Poet Sarala Das | 05 Apr 2021
Why in News
The Vice President addressed Odia Adikabi Sarala Das's 600th birth anniversary function in Cuttack.
- Sarala Das was one of the great scholars of Odia literature.
Key Points
- He was the first scholar who wrote his works in Odia in 15th century A.D.
- Best known for three Odia books, Mahabharata, Vilanka Ramayana and Chandi Purana.
- He also wrote the book Laxmi Narayana Vachanika.
- He started writing his Mahabharata in the reign of Kapileswar, otherwise known as Kapilendra, the famous Gajapati king of Odisha (AD 1435–67).
Odia Language
- Oldest of the eastern group of the Indo-Aryan family, Odia is derived from Ardhamagadhi Prakrit.
- Odia is one of the six languages that got Classical Status in India.
- A language officially “scheduled,” in the Indian constitution.
- It is also the main official language of the Indian state of Odisha.