Madhusudan Rao

Bhaktakabi Madhusudan Rao
Born	(1853-01-19)19 January 1853 Puri, Odisha, India
Died	28 December 1912(1912-12-28) (aged 59)
Occupation	Poet, Essayist
Nationality	Indian
Genre	Poetry
Notable works	Prabandhamala, Barnabodha

Madhusudan Rao (19 January 1853 – 28 December 1912) was an Odia poet and writer from India. He was known as Bhaktakabi. His most well known work is the Chhabila Madhu Barnabodha. He was also a prominent acharya of the Brahmo Samaj.

He was born on 19 January 1853 in the district of Puri. He was a prominent Odia poet and essayist widely considered as the Father Of Modern Odia Poetry, by adding foreign (western) lyrical elements and experimentation. He died on 28 December 1912.^[1]

He is known as Bhaktakavi of Odia and is considered the father of modern (using western lyrical forms) Odia poetry.^{[citation needed]}

• In collaboration with Radhanath Ray, he published two volumes, one each in 1873 and 1874, of collections of poems entitled Kavitabali.
• His other poetry collections, which also consist of compositions used as lyrics for songs, comprise:
  • Chhandamala (Vol. 1, 188; Vol. 2, 1895),
  • Sangitamala (1894),
  • Basanta Gatha (1910),
  • Kusumanjali (1903) and
  • Utkalgatha (1908).
• Prabandhamala, published in 1880, is a collection of essays in Odia.^[2][3]
• Apart from writing essays, he translated a few works from Sanskrit and English into Odia. They were published in Utkal Darpan, a literary journal.
• He wrote two short stories.
• He translated the Uttararamacarita of Bhavabhuti into Odia.
• He also contributed to children's literature.^[2]
• Rao, Madhusudan (1898). Chandamala (in Odia). The Arunodya Press. OCLC 499869715.
• Rao, Madhusudan (1901). Mahadebi Bhiktoria (in Odia). The Utkal Sahitya Press. OCLC 499865497.
• Rao, Madhusudan (1983). Madhusudana granthabali (in Odia). Grantha Mandira. OCLC 499128674.
• Rao, Madhusudan (1912). Ucca siksaka suhrda (in Odia). OCLC 1046989696.
• Rao, Madhusudan (1922). Karnna badha (in Odia). The Brajendra Press. OCLC 499865888.
• Rao, Madhusudan (1983). Basanta Gatha (in Odia). Phrends Pablisars. OCLC 499610376.
• Rao, Madhusudan (1944). Barnabodha (in Odia). The I.S.S.D. Press. OCLC 499519106.
• Rao, Madhusudan; Kabi, Asita (1972). Kusumañjali : alocana saha (in Odia). Niushtudentas Shtora. OCLC 6304045.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barnabodha.

• Works by or about Madhusudan Rao at the Internet Archive