"Shantipurana" is an important Jain purana, and a eulogy of the 16th Jain Tirthankara, Shantinatha Swami. It was written to commomorate the attainment of "nirvana" ("salvation") of a Jain guru called Jainachandra Deva. The writing comprises twelve sections ("ashwasas") of which nine sections focus on Shantinatha's eleven previous births, and the remaining three sections give biographical details of the protagonist. In this writing, Ponna borrowed significantly from previous works of the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa though he does rise to great heights in his narration justifying his claim to scholarship ("Vidwat Kavi"). Ponna also seems to have used as a source, a narrative poem written by a Kannada poet called Asaga, whose works are now extinct. Ponna's claim that his work is superior to that of Asaga gives us information that the latter must have been considered an important poet of that era.