Ranna, along with Pampa and Ponna,

Ranna, along with Pampa and Ponna, was one of the three literary geniuses of Kannada literature. He was born in 949 CE at Muduvolalu (Mudhol) in the Bagalkot District of Karnataka. His ancestors were members of the Vaishya caste, from Balegara community (bangle sellers) of Jains. Ranna originally used to sell bangles. Ranna was inclined towards education, and took to learning leaving the family work to his brothers. Very soon he became a master of Sanskrit literature, Prakrit literature and Kannada literature. Gradually, Ranna made his way to the imperial court of Tailpa (973-997 A.D) and his son Sathyashraya (997-1009 A.D).

Literary Works of Ranna
Ranna wrote most of his works on a Jain theme. His most well-known works have been Parashuramacharitha, Ajitha Purana and Sahasa Bhima Vijaya or Gadaa Yudda. The first two are not yet come to light and the fame of Ranna as a poet rests on the other two, which are now extant. A fragment of a lexical work called Ranna-Kanda is also available.

The work the 'Ajitha Purana', completed in 993 AD, was about the traditional history of the second Jain Tirthankara. This is one of the shortest Jaina Puranas in the Kannada language. It recounts the stories of only two previous births of the Jina. It is about a prince who realizes how transitory life is by merely holding a few grey hairs to his cheek. He consequently renounces his life and goes on to meditate and live the life of an ascetic. He is reborn in the next life as the saint Ajithanatha. This is the first part of the work and shows the great talents of Ranna as a poet. The next part is the story of Sagara, the second Chakravarti of Jainism. Though initially reluctant to give up worldly pleasures, he eventually gave in after much persuasion by Maniketu and the death of his 60,000 sons when he realized his helplessness in the face of death. He finally took to a life of penance and found release.