Question

“Truly, whole mankind is one” was declared by the Kannada poet____
A)Ranna
B)Pampa
C)Janna
D)Ponna

Answer 1

Hint:Kannada is the language spoken in Karnataka. Most poets belonging to the fifth century BC used poetry to glorify and praise their emperors; also the poetry was used to highlight the political, social and economic conditions of the society.

Complete answer:
Let us go through the given options- Option A: Ranna was a Kannada poet who wrote in the 10th century. This option is not correct.
Option B: Pampa was a court poet of Chalukya king Arikesari II, who was a feudatory of the Rashtrakuta dynasty king Krishna III, he reflected his philosophical beliefs in the Kannada language. He was also referred to as the first poet " Adikavi". Although there were various Kannada poets, his quality of work was outstanding and was difficult to match by the others. Impressed by his knowledge and poetic abilities, Arikesari (who possessed the title Gunarnava) honoured him with the title Kavita Gunarnava. In 941 at the age of 39, he wrote Adi Purana.
Option C: Janna is an important poet who has appealed to the modern sensibility of the Kannada speaking community as he opted for themes that were neither historical nor contemporary. Janna belongs to the tradition of administrator-poets of Kannada such as Pampa, Chavundaraya and Basavanna.
Option D: Ponna was honoured by king Krishna III (r.939–968 CE) as "emperor among poets" (Kavichakravarthi) for his domination of the Kannada literary circles of the time.

Therefore, option B is the correct answer.

Note: the Kannada language is the official language of Karnataka in south India. It originates from the Dravidian house with a literary tradition. This language is also known as Caranese or Kanarese. There are nearly twenty dialects of the language and most of them are influenced by the neighbouring states languages like Tamil, Marathi and Telugu.