Devanahalli Venkataramanaiah Gundappa (D V Gundappa), known more popularly as DVG, was/is a well known Kannada (one of the Dravidian languages from southern India) writer and a philosopher. Born in 1887 in Mulabagilu province (in Kolar district, Karnataka), DVG obtained fundamental education in Kannada as well as English, while learning Sanskrit on his own. Although his formal education did not proceed beyond high school, his works have been serving as graduate study material. antahpura geetegaLu, baaLigondu nambike, jeevana dharma yoga, jnyaapaka chitra shaale, maruLa muniyana kagga, samskruti, umarana osage …. are some of his well known works, mankutimmana kagga is undoubtedly the crown jewel. It is not uncommon to find that there is hardly any aspect of life that this work does not touch. Hailed as the common man’s bible by many – for simplicity of language, vastness, greatness and poetic flow of content – scope and understanding of almost every verse from this work seems to grow richer and deeper with one’s own experience in life.
In the description you have written as ” common man’s bible ” It would have appropriate to call it as kannadada Bhagavadgeethe as it is popularly known as. I am not trying to say that it should not have been compared to Bible. I know it is only a comparision.
DVG is known for his simplicity and high thinking. This Kagga triggers thought process for everybody irrespective of the individuals knowledge level. Its meaning assumes wider dimensions as one repeatedly reads it. The verses are very practical, straight, rich in moral values, not confined any religion, caste or creed. It need not be read in any order . One can choose to read it randomly . Because they are called ” Muktakas”.
The following are the chief characters of “Kagga”
1. All are 4 lines ( Chowpadi rachanegalu).
2. All are in (Aaadi praasa) means 2nd word of every line is the same in all the four lines.
3. They are called “Muktaka galu”. Independant verses.
4. They all end with the ankitan naama ” Mankutimma”.
Funny Gowtham should invoke Bible actually
. Most of these Kaggas seem to question the existence of a ‘Creator’ or that there’s a single force controlling the universe – that’s the anti-thesis of Bible!
@Manjunath:
Once you have read [and studied] scriptures from different religions, you will probably realize that they all have many things in common. Calling Kagga as common man’s Bible is only a symbolic reference and as such should not be treated/taken literally. Moreover, kagga not only has drawn from Geeta but a plethora of other scriptures and DVG’s personal life experiences.
As to the rest of your comment, I understand them but there is one correction though:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Hi everyone behind this website,
Really ur work is appreciated. Keep going. Can u give tell me is there any file anywhere in Net, which has Kagga in PDF format.
Regards,
Natesh
@Natesh,
Glad you like these postings. I am not aware of any website that has all/most of the verses from Kagga in a PDF format. Will let you know when I hear anything about it.
Hello Mr.Gowtham,
Thanks you so much for having made Kagga handy.
Can u please put some translations for words which are uncommon?
-Regards,
Aparna
@Aparna:
I will try my best but time is a big constraint in doing so. My personal practice is to keep Kannada Ratnakosha handy and refer to it frequently. You can get them in Kannada Sahitya Parishat or Ankita Pustaka and such other book shops.
Best,
Gowtham
Its sad to see that people are asking for e-book of kagga. Shame!. It costs almost nothing, and you can buy no matter in which part of the world you are.
Hi Gowtham
Amazing work..
Thanks for putting into a good habit a reading a verse a day.
You make my day, every day..
Hi Gowtham,
Really appreciate the efforts you have put in to make Kagga available in such a easily readable format on the Net. I am indeed indebted to you. Please keep up the good work. Now, my days begin by checking your website for Kagga updates.
Cheers,
Nagarajan B P
Hi Gowtham,
Thanks for posting verses of DVG. Appreciate your work n time
Cheers!
Ramya
Hi Goutham,
sincere thanks for posting Kagga.
i would be really grateful if there is a pdf/latex version of this book which you can share.
of course I have a printed book but having it online is another great feeling.
many people who are acknowledging your effort in this blog might also have a printed book.
thank you again,
hi Goutham
I really appreciate your efforts behind this. never mind if you dont have or cant share this book.
whatever you are doing now itself is good enough.
thank you.
regards,
Thought kagga is simple in its language, I find it a bit difficult to break the word correctly towards understanding the meaning. Does it improve with practice? Wud it be possible to also provide like a 3/4 sentence explanation if each verse?
Am sorry if I am asking for a bit too much
Thanks again for your efforts in bringing kagga to the masses. This webpage is part of my ‘favs’ list now
Bhargav.
Haloadministrator I like w/ ur article . May i use this post for my university test ? thanks admin
This is a wonderfull job.
life vision
This is a moral poetry.
This is a moral poetry.
Just wanted to say that you have done a great job putting this whole thing together. Thank you.
Namaskara,
Thanks for the wonderful work.
ಅಮೇರಿಕಾದಲ್ಲಿ (SF) ವಾಸವಾಗಿರೋ ದೀಪಕ್ , ಗುಂಡಪ್ಪನವರ ಕೆಲವು ಕಗ್ಗಗಳನ್ನು ಹಂಚಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
http://deep.syminet.com/kagga.pdf
ದೀಪಕ್ ಅವರಿಗೆ ನಮ್ಮ ದನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು.
- ಪುಟ್ಟರಾಜು, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು.
really good one
Thank you so much for sharing .
Hello
Can anyone please tell me a couple of kaggas related to kannada or rajyotsava, language, culture etc.
Urgent
Please
Hi Gowtham,
You are doing an excellent job by sharing these Golden words. Each person would not experience the same thing in life, so if people read and understand these kagga’s they will have great life experience…..
And also i appreciate Deepak’s effort in sharing the PDF…
All the very best guys….
sage’s golden words (D V G yavaru) should be seen as the steps for our inner and outer development. thanks for doing such a great job, kannadigara paravagi haardika shubhashayagalu. thank you gowtamji.
Kagga Has is Life Transfering Words,,, Let’s us pray God to Send DVG Back to Karnataka on his Birthday…….
Though I have many copy of book with me, and oldest one bought in 1973; still giving the book as gift to my friends on occassions; I still feel and need now a e-book in pdf, so it’s available as & when I need in my system, Phone. Here I see many like the book and need e-book, its not for the cost of the book, it’s for the convenience..
Hope some one will direct me to a link where I can get the full book in e-book format.
A much needed interface as of Kannada literary masterpieces. Particularly Kagga which is a real good psycho-socio-philosophical elixir – and thanks to you for providing a ‘daily dose’ of it to so many !
admire your effort in bringing kagga to all of us.thanks
Hi Gowtham,
Could you please create apage in Facebook and whoever subscribes/likes the page will get a verse in thier timeline everyday.
Hi,
I am looking for ebook of DVgs Srimad BhagavadGeeta Tatparya (Jeevana Dharma Yog). I request you all provide mthe link download or buy iy.
I have hardcopy with me, due vision probllem, I cannot read the hard copy with small fonts. If get an ebook I can zoom and read.
Thank you
Gopinath B