traced in certain brief redactions such as the 
Sucitra Bharata of Kesaba Dasa and the Bicitra Bharata of 
Bisvambhara Misra. Episodes of Mahabharata were worked into 
smaller pieces as Kapatapasa or fraudulent dice-playing, Subhadra- 
parinaya or marriage of Subhadra, Gajanistarana Gita or the deliver¬ 
ance of the elephant in his fight with the tortoise, etc. In addition the 
Bhagabatagita which really forms a part of the Mahabharata was 
translated into Oriya,; and a version of the Jaimini Mahabharata was 
made for popular use. 
The last important religious work I will notice is the Harivamea. 
In the original Sanskrit it is a supplement of the Epic Mahabharata. 
