VK
INTRODUCTION.
Aksara-Chhanda nor the Matra Vritta of either Sanskrit or of Prakrita can be shown to be anyway connected with the genuine Oriya metres we are glad to notice that the earl}'- poets of Orissa could clearly see that the inherent essential character of the vernacular makes itself unfit to be accommodated within the framework of the Sanskrit metre. As to the form of poetry, where a composition is not distinctly after a Sanskrit work (either as a translation or as a work in adaptation of the original), the form has not been after the ideal of the old-time literature it must be admitted, to the credit of the literary genius of the country, that some forms altogether peculiar to the Oriya literature are met with from the earliest time onwards. Koili as a special genre and Chautisa as a form for poetry of very early times, and Chha-pai or Na-pai of mediaeval days, are some examples. Kesava Koili alias Yasoda Koili by Markandeya Das is perhaps „ the earliest known Oriya poem. Looking ™, "^ The Kojh lyrics. ^ . -• -i .i r to the tact that since very remote tmie it has been customary with th^ boys and girls all over Orissa to commit this piece to memory, Sir W. W. Hunter suggested that this Koili must be five hundred years old; Mr. M. Chakravartty, for want of any definite proof, has stated that it ia about three hundred years old. It is strange that no scholar has as yet referred to the Artha Koili by Jagannath Das, on the evidence of which work the age of Kesava Koili can be clearly proved to be not less than four hundred years old. Jagannath Das flourished during the early years of sixteenth century A.D., and he composed Artha Koili to give a spiritual interpretation of the text of the Kesava Koili. As all the words occurring in the Kesava Koili have been commented upon by Jagannath, it is undoubted that the text of the Kesava Koili remains unchanged, and we now get quite a correct text for this reason this piece is of high philological value. It is evident that the Koili in question was very popular and time-honoured in the time of Jagannath Das, and as such the time suggested by Hunter may easily be accepted as fairly correct. To be on the safe side we may say that the early years of the rule of the Solar dynasty is the time when Kesava Koili was composed. The character of a Koili is that it is a monologue, and the person whose words the poet versifies, discloses his thoughts to a cuckoo bird by addressing the bird as O Koili this address portion forms the burden of the poem. but I could get only four Koili lyric>3 which are of old time I have been unable to ascertain the exact time of their composition. They have all been grouped together under the head Koili lyrics. Ke.^ava Koili is certainly the oldest, and Bara-mashi Koili (i.e., the Season Koili) seems not much removed in date from the Kesava Koili Kanta-Koili by Balaram Das may easily be placed towards the last portion of Purusottama Deva's reign, for it was then that Balaram Das flourished. The fourth, namely, the Jnanodaya Koili, which contains some philosophic dissertations, is of very uncertain date. Some doctrines of the poem smacks of Alekh doctrine of which Bhima Bhoi of Sone;
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