Kannada literature - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Kannada literature is the corpus

Text corpus

In linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts...

of written forms of the Kannada language

Kannada language

Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...

, a member of the Dravidian family

Language family

A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...

spoken mainly in the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state of Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

and written in the Kannada script

Kannada script

The Kannada script is an alphasyllabary of the Brahmic family, used primarily to write the Kannada language, one of the Dravidian languages of southern India and also Sanskrit in the past. The Telugu script is derived from Old Kannada, and resembles Kannada script...

.
Kannada is attested epigraphically from the first millennium AD, and literary Old Kannada flourished in the 6th century Ganga dynasty

Ganga Dynasty

Ganga Dynasty is a name used for two unrelated dynasties who ruled parts of India:* The Western Ganga Dynasty, a kingdom in southern India, based in southern Karnataka, from the 3rd to the 10th centuries...

and during 9th century Rashtrakuta Dynasty

Rashtrakuta Dynasty

The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian Subcontinent between the sixth and the 10th centuries. During this period they ruled as several closely related, but individual clans. Rastrakutas in inscriptions represented as descendants of Satyaki, a Yadava well known...

. Contemporary Kannada literature is the most successful in India, with India's highest literary honor, the Jnanpith awards, having been conferred eight times upon Kannada writers, which is the highest for any language in India. Based on the recommendations of the Committee of Linguistic Experts, appointed by the Ministry of Culture, the Government of India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

officially recognised Kannada as a classical language

Classical language

A classical language is a language with a literature that is classical. According to UC Berkeley linguist George L. Hart, it should be ancient, it should be an independent tradition that arose mostly on its own, not as an offshoot of another tradition, and it must have a large and extremely rich...

.

Attestations in literature span something like one and a half millennia,
with some specific literary works surviving in rich manuscript traditions, extending from the 9th century to the present.
The Kannada language is usually divided into three linguistic phases: Old (600–1200 CE), Middle (1200–1700 CE) and Modern (1700–present);
and its literary characteristics are categorised as Jain

Jainism

Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...

, Veerashaiva

Lingayatism

Lingayatism, also known as Veerashaivism, is a distinct Shaivite denomination in India. It makes several departures from mainstream Hinduism and propounds monotheism through worship centered on Lord Shiva. It also rejects the authority of the Vedas and the caste system. The adherents of this faith...

and Vaishnava

Vaishnavism

Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu, or his associated Avatars such as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God....

—recognising the prominence of these three faiths in giving form to, and fostering, classical expression of the language, until the advent of the modern era.
Although much of the literature prior to the 18th century was religious, some secular works were also committed to writing.

Starting with the Kavirajamarga
Kavirajamarga
Kavirajamarga is the earliest available writing on rhetoric, poetics and grammar in the Kannada language. It was written by the famous Rashtrakuta King "Nripatunga" Amoghavarsha I and some say that it is based partly on an earlier Sanskrit writing, Kavyadarsa...

(c
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...

. 850), and until the middle of the 12th century, literature in Kannada was almost exclusively composed by the Jains

Jainism

, who found eager patrons in the Chalukya, Ganga, Rashtrakuta

Rashtrakuta

and Hoysala kings.
Although the Kavirajamarga, authored during the reign of King Amoghavarsha

Amoghavarsha

Amoghavarsha I was a Rashtrakuta emperor, the greatest ruler of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and one of the great emperors of India. His nominal reign of 64 years is the longest precisely dated monarchical reign on record in India and one of the longest documented reigns of all monarchy since...

, is the oldest extant literary work in the language, it has been hypothesized that prose, verse and grammatical traditions must have existed earlier. However, other scholars believe the literary tradition in Kannada to have begun with Kavirajamarga itself, pointing to the absence of references in other early works (such as the Sabdamanidarpanam of Kesiraja) to any preceding literature prior to the ninth century.

The Veerashaiva movement of the 12th century created new literature which flourished alongside the Jain works. With the waning of Jain influence during the 14th-century Vijayanagara empire

Vijayanagara Empire

The Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...

, a new Vaishnava literature grew rapidly in the 15th century; the devotional movement

Bhakti movement

The Bhakti movement is a Hindu religious movement in which the main spiritual practice is loving devotion among the Shaivite and Vaishnava saints. The Bhakti movement originated in ancient Tamil Nadu and began to spread to the north during the late medieval ages when north India was under Islamic...

of the itinerant Haridasa

Haridasa

The Haridasa devotional movement is considered as one of the turning points in the cultural history of India. Over a span of nearly six centuries, several saints and mystics helped shape the culture, philosophy and art of South India and Karnataka in particular by exerting considerable spiritual...

saints marked the high point of this era.

After the decline of the Vijayanagara empire in the 16th century, Kannada literature was supported by the various rulers, including the Wodeyar
Wodeyar
The Wodeyar dynasty was an Indian royal dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1947, until the independence of India from British rule and the subsequent unification of the Indian dominion and princely states into the Republic of India.The spelling Wodeyar/Wadiyar is found in most...

s of Mysore

Kingdom of Mysore

The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. The kingdom, which was ruled by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire...

and the Nayakas of Ikkeri

Ikkeri

Ikkeri is situated in Shimoga district of Karnataka state at about 6 km to the south of Sagara. The word Ikkeri in Kannada means "Two Streets". It was, from about 1560 to 1640 AD, the capital of the Keladi chiefs, afterwards removed to Bednur...

. In the 19th century, some literary forms, such as the prose narrative, the novel, and the short story, were borrowed from English literature. Modern Kannada literature is now widely known and recognised: during the last half century, Kannada language authors have received eight Jnanpith awards and 55 Sahitya Akademi

Sahitya Akademi

The Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...

awards in India.

Content and genre

In the early period and beginning of the medieval period, between the 9th and 13th centuries, writers were predominantly Jain

Jainism

s and Lingayat

Lingayatism

s. Jains were the earliest known cultivators of Kannada literature, which they dominated until the 12th century, although a few works by Lingayats from that period have survived. Jain authors wrote about Tirthankaras and other aspects of religion. The Veerashaiva authors wrote about Shiva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

, his 25 forms, and the expositions of Shaivism

Shaivism

Shaivism is one of the four major sects of Hinduism, the others being Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas," and also "Saivas" or "Saivites," revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer,...

. Lingayat poets belonging to the vachana sahitya

Vachana sahitya

Vachana sahitya is a form of writing in Kannada that evolved in the 12th Century C.E. as a part of the Veerashaiva 'movement'. Vachanas literally means " said"...

tradition advanced the philosophy of Basava

Basava

Basava was a philosopher and a social reformer. He is also called Vishwa Guru and Bhakti-Bhandari. His teachings and preachings which are universal, go beyond all boundaries of belief systems...

from the 12th century.

During the period between the 13th and 15th centuries, there was decline in Jain writings and an increase in the number of works from the Lingayat tradition; there were also contributions from Vaishnava writers. Thereafter, Lingayat and Vaishnava

Vaishnavism

Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu, or his associated Avatars such as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God....

writers dominated Kannada literature. Vaishnava writers focused on the Hindu epics - the Ramayana

Ramayana

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

, the Mahabharata

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

and the Bhagavata

Bhagavata

Bhagavata signifies in the context of Hinduism. In this context bhakti has the primary meaning of 'adoration', while Bhagavat means 'the Adorable One', and Bhagavata is a worshiper of the Adorable One...

- as well as Vedanta

Vedanta

Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...

and other subjects from the puranic

Puranas

The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...

traditions. The devotional songs of the Haridasa

Haridasa

poets, performed to music

Haridasas and Carnatic music

The Haridasas, the Vaishnava saints of Karnataka, are classified into the Vyasakuta and Dasakuta. The Vyasakuta were the pontifical saints known for their scholarship and exposition of the Madhva's philosophy. The Dasakuta were the peripatetic saint disciples of the Vyasakuta sanyasins...

, were first noted in the 15th century. Writings on secular subjects remained popular throughout this period.

An important change during the Bhakti

Bhakti

In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...

"devotion" period starting in the 12th century was the decline of court literature and the rise in popularity of shorter genres such as the vachana and kirthane, forms that were more accessible to the common man. Writings eulogising kings, commanders and spiritual heroes waned, with a proportional increase in the use of local genres. Kannada literature moved closer to the spoken and sung folk traditions, with musicality being its hallmark, although some poets continued to use the ancient champu
Champu
Champu or Champu-Kavya is a genre in Sanskrit literature. It consists of a mixture of prose and poetry passages , with verses interspersed among prose sections...

form of writing as late as the 17th century.

The champu Sanskritic metre (poems in verses of various metres interspersed with paragraphs of prose, also known as champu-kavya) was the most popular written form from the 9th century onwards, although it started to fall into disuse in the 12th century. Other Sanskritic metres used were the saptapadi (seven line verse), the ashtaka (eight line verse) and the shataka (hundred-line verse). There were numerous translations and adaptations of Sanskrit writings into Kannada and, to a lesser extent, from Kannada into Sanskrit. The medieval period saw the development of literary metres

Meter (poetry)

In poetry, metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and forms of versification is known as prosody...

indigenous to the Kannada language. These included the tripadi
Tripadi
Tripadi is a metre in the Kannada language dating back to c. 700 CE.-Definition:...

(three-line verse, in use from 7th century), one of the oldest native metres; the shatpadi (six-line verse, first mentioned by Nagavarma I

Nagavarma I

Nagavarma I was a noted Jain writer and poet in the Kannada language in the late 10th century. His two important works, both of which are available are, Karnataka Kadambari, a champu based romance novel and an adaptation of Bana's Sanskrit Kadambari, and Chandombudhi Nagavarma I (c. 990) was...

in Chhandombudhi of c. 984 and in use from 1165), of which six types exist; the ragale (lyrical narrative compositions, in use from 1160); the sangatya (compositions meant to be sung with a musical instrument, in use from 1232) and the akkara which came to be adopted in some Telugu

Telugu literature

The Telugu literature or Telugu Sahityam is one of the most precious possessions of the literary products of India. Telugu literature is rich reserve of poems, stories, dramas and puranas. It flowered in the early 16th century under the Vijayanagar empire, of which Telugu was one of the court...

writings. There were rare interactions with Tamil literature, as well.

Though religious literature was prominent, literary genres including romance, fiction, erotica, satire, folk songs, fables and parables, musical treatises and musical compositions were popular. The topics of Kannada literature included grammar, philosophy, prosody, rhetoric

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...

, chronicles, biography, history, drama and cuisine, as well as dictionaries and encyclopedias. According to critic Joseph T. Shipley, over fifty works on scientific subjects including medicine, mathematics and astrology have been written in the Kannada language.

Kannada literature of this period was mainly written on palm leaves. However, more than 30,000 more durable inscriptions on stone (known as shilashasana) and copper plates (known as tamrashasana) have survived to inform modern students of the historical development of Kannada literature. The Kappe Arabhatta

Kappe Arabhatta

Kappe Arabhatta was a Chalukya warrior of the 8th century who is known from a Kannada verse inscription, dated to c. 700 CE, and carved on a cliff overlooking the northeast end of the artificial lake in Badami, Karnataka, India. The inscription consists of five stanzas written out in ten lines in...

inscription (c. 700), and the Hummacha and Soraba inscriptions (c. 800) are good examples of poetry in tripadi metre, and the Jura (Jabalpur) inscription of King Krishna III

Krishna III

Krishna III, whose Kannada name was Kannara , was the last great warrior and able monarch of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty of Manyakheta. He was a shrewd administrator and skillful military campaigner. He waged many wars to bring back the glory of the Rashtrakutas and played an important role in...

(964) is regarded as an epigraph

Epigraph (literature)

In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component. The epigraph may serve as a preface, as a summary, as a counter-example, or to link the work to a wider literary canon, either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional...

ical landmark of classical Kannada composition, containing poetic diction in kanda metre, a form consisting of a group of stanzas or chapters. Elegiac poetry on hundreds of veeragallu and maastigallu (hero stone

Hero stone

Hero stone is a memorial commemorating the honorable death of a hero in battle of Tamil People. A hero stone can display a variety of adornments, including bas relief panels, statues, and figures of carved stone...

s) written by unknown poets in the kanda and the vritta (commentary) metre mourn the death of heroes who sacrificed their lives and the bravery of women who performed sati
Sati (practice)
For other uses, see Sati .Satī was a religious funeral practice among some Indian communities in which a recently widowed woman either voluntarily or by use of force and coercion would have immolated herself on her husband’s funeral pyre...

.

The pace of change towards more modern literary styles gained momentum in the early 19th century. Kannada writers were initially influenced by the modern literature of other languages, especially English. Modern English education and liberal democratic values inspired social changes, intertwined with the desire to retain the best of traditional ways. New genres including short stories, novels, literary criticism, and essays, were embraced as Kannada prose moved toward modernisation.

Rashtrakuta court

The reign of the imperial Rashtrakutas

Rashtrakuta Dynasty

and their powerful feudatory

Vassal

A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...

, the Gangas, marks the beginning of the classical period of writings in the Kannada language under royal patronage and the end of the age of Sanskrit epics.

There was an emphasis on the adoption of Sanskritic models while retaining elements of local literary traditions, a style that prevailed in Kannada literature throughout the classical period. Kavirajamarga, written during this period, is a treatise on the Kannada speaking people, their poetry and their language. A portion of the writing qualifies as a practical grammar. It describes defective and corrective examples (the "do's and don't's") of versification, native composition styles recognised by puratana kavis (lit, "early poets") (the bedande, the chattana and the gadyakatha – compositions written in various interspersed metres), and in some contexts, the term puravcharyar, which may refer to previous grammarians or rhetoricians. Some historians attribute Kavirajamarga to the Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha I, but others believe that the book may have been inspired by the king and co-authored or authored in full by Srivijaya, a Kannada language theorist and court poet.

The earliest existing prose piece in old Kannada is Vaddaradhane
Vaddaradhane
Vaddaradhane by Shivakotiacharya is the earliest extant prose work in Kannada. It is a didactic work consisting of nineteen stories and is based on Harisena's Brhatkathakosa. It gives a detailed description of the life of Bhadrabahu of Shravanabelagola. The work is dated to the 9th century but...

("Worship of Elders", 9th century) by Shivakotiacharya

Shivakotiacharya

Shivakotiacharya , a writer of the 9th-10th century, is considered the author of didactic Kannada language Jain text Vaddaradhane . A prose narrative written in pre-Old-Kannada , Vaddaradhane is considered the earliest extant work in the prose genre in the Kannada language...

. It contains 19 lengthy stories, some in the form of fables and parables, such as "The Sage and the Monkey". Inspired by the earlier Sanskrit writing Brihatkatha Kosha, it is about Jain tenets and describes issues of rebirth

Reincarnation

Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...

, karma

Karma

Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....

, the plight of humans on earth, and social issues of the time such as education, trade and commerce, magic, superstition, and the condition of women in society.

The works of Jain writers Adikavi Pampa

Adikavi Pampa

Pampa , called by the honorific Ādikavi is one of the greatest Kannada poets of all time.He is very famous even today for his philosophical beliefs...

, Sri Ponna

Sri Ponna

Sri Ponna was a Kannada poet in the court of Rashtrakuta Dynasty king Krishna III . The emperor honoured Ponna with the title "emperor among poets" for his domination of the Kannada literary circles of the time, and the title "imperial poet of two languages" for his command over Sanskrit as well...

and Ranna

Ranna

Ranna was one of the earliest poets of Kannada language.Ranna, Adikavi Pampa and Sri Ponna together are called "three gems of Kannada literature".-Early days:Ranna was born on 949 C.E. in Muduvolalu Bagalkot district, Karnataka....

, collectively called the "three gems of Kannada literature", heralded the age of classical Kannada in the 10th century. Pampa, who wrote Adipurana
Adipurana
Adipurana is a 10th century Kannada text written in Champu style, a mix of prose and verse, dealing with the ten lives of the first tirthankara, Adinatha, also known as Rishabhanatha . This work is known to be the first work of Kannada poet Adikavi Pampa . It is based on the story narrated by...

in 941, is regarded as one of the greatest Kannada writers. Written in champu style, Adipurana narrates the life history of the first Jain Thirtankar, Rishabhadeva. In this spiritual saga, Rishabhadeva's soul moves through a series of births before attaining emancipation

Emancipation

Emancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:* Emancipation , a champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse foaled in 1979...

in a quest for the liberation of his soul from the cycle of life and death. Pampa's other classic, Vikramarjuna Vijaya
Vikramarjuna Vijaya
Vikramarjuna Vijaya , also known as Pampa Bharatha is a classic work of the 10th century Jain poet Pampa . It is an Kannada version of the great epic, the Mahabharata of Vyasa. Pampa choose the Arjuna, the central figure of the Pandava Clan, as the hero of his epic...

(or Pampa Bharata, 941), is loosely based on the Hindu epic the Mahabharata

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

.

Sri Ponna, patronised by King Krishna III

Krishna III

, wrote Santipurana (950), a biography of the 16th Jain Tirthankar Shantinatha. He earned the title Ubhaya Kavichakravathi ("supreme poet in two languages") for his command of both Kannada and Sanskrit. Although Sri Ponna borrowed significantly from Kalidasa

Kalidasa

Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...

's earlier works, his Santipurana is considered an important Jain purana.

Chalukya court

From the late 10th century, Kannada literature made considerable progress under the patronage of the new overlords of the Deccan, the Western Chalukyas

Western Chalukyas

The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This dynasty is sometimes called the Kalyani Chalukya after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in Karnataka and alternatively the Later Chalukya from its theoretical...

and their feudatories: the Hoysalas, the southern Kalachuri

Kalachuri

Kalachuri Empire is this the name used by two kingdoms who had a succession of dynasties from the 10th-12th centuries, one ruling over areas in Central India and were called Chedi or Haihaya and the other southern Kalachuri who ruled over parts of Karnataka...

s, the Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri and Silharas of Karad

Karad

Karad is a town and a municipal council in Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It lies at the confluence of Koyna River and the Krishna River. The two rivers originate at Mahabaleshwar which is around 100 km from Karad. They diverge at their origin and then meet again in...

. The skill of Kannada poets was appreciated in distant lands. King Bhoja

Bhoja

Bhoja was a philosopher king and polymath of medieval India, who ruled the kingdom of Malwa in central India from about 1000 to 1050 CE. Also known as Raja Bhoja Of Dhar, he belonged to the Paramara dynasty...

of Malwa in central India presented Nagavarma I

Nagavarma I

, a writer of prosody and romance classics, with horses as a mark of his admiration.

Ranna

Ranna

was the court poet of the Western Chalukya kings Tailapa II

Tailapa II

Tailapa II had titles Nurmadi Taliapa and Satyashraya Kulatilaka. He re-established the Western Chalukya dynasty after a period of 220 years during which time they had been in eclipse. The revived Chalukya kingdom rose to its height of power under Vikramaditya VI. The revived dynasty came to be...

and Satyasraya

Satyasraya

Satyasraya , also known as Sattiga or Irivabedanga, was the king of the revived Western Chalukyas. Towards the end of his rule with the great Chola Rajaraja Chola I and had to face disastrous consequences of entering into a war with the Cholas which greatly endangered his own survival as well as...

. He was also patronised by Attimabbe, a devout Jain woman. Ranna's poetic writings reached their zenith with Sahasa Bhima Vijaya ("Victory of the bold Bhima", also called Gada Yudda or "Battle of Clubs", 982), which describes the conflict between Bhima

Bhima

In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...

and Duryodhana

Duryodhana

In the Hindu epic the Mahābhārata, Duryodhana is the eldest son of the blind king Dhritarashtra by Queen Gandhari, the eldest of the one hundred Kaurava brothers, Emperor of the world at that time which means Emperor of India or Bharatvarsha as it was known at that time, cousin and the chief...

in his version of the Mahabharata epic, one of the earliest poetic elegies in the Kannada language. Unlike Pampa, who glorified Arjuna

Arjuna

Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...

and Karna

Karna

Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...

in his writing, Ranna eulogised his patron King Satyasraya and favourably compared him to Bhima, whom he crowned at the end of the Mahabharata war. His other well-known writing is the Ajitha purana
Ajitha purana
The Ajitha Purana written by Ranna in 993 AD narrates the story of Ajithanatha, the second Tirthankara of Jainism. This is the shortest Jinapurana in Kannada...

(993), which recounts the life of the second Jain Tirthankar Ajitanatha. Ranna was bestowed the title Kavi Chakravathi ("Emperor among poets") by his patron king.

Among grammarians, Nagavarma-II

Nagavarma II

Nagavarma II was a Kannada language scholar and grammarian of the 11th or 12th century Western Chalukya court centred in Basavakalyan, modern Karnataka state, India. He was the earliest among the three most notable and authoritative grammarians of Old-Kannada language...

, Katakacharya (poet laureate) of the Chalukya king Jagadhekamalla II

Jagadhekamalla II

Jagadhekamalla II followed Somesvara III to the Western Chalukya throne. His rule saw the slow decline of the Chalukya empire with the loss of Vengi entirely, though he was still able to control the Hoysalas in the south and the Seuna and Paramara in the north...

made significant contributions with his works in grammar, poetry, prosody, and vocabulary; these are standard authorities and their importance to the study of Kannada language is well acknowledged. Among his other writings, the Kavyavalokana on grammar and rhetoric and the Karnataka Bhashabhushana (1145) on grammar are historically significant. However, the discovery of Vardhamana Puranam (1042), which has been ascribed by some scholars to Nagavarma II, has created uncertainty about his actual lifetime since it suggests that he may have lived a century earlier and been patronised by King Jayasimha II

Jayasimha II

Jayasimha II , also known by the titles Jagadekhamalla and Mallikamoda, succeeded his brother Vikramaditya V on the Western Chalukya throne. Jayasimha had to fight on many fronts to protect his kingdom...

Hoysala period

In the late 12th century, the Hoysalas

Hoysala Empire

The Hoysala Empire was a prominent South Indian Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the modern day state of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur but was later moved to Halebidu....

, a powerful hill tribe from the Malnad

Malnad

Malenadu is a region of Karnataka state in South India. Malenadu covers the western and eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, roughly 100 kilometers in width. Malenadu covers portions of the Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu and Hassan districts....

region in modern southern Karnataka, exploited the political uncertainty in the Deccan to gain dominance in the region south of the Krishna River

Krishna River

The Krishna River , is one of the longest rivers in central-southern India, about . It is also referred to as Krishnaveni in its original nomenclature...

in southern India. A new chronological era was adopted, imperial titles were claimed and Kannada literature flourished with such noted scholars as Janna

Janna

Janna was one of the well-known Kannada poets of the early 13th century who also served in the capacity of a minister and a builder of temples. He graced the court of Hoysala empire king Veera Ballala II and earned the title Kavichakravarthi...

, Harihara

Harihara (poet)

Harihara was a noted Kannada poet and writer in the 12th century. A native of Halebidu in modern Hassan district, he came from a family of accountants and initially served in that capacity in the court of Hoysala King Narasimha I . Later, he moved to Hampi and authored many classics...

, Rudrabhatta

Rudrabhatta

Rudrabhatta was an influential Kannada writer in the court of the Hoysala Empire whose patron was a minister of King Veera Ballala II in the late 12th century. His seminal work is Rasakalika which played an important role in the development of Indian aesthetics. It was the source for Vidyanatha in...

, Raghavanka

Raghavanka

Raghavanka was a noted Kannada writer and a poet in the Hoysala court which flourished in the late 12th to early 13th century. Raghavanka is credited for popularising the use of the native shatpadi metre in Kannada literature...

, Keshiraja and others. An important achievement during this period was the establishment of native metres in literature (the ragale, the tripadi, the sangatya and the shatpadi).

Two renowned philosophers who lived during this time, Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya

Madhvacharya

Madhvācārya was the chief proponent of Tattvavāda "Philosophy of Reality", popularly known as the Dvaita school of Hindu philosophy. It is one of the three most influential Vedānta philosophies. Madhvācārya was one of the important philosophers during the Bhakti movement. He was a pioneer in...

, influenced the culture of the region. The conversion of the Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana

Vishnuvardhana

Vishnuvardhana was an emperor of the Hoysala Empire in present day Indian state of Karnataka. Vishnuvardhana took the first step in consolidating the Hoysala Empire in South India through a series of battles against his overlords, the Western Chalukya empire...

in early 12th century from Jainism to Vaishnavism was to later prove a setback to Jain literature. In the decades to follow, Jain writers faced competition from the Veerashaivas, to which they responded with rebuttals, and from the 15th century, from the writers of the Vaishnava cadre. These events changed the literary landscape of the Kannada-speaking region forever.

One of the earliest Veerashaiva writers who was not part of the Vachana literary tradition, poet Harihara (or Harisvara) came from a family of karnikas (accountants), and worked under the patronage of King Narasimha I

Narasimha I

Narasimha I was a ruler of the Hoysala Empire. Apart from his victory over his overlord Chalukya Tailapa III which paved way for declaration of independence by his successor, his importance to historians is considered little....

. He wrote Girijakalyana in ten sections following the Kalidasa

Kalidasa

Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...

tradition, employing the old Jain champu style, with the story leading to the marriage of Shiva

Shiva

and Parvati

Parvati

Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...

. In a deviation from the norm, Harihara avoided glorifying saintly mortals. He is credited with more than 100 poems in ragale metre, called the Nambiyanana ragale (or Shivaganada ragale, 1160) praising the saint Nambiyana and Virupaksha

Shiva

(a form of Hindu god Shiva). For his poetic talent, he has earned the honorific utsava kavi ("poet of exuberance").

Harihara's nephew, Raghavanka, was the first to introduce the shatpadi metre into Kannada literature in his epic Harishchandra Kavya (1200), considered a classic despite occasionally violating strict rules of Kannada grammar

Kannada grammar

The Kannada grammar is primarily based on Keshiraja's Shabdamanidarpana , which provides the fullest systematic exposition of the Kannada language...

. Drawing on his skill as a dramatist, Raghavanka's story of King Harishchandra

Harishchandra

Harishchandra, in Hindu religious texts is the 36th king of the Solar Dynasty, Surya Maharishi Gothram . His legend is very popular and often told as a benchmark for an ideal life. He was renowned for his piety and justice. His name is Sanskrit for "having golden splendour".Harishchandra had two...

vividly describes the clash of personalities between sage Vishvamitra and sage Vashisht and between Harishchandra and Vishvamitra. It is believed that this interpretation of the story of Harishchandra is unique to Indian literature. The writing is an original and does not follow any established epic traditions. In addition to Hoysala patronage, Raghavanka was honoured by Kakatiya

Kakatiya

The Kakatiya dynasty was an Indian dynasty that ruled most parts of what is now Andhra Pradesh, India from 1083 CE to 1323 CE, with Orugallu , now Warangal , as its capital. Orugallu is also called 'Eka Sila Nagaram'...

king Prataparudra I.

Rudrabhatta, a Smartha Brahmin (believer of monistic philosophy), was the earliest well-known Brahminical writer, under the patronage of Chandramouli, a minister of King Veera Ballala II. Based on the earlier work of Vishnu Purana
Vishnu Purana
The Vishnu Purana is a religious Hindu text and one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. It is considered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna...

, he wrote Jagannatha Vijaya (1180) in the champu style, relating the life of Lord Krishna

Krishna

Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

leading up to his fight with the demon Banasura

Banasura

Bana , in Hindu mythology, was a thousand-armed asura and son of Bali. Banasura was a powerful and terrible asura. All people, even the king of earth and Devas of heaven, were afraid of him. Bana was a follower of Siva. Banasura ruled in present-day central Assam with his capital at Sonitpur ,...

.

In 1209, the Jain scholar and army commander Janna wrote Yashodhara Charite, a unique set of stories dealing with perversion. In one of the stories, a king intended to perform a ritual sacrifice of two young boys to Mariamma, a local deity. After hearing the boys' tale, the king is moved to release them and renounce the practice of human sacrifice. In honour of this work, Janna received the title Kavichakravarthi ("Emperor among poets") from King Veera Ballala II

Veera Ballala II

Veera Ballala II was the greatest monarch of the Hoysala Empire. This is proven by his successes against the Seuna, Southern Kalachuri, and the waning Kalyani Chalukya dynasties. He caused the demise of the Kalyani Chalukya dynasty. His period also saw prolific literary activity in Kannada. He...

. His other classic, Anathanatha Purana (1230), deals with the life of the 14th Tirthankar Ananthanatha.

Vijayanagara period

The 14th century saw major upheavals in geo-politics of southern India

South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

with Muslim empires invading from the north. The Vijayanagara Empire

Vijayanagara Empire

stood as a bulwark against these invasions and created an atmosphere conducive to the development of the fine arts.
In a golden age of Kannada literature, competition between Vaishnava and Veerashaiva writers was fierce and literary disputations between the two sects were common, especially in the court of King Deva Raya II

Deva Raya II

Deva Raya II was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Sangama Dynasty. Perhaps the greatest of the Sangama dynasty rulers, he patronised some of the famous Kannada and Telugu poets of the time...

. Acute rivalry led to "organised processions" in honour of the classics written by poets of the respective sects.

To this period belonged Kumara Vyasa

Kumara Vyasa

Kumara Vyasa is the pen name of Gadhugina Veera Naranappa , a classical poet of Kannada. His pen name is a tribute to his magnum opus, a rendering of the Mahabharatha in Kannada. Kumara Vyasa literally means Little Vyasa or Son of Vyasa....

(the pen name of Naranappa), a doyen of medieval epic poets and one the most influential Vaishnava poets of the time. He was particularly known for his sophisticated use of metaphor

Metaphor

A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...

s and had even earned the title Rupaka Samrajya Chakravarti ("Emperor of the land of Metaphors"). In 1430, he wrote the Gadugina Bharata, popularly known as Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari or Kumaravyasa Bharata in the Vyasa

Vyasa

Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...

tradition. The work is a translation of the first ten chapters of the epic Mahabharata and emphasises the divinity and grace of the Lord Krishna

Krishna

, portraying all characters with the exception of Krishna to suffer from human foibles. An interesting aspect of the work is the sense of humour exhibited by the poet and his hero, Krishna. This work marked a transition of Kannada literature to a more modern genre and heralded a new age combining poetic perfection with religious inspiration. The remaining parvas (chapters) of Mahabharata were translated by Timmanna Kavi (1510) in the court of King Krishnadevaraya

Krishnadevaraya

Śrī Kriṣhṇa Devarāya , , , and also known as Krishna Devarayulu in some inscriptions was the famed Emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire who reigned from 1509–1529 CE.He is the third ruler of the Tuluva Dynasty. Presiding over the empire at its zenith, he is regarded as an icon by many Indians...

. The poet named his work Krishnaraya Bharata after his patron king.

Kumara Valmiki (1500) wrote the first complete brahminical adaptation of the epic Ramayana

Ramayana

, called Torave Ramayana. According to the author, the epic he wrote merely narrated God Shiva's conversation with his consort Parvati. This writing has remained popular for centuries and inspired folk theatre such as the Yakshagana
Yakshagana
Yakshagana is a musical theater popular in the coastal and Malenadu regions of Karnataka, India. Yakshagana is the recent scholastic name for what are known as kēḷike, āṭa, bayalāṭa, bayalāṭa, daśāvatāra . It is believed to have evolved from pre-classical music and theatre during Bhakti movement...

, which has made use of its verses as a script for enacting episodes from the great epic. In Valmiki's version of the epic, King Ravana

Ravana

' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...

is depicted as one of the suitors at Sita

SITA

SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...

's Swayamvara
Swayamvara
Swayamvara , in ancient India, was a practice of choosing a husband, from among a list of suitors, by a girl of marriageable age. Swayam in Sanskrit means self and vara means choice or desire ....

(lit. a ceremony of "choice of a husband"). His failure to win the bride's hand results in jealousy towards Rama, the eventual bridegroom. As the story progresses, Hanuman

Hanuman

Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...

, for all his services to Rama, is exalted to the status of "the next creator". Towards the end of the story, during the war with Rama, Ravana realises that his adversary is none other than the God Vishnu and hastens to die at his hands to achieve salvation.

Chamarasa

Chamarasa

Chamarasa was an eminent Virashaiva poet unsurpassed in the Kannada literature, during the Vijayanagar Empire, a powerful empire in Southern India of the 13th and 14th centuries...

, a Veerashaiva poet, was a rival of Kumara Vyasa in the court of Devaraya II. His eulogy of the saint Allama Prabhu

Allama Prabhu

Allama Prabhu is a mystic-saint and Vachana poet of the Kannada language in the 12th century. Prabhu is the patron saint , the undisputed spiritual authority, and an integral part of the Lingayata movement that decisively shaped society in medieval Karnataka and...

, titled Prabhulinga Lile (1430), was later translated into Telugu and Tamil at the behest of his patron king. In the story, the saint was considered an incarnation of Hindu God Ganapathi while Parvati

Parvati

Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...

took the form of a princess of Banavasi.

Interaction between Kannada and Telugu literatures, a trend which had begun in the Hoysala period, increased. Translations of classics from Kannada to Telugu and vice versa became popular. Well-known bilingual poets of this period were Bhima Kavi, Piduparti Somanatha and Nilakanthacharya. In fact, so well versed in Kannada were some Telugu poets, including Dhurjati

Dhurjati

Dhurjati was a Telugu poet in the court of the king Krishnadevaraya and was one of the astadiggajalu there.-Biography:...

, that they freely used many Kannada terms in their Telugu writings. It was because of this "familiarity" with Kannada, that the notable writer Srinatha

Srinatha

Srinatha was a well-known 15th-century Telugu poet who popularised the Prabandha style of composition.-Biography:Srinatha was born to Bhimamba and Marayya in 1370....

even called his Telugu, "Kannada". This process of interaction between the two languages continued into the 19th century in the form of translations by bilingual writers.

Mystic literature

Veerashaiva

In the late 12th century, the Kalachuris successfully rebelled against their overlords, the Western Chalukyas, and annexed the capital Kalyani

Basavakalyan

Basavakalyan is a town in Bidar District of the state of Karnataka, India, and was historically known as Kalyan.-History:Basavakalyan's history dates back to 3000 years with its name being mentioned in Guru Charitra....

. During this turbulent period, a new religious faith called Veerashaivism (or Lingayatism) developed as a revolt against the existing social order of Hindu society. Some of the followers of this faith wrote literature called Vachana Sahitya ("Vachana literature") or Sharana Sahitya ("literature of the devotees") consisting of a unique and native form of poetry in free verse

Free verse

Free verse is a form of poetry that refrains from consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern.Poets have explained that free verse, despite its freedom, is not free. Free Verse displays some elements of form...

called Vachana. Basavanna (or Basava, 1160), the prime minister of southern Kalachuri

Kalachuri

King Bijjala II

Bijjala II

Bijjala II 1130 - 1167 CE was the most famous of the southern Kalachuri kings and ruled initially as a feudatory of Chalukya Vikramaditya VI. He ruled as the Mahamandalesvara or chief and ruled over Karhada 4,000 and Tardavadi 1,000, designations given to...

, is generally regarded as the inspiration for this movement. Devotees gathered to discuss their mystic experiences at a centre for religious discussion called Anubhava Mantapa

Anubhava Mantapa

Anubhava Mantapa was an academy of mystics, saints and philosophers of the Lingayat faith in the 12th century. It was the fountainhead of all religious and philosophical thought pertaining to the Lingayat. It was presided over by the mystic Allama Prabhu and numerous Sharanas from all over...

("hall of experience") in Kalyani. Here, they expressed their devotion to God Shiva in simple vachana poems. These poems were spontaneous utterances of rhythmic, epigrammatical, satirical

Satire

Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...

prose emphasising the worthlessness of riches, rituals and book learning, displaying a dramatic quality reminiscent of the dialogues of Plato

Plato

Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...

.

Basavanna, Allama Prabhu

Allama Prabhu

, Devara Dasimayya, Channabasava

Channabasavanna

Channabasavanna was Basava's nephew and one of the foremost Shivasharanas of the 12th century. He, along with Basava, Allama Prabhu and Akka Mahadevi, played a pivotal role in the propagation of the Veerashaiva faith...

, Siddharama (1150), and Kondaguli Kesiraja are the best known among numerous poets (called Vachanakaras) who wrote in this genre. Akka Mahadevi

Akka Mahadevi

Akka Mahadevi was a prominent figure of the Veerashaiva Bhakti movement of the 12th century Karnataka. Her Vachanas in Kannada, a form of didactic poetry are considered her greatest contribution to Kannada Bhakti literature. In all she wrote about 430 Vachanas which is relatively fewer than that...

was prominent among the several women poets; in addition to her poetry, she is credited with two short writings, Mantrogopya and Yogangatrividhi. Siddharama is credited with writings in tripadi metre and 1,379 extant poems (though he has claimed authorship of 68,000 poems).

The Veerashaiva movement experienced a setback with the assassination of King Bijjala and eviction of the sharanas (devotees) from Kalyani; further growth of Vachana poetry was curtailed until the 15th century when another wave of writings began under the patronage of the rulers of Vijayanagara

Vijayanagara

Vijayanagara is in Bellary District, northern Karnataka. It is the name of the now-ruined capital city "which was regarded as the second Rome" that surrounds modern-day Hampi, of the historic Vijayanagara empire which extended over the southern part of India....

. Chieftain Nijaguna Shivayogi

Nijaguna Shivayogi

Nijaguna Shivayogi was an Indian poet and a prolific writer in the Kannada language. He lived in the 15th century. He was a follower of the Veerashaiva faith , which he attempted to reconcile with Advaita Hinduism of Adi Shankaracharya...

originated a new philosophy called Kaivalya, founded on the advaitha (monistic) philosophy of Adi Shankara

Adi Shankara

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara Adi Shankara (IAST: pronounced , (Sanskrit: , ) (788 CE - 820 CE), also known as ' and ' was an Indian philosopher from Kalady of present day Kerala who consolidated the doctrine of advaita vedānta...

, synthesised with an offshoot of the Veerashaiva faith. A prolific writer, Shivayogi composed devotional songs collectively known as the Kaivalya sahitya (or Tattva Padagalu, literally "songs of the pathway to emancipation"). His songs were reflective, philosophical and concerned with Yoga

Yoga

Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...

. Shivayogi also wrote a highly respected scientific encyclopaedia called the Vivekachintamani; it was translated into Marathi language

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

in 1604 and Sanskrit language in 1652 and again in the 18th century. The encyclopaedia includes entries on 1,500 topics and covers a wide range of subjects including poetics, dance and drama, musicology and erotics.

Other well-known poet saints of the Veerashaiva tradition include Muppina Sadakshari, a contemporary of Shivayogi, whose collection of songs are called the Subodhasara, Chidananda Avadhuta of the 17th century and Sarpabhushana Shivayogi of the 18th century. So vast is this body of literature that much of it still needs to be studied.

Vaishnava

The Vaishnava Bhakti

Bhakti

(devotional) movement involving well-known Haridasas (devotee saints) of that time made an indelible imprint on Kannada literature starting in the 15th century, inspiring a body of work called Haridasa Sahitya ("Haridasa literature"). Influenced by the Veerashaivism of the 12th century, this movement touched the lives of millions with its strong current of devotion. The Haridasas conveyed the message of Vedantic philosopher Madhvacharya

Madhvacharya

to the common man through simple Kannada language in the form of devaranamas and kirthanas (devotional songs in praise of god). The philosophy of Madhvacharya was spread by eminent disciples including Naraharitirtha

Naraharitirtha

Sri Naraharitirtha CE. was a disciple of 13th Century Indian saint Madhvacharya and is considered by some as the founder of the Haridasa movement in India. He was not only a great saint but also a royal pontiff as evidenced by some inscriptions...

, Jayatirtha

Jayatirtha

Seer Jayateertharu was the sixth pontiff of Sri Madhvacharya Peetha. He is one of the most important seers in the Dvaita philosophy on account of his elucidations of Sri Ananda Teertha's masterpieces...

, Vyasatirtha

Vyasatirtha

Vyasatirtha , also called Vyasaraja or Vyasaraya or Vyasraja swamin, was acclaimed as one of the three spiritual lights or munitrayam of dvaita Vedanta, i.e., Sri Madhvacharya, Sri Jayatirtha and Sri Vyasatirtha. He was a scholar of very high order with a judicious defence of the Dvaita Vedanta...

, Sripadaraya

Sripadaraya

Sripadaraya, a haridasa, is also known as Sripadaraja or Lakshminarayana Tirtha .Sripadaraya was born in Abburu in Chennapattana taluk of Karnataka state. It is believed that he was the incarnation of dhruva...

, Vadirajatirtha

Vadirajatirtha

Sri Vadirajatirtha , traditionally 1480 - 1600, a Haridasa, is said to have been a Shivalli Tulu Brahmin and native of the village of Hoovinakere, near Kumbhashi in Kundapura taluk, Udupi District in Karnataka state...

, Purandara Dasa

Purandara Dasa

Purandara Dāsa is one of the most prominent composers of Carnatic music and is widely regarded as the "father of Carnatic Music". Purandara Dasa addressed social issues in addition to worship in his compositions, a practice emulated by his younger contemporary, Kanaka Dasa...

, and Kanaka Dasa

Kanaka Dasa

Kanaka Dasa was a great poet, philosopher, musician and composer from Karnataka. He is known for his Kirtanes and Ugabhoga compositions in the Kannada language for Carnatic music...

. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...

, a prominent saint from distant Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

, visited the region in 1510, further stimulating the devotional movement.

Purandara Dasa (1484–1564), a wandering bard, is believed to have composed 475,000 songs in the Kannada and Sanskrit languages, though only about 1,000 songs are known today. Composed in various ragas, and often ending with a salutation to the Hindu deity Vittala, his compositions presented the essence of the Upanishads and the Puranas
Puranas
The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...

in simple yet expressive language. He also devised a system by which the common man could learn Carnatic music

Carnatic music

Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...

, and codified the musical composition

Musical composition

Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...

forms svaravali
Swarajatis
Swarajati is a form in Carnatic music, which is helpful before learning a varnam. It has pallavi, sometimes an anupallavi, and at least one charana. The themes of swarajathis are usually either bhakthi, love or courage. It is a composition which usually has a pleasing melody and are suitable for...

s, alankaras ("figure of speech") and geethams
Geethams
Geetham, the simplest music form in Carnatic music, was created by Purandara Dasa in order to introduce talas with sahithya .- Structure :...

. Owing to such contributions, Purandara Dasa earned the honorific Karnataka Sangeeta Pitamaha ("Father of Carnatic Music").

Kanaka Dasa (whose birth name was Thimmappa Nayaka, 1509–1609) of Kaginele (in modern Haveri district

Haveri District

Haveri is a district in the state of Karnataka, India with the potential to become a tourist hub. As of 2001, it had a population of 1,439,116 of which 20.78% were urban residents.-Tourism:Examples of tourist attractions in the district:...

) was an ascetic and spiritual seeker who authored important writings such as Mohanatarangini
Mohanatarangini
Mohanatarangini is the first work of Kanakadasa , a prominent literary figure in Kannada literature whose works are mostly in the Sangatya , Shatpadi and Shataka metres...

("River of Delight"), the story of the Hindu god Krishna in sangatya metre; Nrisimhastava, a work dealing with glory of god Narasimha

Narasimha

Narasimha or Nrusimha , also spelt as Narasingh and Narasingha, whose name literally translates from Sanskrit as "Man-lion", is an avatar of Vishnu described in the Puranas, Upanishads and other ancient religious texts of Hinduism...

; Nalacharita, the story of Nala

Nala

Nala , a character in Hindu mythology, is the king of Nishadha Kingdom, son of Virasena. Nala is known for his skill with horses and culinary expertise. He marries princess Damayanti, of Vidarbha Kingdom, and their story is told in the Mahabharata. His main weakness is gambling...

, noted for its narration; and Hari Bhaktisara, a spontaneous writing on devotion in shatpadi metre. The latter writing, which deals with niti (morals), bhakti (devotion) and vairagya (renunciation) has become popular as a standard book of learning for children. Kanaka Dasa authored a unique allegorical poem titled Ramadhanya Charitre ("Story of Rama's Chosen Grain"), which exalts ragi

Finger millet

Eleusine coracana, commonly Finger millet , also known as African millet or Ragi is an annual plant widely grown as a cereal in the arid areas of Africa and Asia. E...

over rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

. Apart from these classics, about 240 songs written by the Kanaka Dasa are available today.

The Haridasa movement returned to prominence from the 17th through 19th centuries, producing as many as 300 poets in this genre; well-known among them are Vijaya Dasa

Vijaya Dasa

Vijaya Dasa or Sri Vijaya Dasa was a prominent saint from the Haridasa tradition of Karnataka, India in the 18th century. Sri VijayaDasaru is an amsha of Sri Brighu Muni; the very same muni, who was the nimmita for the eternal kshetra Tirumala ! Sri Krishna himself in BG 10.25 says "maharsinam...

(1682–1755), Gopala Dasa (1721–1769), Jagannatha Dasa

Jagannatha Dasa

Jagannatha Dasa , a native of Manvi town in the Raichur district, Karnataka state, India, is considered one of the notable Haridasa saint-poets of the Kannada language...

(1728–1809), Mahipathi Dasa (1750), Helavanakatte Giriamma and others. Over time, the movement's devotional songs inspired a form of religious and didactic performing art of the Vaishnava people called the Harikatha

Harikatha

Harikatha , otherwise called Katha Kalakshepa is a form of Hindu religious discourse, also known as Katha storytelling format, in which the story teller explores a religious theme, usually the life of a saint or a story from an Indian epic.Harikatha is a composite art form composed of story...

("Stories of Hari"). Similar developments were seen among the followers of the Veerashaiva faith who popularised the Shivakatha ("Stories of Shiva").

Mysore and Keladi period

With the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire, the Kingdom of Mysore

Kingdom of Mysore

(1565–1947) and the kingdom of the Keladi Nayaka

Keladi Nayaka

Keladi Nayaka Kingdom were an important ruling dynasty of post-medieval Karnataka, India. They initially started to rule as a feudatory of the Vijayanagar Empire...

s (1565–1763) rose to power in the southern and western regions of modern Karnataka respectively. Production of literary texts covering various themes flourished in these two courts. The Mysore court was adorned by eminent writers who authored encyclopaedias, epics, and religious commentaries, and composers and musicians. The Keladi court is better known for writings on Veerashaiva doctrine. The Mysore kings themselves were accomplished in the fine arts and made important contributions. A unique and native form of poetic literature with dramatic representation called Yakshagana gained popularity in the 18th century.

Geetha Gopala, a well-known treatise on music, is ascribed to King Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar

Chikka Devaraja

Chikka Devaraja was the wodeyar ruler of Mysore from 1673 to 1704. During this time, Mysore saw significant expansion and also recognition by the Mughal empire as a tributary state...

(1673–1704), the earliest composer of the dynasty, who went by the honorific Sahitya Vidyanikasha Prastharam ("Expert in literature"). Inspired by Jayadeva's Geetha Govinda in Sanskrit, it was written in saptapadi metre. This is the first writing to propagate the Vaishnava faith in the Kannada language.

Also writing in this period was Sarvajna

Sarvajna

Sarvajña was a poet in the Kannada language. He is famous for his pithy three-lined poems which are called tripadis, "with three padas, three-liners", a form of Vachanas. He is also referred as Sarvagna in modern translation.The period of Sarvajña's life has not been determined accurately, and...

(lit. "The all knowing")—a mendicant

Mendicant

The term mendicant refers to begging or relying on charitable donations, and is most widely used for religious followers or ascetics who rely exclusively on charity to survive....

and drifter Veerashaiva poet who left a deep imprint on Kannada speaking region and its people. His didactic Vachanas, penned in the tripadi metre, constitute some of Kannada's most celebrated works. With the exception of some early poems, his works focus on his spiritual quest as a drifter. The pithy Vachanas contain his observations on the art of living, the purpose of life and the ways of the world. He was not patronised by royalty, nor did he write for fame; his main aim was to instruct people about morality.

The writing of Brahmin author Lakshmisa

Lakshmisa

Lakshmisa was a noted Kannada language Brahmin writer who lived during the mid–16th or late–17th century period. His most important writing, Jaimini Bharata is a version of the Hindu epic Mahabharata...

(or Lakshmisha), a well-known story-teller and a dramatist, is dated to the mid-16th or late 17th century. The Jaimini Bharata, his version of the epic Mahabharata written in shatpadi metre, is one of the most popular poems of the late medieval period. A collection of stories, the poem includes the tale of the Sita Parityaga ("Repudiation of Sita"). The author successfully converted a religious story into a very human tale; it remains popular even in modern times.

The period also saw advances in dramatic works. Though there is evidence that theatre was known from the 12th century or earlier, modern Kannada theatre is traced to the rise of Yakshagana (a type of field play), which appeared in the 16th century. The golden age of Yakshagana compositions was tied to the rule of King Kanteerava Narasaraja Wodeyar II

Narasaraja Wodeyar II

Kanthirava Narasaraja II , was the Wodeyar ruler of the Indian state of Mysore from 1704 to 1714 CE. He was born both mute and deaf and came to be called Múk-arasu . He succeeded to the throne through the influence of the chief minister, Tirumalaiyangar...

(1704–1714). A polyglot, he authored 14 Yakshaganas in various languages, although all are written in the Kannada script. He is credited with the earliest Yakshaganas that included sangeeta (music), nataka (drama) and natya (dance).

Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar

Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar

Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore in India. Also known as Krishnaraja Wodeyar III, he belonged to the Wodeyar dynasty and ruled his state for nearly seventy years, from 30 June 1799 to 27 March 1868. He is known for his contribution and patronage...

(1794–1868), the ruler of the princely state

Princely state

A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...

of Mysore

Kingdom of Mysore

, was another prolific writer of the era. More than 40 writings are attributed to him, including a poetic romance called Saugandika Parinaya written in two versions, sangatya and a drama. His reign signalled the shift from classical genres to modern literature which was to be complemented by the influence of colonial period of India.

Modern period

The development of modern Kannada literature can be traced to the early 19th century when Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III and his court poets moved away from the ancient champu form of prose toward prose renderings of Sanskrit epics and plays. Kempu Narayana's Mudramanjusha ("Seal Casket", 1823) is the first modern novel written in Kannada.

Modern Kannada literature was cross-fertilized by the colonial period in India as well., with translations of Kannada works and dictionaries into European languages as well as other Indian languages, and vice versa, and the establishment of European style newspapers and periodicals in Kannada. In addition, in the 19th century, interaction with European technology, including new printing techniques accelerated the development of modern literature.

The first Kannada newspaper called Mangalore Samachara was published by Hermann Mögling

Hermann Mögling

Hermann Mögling was a German missionary from the Basel Mission who spent most of his career in the western regions of the state of Karnataka, India. He is credited to be the publisher of the first ever newspaper in the Kannada language called as Mangalooru Samachara in 1843. He was awarded a...

in 1843; and the first Kannada periodical, Mysuru Vrittanta Bodhini was published by Bhashyam Bhashyacharya in Mysore around the same time. Hermann Mögling

Hermann Mögling

translated Kannada classics into a series called Bibliotheca Carnataca during 1848–1853., while British officers Benjamin L. Rice

Benjamin L. Rice

B. Lewis Rice was the director of the Department of Archaeology of Mysore state in India and an epigraphist. He is known for his work Epigraphia Carnatica which contains his study on about 9,000 inscriptions he found in the Old Mysore area....

and J. H. Fleet edited and published critical editions of literary classics, contemporary folk ballads and inscriptions. Following the rich tradition of dictionaries in Kannada since the 11th century, the first dictionaries expressing meanings of Kannada words in European languages were published in the 19th century, the most prominent of them being Ferdinand Kittel

Ferdinand Kittel

Reverend Ferdinand Kittel was a priest and indologist with the Basel Mission in south India and worked in Mangalore, Madikeri and Dharwad in Karnataka. He is most famous for his studies of the Kannada language and for producing the first ever Kannada-English dictionary of about 70,000 words in 1894...

's Kannada-English dictionary in 1894.

There was a push towards original works in prose narratives and a standardisation of prose during the late 19th century. Translations of works from English, Sanskrit and other Indian languages like Marathi and Bengali continued and accelerated. Lakshman Gadagkar's Suryakantha (1892) and Gulvadi Venkata Rao's (1899) Indira Bai signalled the move away from the highly stylised mores and aesthetics of prior Kannada works to modern prose, establishing the modern novel genre and fundamentally influencing the essay, literary criticism and drama genres.

Navodaya – A period of awakening

At the dawn of the 20th century, B. M. Srikantaiah

B. M. Srikantaiah

B M Srikanthaiah was one of the most influential authors, writers and translators of Kannada literature.-Early life and education:He was born in Sampige village, Tumkur District Gubbi taluk...

('B. M. Sri'), regarded as the "Father of modern Kannada literature", called for a new era of writing original works in modern Kannada while moving away from archaic Kannada forms. This paradigmatic shift spawned an age of prolificacy in Kannada literature and came to be dubbed the Navodaya (lit. 'A new rise') period—a period of awakening. B. M. Sri led the way with his English Geethagalu ("English Songs")—a collection of poems translated from English set the tone for more translations using a standardisation of a modern written idiom. Original and seminal works which drew greatly from native and folk traditions also emerged alongside the translations. Stalwarts like S. G. Narasimhachar, Panje Mangesha Rao and Hattiangadi Narayana Rao also contributed with celebrated efforts. Literary subjects now veered from discussing kings and gods to more humanistic and secular pursuits. Kannada writers experimented with several forms of western literature, the novel and the short story in particular. The novel found an early champion in Shivaram Karanth while another prominent writer, Masti Venkatesh Iyengar ('Masti'), laid the foundation for generations of story tellers to follow with his Kelavu Sanna Kathegalu ("A few Short Stories", 1920) and Sanna Kathegalu ("Short Stories", 1924).

The consolidation of modern drama was pioneered by T. P. Kailasam

T. P. Kailasam

Thyagaraja Paramasiva Kailasam , was a playwright and prominent writer of Kannada literature. His contribution to Kannada theatrical comedy earned him the title Prahasana Prapitamaha, "the father of humorous plays".-Early life:...

, with his Tollu Gatti ("The Hollow and the Solid", 1918). Kailasam followed this with Tali Kattoke Cooline ("Wages for tying the Mangalsutra

Mangalsutra

A Mangalsutra is a symbol of Hindu marriage union in South Asia. It is a sacred thread of love and goodwill worn by women as a symbol of their marriage...

"), a critique on the dowry system in marriage. His plays mainly focused on problems affecting middle class Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

families: the dowry system, religious persecution, woes in the extended family system and exploitation of women. Novels of the early 20th century promoted a nationalist consciousness in keeping with the political developments of the time. While Venkatachar and Galaganath translated Bankim Chandra and Harinarayana Apte respectively, Gulvadi Venkata Rao, Kerur Vasudevachar and M. S. Puttanna initiated the movement toward realistic novels with their works. Aluru Venkatarao's Karnataka Gatha Vaibhava had a profound influence on the movement for Karnataka's unification

Unification of Karnataka

The Unification of Karnataka refers to the formation of the Indian state of Karnataka, then called as Mysore State, in 1956 when several Indian states were created by redrawing borders based on linguistic demographics...

.

1925–50 – The Golden harvest

While the first quarter of the 20th century was a period of experiment and innovation, the succeeding quarter was one of creative achievement. This period saw the rise of acclaimed lyricist

Lyricist

A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...

s whose works combined native folk songs and the mystic poetry of the medieval vachanas and kirthanas with influences from modern English romantics. D. R. Bendre

D. R. Bendre

Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre was amongst the most famous of Kannada poets of the Navodaya Period. Praised as varakavi, literally 'gifted poet', he was the second person among eight recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada, the highest literary honour conferred in India...

, with his collection of 27 poems including such masterpieces as Gari ("Wing", 1932), Nadaleele (1938) and Sakhigeetha (1940), was perhaps the most outstanding Kannada lyricist of the period. His poems covered a wide range of themes including patriotism, love of nature, conjugal love, transcendental experiences and sympathy for the poor. Govinda Pai narrated the story of Christ's crucifixion in his work Golgotha (1931). The success of this work encouraged Pai to follow with three panegyric

Panegyric

A panegyric is a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical. It is derived from the Greek πανηγυρικός meaning "a speech fit for a general assembly"...

s in 1947; Vaishakhi, Prabhasa and Dehali, narrated the last days of the Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

, God Krishna

Krishna

and Gandhi respectively. His Hebberalu ("Thumb", 1946) dramatises the story of Drona

Drona

In the epic Mahābhārata, Drona or Dronacharya was the royal guru to Kauravas and Pandavas. He was a master of advanced military arts, including the Devastras. Arjuna was his favorite student. Dronas love for Arjuna was second only to his love for his son Ashwatthama...

and Ekalavya

Ekalavya

In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, Ekalavya is a young prince of the Nishadha tribes, and a member of a low caste, who aspires to study archery in the gurukul of Dronacharya. After being rejected by Drona due to his low caste, Eklavya embarks upon a program of self-study in the presence of a clay...

, characters from the epic Mahabharata.

K.V. Puttappa ('Kuvempu

Kuvempu

Kuppali Venkatappagowda Puttappa was a Kannada writer and poet, widely regarded as the greatest poet of 20th century Kannada literature. He is the first among eight recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada. Puttappa wrote all his literary works using the pen name Kuvempu...

'), who would subsequently become Kannada's first Jnanpith awardee, demonstrated great talent in writing blank verse with his magnum opus Sri Ramayana Darshanam
Sri Ramayana Darshanam
Sri Ramayana Darshanam is the most famous work and the magnum opus by Kuvempu in Kannada based on the Hindu epic Ramayana. It earned him many distinctions including the Sahitya Akademi and the Jnanapeeth award in 1967....

(1949). This work marks the beginning of modern Kannada epic poetry

Epic poetry

An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...

. The work, through the use of metaphors and similes, focuses on the concept that all living creatures will eventually evolve into perfect beings. Other important works of the period are Masti's Navaratri and P. T. Narasimhachar's Hanathe. D. V. Gundappa

D. V. Gundappa

Devanahalli Venkataramanaiah Gundappa , popularly known as DVG, was a prominent Kannada writer and a philosopher. He is renowned for Manku Thimmana Kagga, a collection of verses.-Early life:...

's Mankuthimmana Kagga ("Dull Thimma's Rigmarole", 1943) harkened back to the wisdom poems of the late medieval poet Sarvajna. A celebrated writer of conjugal love poems, K. S. Narasimhaswamy

K. S. Narasimhaswamy

Dr. K. S. Narasimhaswamy was a prominent poet in Kannada language. His most popular collection of poems Mysooru Mallige has seen more than twenty reprints and sought as an ideal gift at a wedding to the newly married couple in Karnataka...

won critical acclaim for Mysore Mallige ("Mysore Jasmine", 1942), a description of the bliss of everyday marital life.

Growth in poetic drama was inspired by B.M. Sri's Gadayuddha Natakam (1925), an adaptation of Ranna's medieval epic. While Kuvempu and B.M. Sri were inspired by old Kannada, Masti and later P. T. Narasimhachar ('Pu. Ti. Na') explored modern sensibilities in their Yashodhara (1938) and Ahalye (1940). The 1930s saw the emergence of Sriranga, who joined forces with Samsa and Kailasam to pen some of the most successful plays in Kannada. Samsa completed his trilogy about Ranadhira Kantirava, a Mysore king of yore, with his Vijayanarasimha (1936) and Mantrashakti (1938). Kailasam's mastery over wit and stage rhetoric come to the fore in his Home Rule (1930) and Vaidyana Vyadi ("A Doctors Ailment", 1940) while he explores his serious side in Bhahishkara (1929); with Soole ("Prostitute", 1945), he unleashed his contempt for outdated quasi-religious mores. Societal ills were also examined in Bendre's Nageya Hoge ("Fumes of Laughter", 1936), and in Karanth's Garbhagudi ("Sanctum", 1932), which decried the exploitation of society in the name of religion.

The novel came of age during this period, with Karanth (Chomana Dudi, 1933), Masti (Subbanna, 1928) and Kuvempu ("Subbamma Heggadathi of Kanur", 1936) leading the charge. Significantly, writers chose to carry on from where Puttanna, Gulvadi and Kerur had left off at the turn of the century rather than continue with popular translations in the style of Venkatachar and Galaganath. Aesthetic concerns replaced the didactic and a sense of form developed. Devudu Narasimha Shastri distinguished himself with his Antaranga (1931) and Mayura (1928); the former was a much acclaimed work which delved into the psychology of the protagonist, while the latter was a historical novel tracing the emergence of the Kadamba dynasty. Another high point of this period is Karanth's Marali Mannige (1942), the saga of three generations of a family, reflecting the social, cultural and economic developments of over a hundred years.

Literary criticism

Literary criticism

Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...

, which had its beginnings in the first quarter-century, also made significant progress. B.M. Sri's Kannada Sahitya Charitre (1947), Gundappa's Sahitya Shakti (1950), Masti's Adikavi Valmiki (1935), Bendre's Sahitya Hagu Vimarshe ("Literature and Criticism", 1932) and Krishna Shastry's Samskrita Nataka (1937) are particularly notable. The essay, another form adopted from western literature, was richly served by A N Murthy Rao (Hagaluganasugalu, 1937), Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar's ('Gorur') humorous Halliya Chitragalu (1930) and Karanth's Hucchu manassina Hattu mukhagalu (1948).

Late Navodaya and the rise of the progressives

As the Navodaya period waxed, the Pragatishila (progressives) movement led by novelist A. N. Krishna Rao

A. N. Krishna Rao

Dr. A. N. Krishna Rao , is one of the well-known writers in Kannada language. He was popularly known as Kadambari Sarvabhouma . He is known as the person who started the Pragatishila movement in Kannada literature...

('Anakru') gained momentum in the early 1940s. This left-leaning school contended that literature must be an instrument of social revolution and considered the Navodaya to be the product of aesthetes, too puritanical to be of any social relevance. This movement drew both established and young writers into its fold and, while it produced no poetry or drama of special merit, its contributions to short story and novel forms were appreciable. Pragatishila was credited with broadening readers' horizons; works produced during this period dealt extensively with subjects of everyday life, rural themes and the common man. The language was less inhibited and made generous use of colloquialism and slang. Anakru himself was a prolific writer of novels but the best works of this school are attributed to T. R. Subba Rao ('Ta Ra Su'), Basavaraju Kattimani and Niranjana. T. R. Subba Rao initially wrote short stories, although he later turned his talents to novels, which were popular. His early novels, Purushavatara and Munjavininda Munjavu, told the stories of the underprivileged, the downtrodden and the outcast. Best known among his novels—some of whose plots are centred on his native Chitradurga

Chitradurga

Chitradurga is a town in the southern part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is also the headquarters of Chitradurga district. Chitradurga was also known by the names Chitradurg, Chitrakaladurga, Chittaldurg. Chittaldrug was the name officially used by the British Govt.-Geography:Chitradurga is...

—are Masanada Hoovu ("Flower from a cemetery"), a story about the plight of prostitutes, and historical novel Hamsa Gite ("Swan Song"), a story about a dedicated musician of the late 18th century during annexation of Chitradurga by Tipu sultan

Tipu Sultan

Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...

.

Marked as its influence had been, the Pragatishila wave was already in decline by the close of the 1950s. Legendary writers of the previous era continued to produce notable works in the Navodaya style. In poetry, Bendre's Naku Tanti ("Four Strings", 1964) and Kuvempu's Aniketana (1964) stand out. V.K. Gokak brought out the innate insufficiencies of the more advanced western cultures in Indilla Nale (1965). Navodaya-style novels continued to be successful with such noteworthy works as Karanth's Mookajjiya Kanasugalu ("Mookajji's visions", 1968), where Karanth explored the origins of man's faith in the mother goddess and the stages of evolution of civilisation. Kuvempu's Malegallali Madumagalu ("The Bride of the Hills", 1967) is about loving relationships that exist in every level of society.

Masti's two classic novels of this era were Channabasavanayaka (1950), which describe the defeat of Bidanur's chief Channabasava Nayaka (on Karnataka's coast) by Haider Ali

Hyder Ali

Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...

in the late 18th century, and Chickavirarajendra (1950), which describes the fall of the tiny kingdom of Coorg (ruled by Chikka Virarajendra) to the British East India Company

British East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

. The common theme in both works is the despotism and tyranny of the incumbent native rulers resulting in the intervention of a foreign power appearing on the scene to restore order, but with its own imperialistic intentions.

S. L. Bhyrappa

S. L. Bhyrappa

Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa , is a Kannada novelist, whose works are immensely popular both within and beyond Karnataka. Bhyrappa is widely regarded as one of India's foremost modern-day writers. His novels are unique in terms of theme, structure, and characterization...

, a charismatic young writer, first came to attention in the 1960s with his first novel Dharmasri, although it was his Vamsavriksha ("Family Tree", 1966) that put him in the spotlight as one of Kannada's most popular novelists. It is a story of a respected scholar, Srinivasa Srotri, his family and their long-held values. The protagonist's young and widowed daughter-in-law wishes to re-marry, putting his family tradition at risk. Bhyrappa's best novel of the period was Grihabhanga ("Breaking of a Home", 1970), a story of a woman surviving under tragic circumstances. The characters in the story are rustic and often use vulgar language. His other important novel is Parva
Parva (novel)
Parva is a Kannada language novel written by S L Bhyrappa based on the Sanskrit epic, Mahabharata. It is a non-mythological retelling of the Mahabharata and is widely acclaimed as a modern classic. The story of the Mahabharata in Parva is narrated in the form of personal reflections of some of the...

, a major work in Kannada fiction acclaimed as an admirable attempt at recreating life on the sub-continent during the time of the epic Mahabharata.

Navya

In the 1950s, even as the Pragatishila merged back into the Navodaya mainstream, a new modernist school of writing called Navya emerged. Though formally inaugurated by V. K. Gokak

V. K. Gokak

Vinayaka Krishna Gokak was a major writer in Kannada language and a scholar of English and Kannada literatures. He was fifth among eight recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada language for his epic Bharatha Sindhu Rashmi...

with his Navya Kavitegalu ("Modern Poems", 1950), it was Gopalakrishna Adiga

Gopalakrishna Adiga

Mogeri Gopalakrishna Adiga was one of the majors figures in modern Kannada poetry. He is known as the "pioneer of New style" poetry.-Early life:...

who best exemplified the ethos of the movement. Poetry and, later, the short story became the most effective vehicles of the movement. With the passing of the Gandhian era and its influences, a new era in which to express modern sensibilities had arrived. The Navya writers questioned the time-honoured standards of plot of the Navodaya; life was seen not as a pursuit of already existing values, but as an introspective search for them, occasionally narrated in stream of consciousness technique. Events and details were increasingly treated metaphorically and the short story grew closer to poetry. Gopalakrishna Adiga is considered the father of this form of expression with his Nadedu Banda Dari ("The Path Traversed", 1952) where he sought inspiration from T. S. Eliot

T. S. Eliot

Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...

and W. H. Auden

W. H. Auden

Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...

. His other well-known poems include Gondalapura ("Pandemonium", 1954) and Bhoota (1959).

G. S. Shivarudrappa

G. S. Shivarudrappa

Dr. G.S. Shivarudrappa is a Kannada poet, writer and researcher who was awarded the title of Rashtrakavi by the Government of Karnataka on November 1, 2006.-Early life:...

made his mark in the Navya period with Mumbai Jataka ("A Horoscope of Bombay", 1966), which takes a closer look at urbanised society in Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

. A protégé of Kuvempu, Shivarudrappa's fame came the peak of popularity of romantic poems with his Samagma ("Songs of Equanimity", 1951), poems distinguished by an idealistic bent. He continued to write poems in the same vein, although in his later poems there is a gradual shift to social issues with a streak of admiration for god's creation. His critical essay, Anuranana (1980), is about the Vachana poets of the 12th century, their tradition, style and influence on later poets.

K. S. Narasimhaswamy remained prominent through this era, writing such landmark poems as Silalate ("The Sculptured Creeper", 1958) and Gadiyaradangadiya Munde ("Before the Clock Shop"). Chandrashekhara Kambar, Chandrashekar Patil, P. Lankesh

P. Lankesh

Palegar Lankeshappa was a major Indian writer and journalist, writing in the Kannada language. He is probably the only writer who can be credited with bringing magical realism to Kannada literature apart from innovative use of the language...

, and K. S. Nissar Ahmed

K. S. Nissar Ahmed

K.S. Nissar Ahmed is a prominent Indian poet and writer in Kannada language. His full name is Kokkare Hosahalli Shekar Nissar Ahmed. His father K.S. Haider was a sanitary inspector and a teacher before joining the Revenue Department in Bangalore...

are among the best-known later generation Navya poets.

Outstanding playwrights from this period are Girish Karnad

Girish Karnad

Girish Raghunath Karnad is a contemporary writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor and movie director in Kannada language...

, P. Lankesh

P. Lankesh

, Chandrashekhara Kambara and Chandrashekar Patil. Karnad's Tughlaq (1964) portrays violence caused by idealism gone astray. Considered an important creation in Kannada theatre, the play depicts the 14th-century Sultan

Sultan

Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...

of Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, Mohammad Tughlaq in contrasting styles, a tyrannical and whimsical ruler and at the same time, an idealist who sought the best for his subjects. Most plays written by Karnad have either history or mythology as their theme, with a focus on their relevance to modern society.

The most acclaimed novel of the era was Samaskara by U.R.Anantha Murthy (1965). The novel details the search for new values and identity by the protagonist, a Brahmin, who had sexual intercourse with the untouchable mistress of his heretic

Heresy

Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...

adversary. Another notable work is the Swarupa (1966) by Poornachandra Tejaswi

Poornachandra Tejaswi

Kuppali Puttappa Poornachandra Tejaswi was a prominent Kannada writer and novelist who has made a great impession in "Navya" period of Kannada literature and inaugurated the bandaya or "protest literature" with his short-story collection Abachoorina Post Offisu.At early stages of his writing...

. Anantha Murthy's Prasne (1963) contains his best collection of short stories including Ghatashraddha, which describes the tragedy that befell a young pregnant widow, from the point of view of a boy. His collection Mouni (1973) includes the stories Navilugulu ("Peacocks") and Clip Joint.

The Navya movement was not without its critics. The doubt, dilemmas and indecision in every turn of the plot resulted in increasingly sophisticated and complex narrations, which some readers found uninteresting. It was derided as an intellectual exercise of the middle class intelligentsia; in its extreme sophistication, it was thought to have lost its touch with realities of life. This led to a gradual waning of the Navya school as it was supplanted by emerging waves of Navyottara, Bandaya (protest) and Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...

schools.

Post-modern trends

From the early 1970s, a segment of writers including many "Navya" writers started to write novels and stories that were anti-"Navya". This genre was called Navyottara and sought to fulfil a more socially responsible role. The best-known authors in this form of writing were Poornachandra Tejaswi

Poornachandra Tejaswi

and Devanur Mahadeva. In his preface to Abachurina Post Office, Tejaswi expressed a path breaking observation towards then prevailing literary movements. Tejaswi won the "most creative novel of the year" for his Karvalo in 1980 and Chidambara Rahasya in 1985 from the Sahitya Akademi.

Modernisation and westernisation continue to inform sensibilities and spawn new literary techniques and genres. The most striking developments in recent times have been the rise of the prose form to a position of predominance—a position earlier held by poetry—and the prodigious growth in dramatic literature. More recently Bandaya (Rebellion) and Dalit literature

Dalit literature

Dalit Literature, literature about the Dalits, the oppressed class under Indian caste system forms an important and distinct part of Indian literature...

, in some ways a throwback to the Pragatishila (Progressivism

Progressivism

Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...

) days, have come to the fore. Mahadeva's Marikondavaru ("Those who sold themselves") and Mudala Seemeli Kole Gile Ityadi ("Murder in the Eastern Region") are examples of this trend.

Kannada writers have been presented with seven Jnanpith awards, fifty-one Sahitya Akademi

Sahitya Akademi

The Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...

awards and numerous other national and international awards over the last half of the 20th century.

Kannada Journalism

Pre-independence Kannada was divided into 4 regions- Mysore, South Canara

South Canara

South Canara was a district under the British empire, located at . It was bifurcated in 1859 from Canara district. It was the undivided Dakshina Kannada district...

and Bellary

Bellary

Bellary is a historic city in Bellary District in Karnataka state, India.-Origins of the city's name:There are several legends about how Bellary got its name....

(Madras presidency), Bijapur+Dharwar+Belgaum+North Kanara (Bombay Presidency

Bombay Presidency

The Bombay Presidency was a province of British India. It was established in the 17th century as a trading post for the English East India Company, but later grew to encompass much of western and central India, as well as parts of post-partition Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula.At its greatest...

) and Gulbarga+Raichur+Bidar (Hyderabad

Hyderabad State

-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...

state). In each of these regions, there was a different culture, reflected in their journals. For example, the Kannada publications in areas belonging to the Bombay Presidency tended to be more outspoken and eager to get the common man to side with the struggle for a separate Kannada state. The journals of Mysore, on the contrary, used polished and scholarly language, meant for the well-educated, and focused on enhancing Kannada literature and culture.

Though prior to 1870 there was some growth in Kannada journalism, it was hampered by political and administrative divisions.

Journalism as a field of literature in Kannada language started on July 1, 1843 AD when Hermann Mögling

Hermann Mögling

, a German missionary started Mangaluru Samachar in the coastal town of Mangalore

Mangalore

Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...

. This was lithographed fortnightly by the Basel Mission. Lack of printing facilities caused this newspaper to be shifted to Bellary, where it was renamed Kannada Samachar (1844). However, it soon closed down due to financial reasons. The first attempt at Kannada journalism by an Indian was by a Maharashtrian businessman Khiru Seshu in Belgaum

Belgaum

Belgaum is a city and a municipal corporation in Belgaum district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the fourth largest city of the state of Karnataka, the first three being Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad....

. He started the Subudhi Prakasha, a weekly, under the patronage of the ruler of Sangli in 1854–55. Bhashyam Bhashyacharya of Mysore started a weekly "Mysuru Vrittanta Bodhini". This was the first Kannada periodical of Mysore.

Between 1880 and 1908, a number of periodicals in English and Kannada made their appearance. These included Kannada Varthika (the first Kannada paper to use letter-press printing), Karnataka Prakashika, Arunodaya, Vrittanta Patrika, and Sarvara Mitra. Predominant among them was Desabhimani, edited by B. Srinivasa Iyengar, which was forcibly closed down after it criticized the Dewan of Mysore. M. Venkatakrishnaiya, known as the Grand Old Man of Mysore edited the Mysore Herald in English and the Vrittanta Chintamani in Kannada. He ran Sadhvi, Vrittanta Chintamani, Grama Jeevana and many other periodicals. M. Srinivasa Iyengar, along with his brother M.Gopalan Iyengar, published the Nadgannadi, a Kannada weekly from Mysore as a companion to the English weekly- Mysore Standard. These papers incurred the displeasure of the Dewan of Mysore and had to be shifted to Bangalore.

With the advent of Gandhi, some prominent public men encouraged journals for the purpose of carrying on the freedom struggle. Jayarao Deshpande, a leading lawyer of Bijapur took over the editorship of Karnatak Vaibhav and conducted it with great fervor and ability. H.R. Moharay, a prominent freedom fighter and journalist worked at the Karnatak Vaibhav, before joining the Samyukta Karnataka

Samyukta Karnataka

Samyukta Karnataka is a major Kannada newspaper which has its headquarters in Hubli, Karnataka.-Background:To promote patriotism, truth and nationalist ideals, Loka Shikshana Trust was founded by senior freedom fighters of India 80 years ago, during the turbulent national movement...

(which was started in Belgaum in 1924) and later rose to the position of editor. R.R. Diwakar and R.S. Hukkerikar launched the Karmaveer in 1921. K. N. Guruswamy started Mysore Printers where Prajavani, Sudha, Mayur and Deccan Herald were started. M. Sivaram started the Kannada humor magazine Koravanji in 1942. It is still in print under the name Aparanji.

After Independence and the creation of a Karnataka state, a new type of newspaper emerged with Kannada Prabha, from the Indian Express Group. Started on November 4, 1967 with one edition in Bangalore, today this newspaper, headquartered in Bangalore is spread across the state with 5 other publication centers viz. Mangalore, Shimoga, Belgaum, Hubli and Hyderabad. It brought in several new features to Kannada journalism-

• Introduction of a cinema supplement,

• Introduction of a business supplement,

• Introduction of an astrology supplement,

• Introduction of daily colour printing,

• Introduction of a new sleek format,

• Introduction of modern newspaper layout and content

In the first part of the 21st century in Kannada, both Deccan Herald and the Indian Express Group have their Kannada newspapers, Prajavani and Kannada Prabha respectively. There are also the more conservative papers Udayavani and Samyukta Karnataka. Prajavani, is a Leftist paper which is remarkable for its simple language and the coining of new words to fit the current situation. In 1988, it published a ‘Guide to the Kannada Language’- the first modern stylebook for Kannada newspapers.

The acquisition of the new entrant Vijay Karnataka by Bennett, Coleman and Co. in 2006 had set in the price war dynamics. VK is the first successful Kannada newspaper of the post-liberalisation era, which has considerably changed the face of Kannada journalism. Vishweshwar Bhat

Vishweshwar Bhat

Vishweshwar Bhat is an Indian newspaper editor, under whose leadership Vijaya Karnataka became the top newspaper in the Indian state of Karnataka.Bhat is noted for having made celebrities of his press reporters...

, editor of Vijaya Karnataka, exploded its subscriptions and popularized daily reading of Kannada news papers. VK is published from nine centres and this has provided greater opportunities to the newspaper to cover local news. People in general are interested in the news of their neighbourhood and the USP of VK has been its grass-root level reporting. This has earned a very large number of new readers many of them not exposed to newspapers earlier. Kannada newspapers used to have only one supplement in a week- the magazine section distributed along with the Sunday edition. Kannada Prabha, to create its own niche, introduced an additional film supplement on Fridays and also started publishing Kannada novels as a daily serial and these attractions did help in increasing its circulation. In the later years Prajavani started supplements on Agriculture and Business to reach niche audiences. VK has taken this game of supplements further and it has everyday a supplement on a different theme and in addition the readers in Bangalore get a daily city supplement. These supplements have no doubt, brought in more readers and have helped in increasing the circulation of this newspaper. The Agriculture supplement of this newspaper has a special flavour and the series of articles on ‘Rain Water Harvesting’ reminds of the sort of missionary zeal some of the older generation journalists had towards spreading socially relevant messages. The spate of supplements in VK has forced the other newspapers to increase the number of their supplements.

In 2007, the Times of India launched a Kannada daily with the same name, along with a tabloid Bangalore Mirror. This newspaper is almost verbatim translated from the English version, and caters to urban Kannadigas, not the small town and rural population. A few news items are re-organized to suit to the readers. Here and there you see some exclusive news but not much of it. Traditionally, Kannada and English newspapers have always provided different kind of news. While English newspapers of Karnataka tried to project a national outlook, ignoring the local culture. Kannada newspapers have remained nationalistic without sacrificing local interests. And almost all of them concentrate more on the news of entire state rather than the city. ToI Kannada tried filling up of this 'gap', and could not create its own sustaining market amongst Kannadiga readers. And since entire content is translated, their costs remained minimal, but did not appeal to the readers. ToI Kannada was closed in the year 2009.

Veteran Journalists

Shikaripura Harihareshwara
Shikaripura Harihareshwara
Shikharipura Harihareshwara was a Kannada writer. He served as the chief editor of 'Amerikannada', a bimonthly magazine in Kannada. In 1999, he was among the recipients of the Rajyothsava award constituted by Government of Karnataka. He was widely known for the literary work he did residing in...

Venkatakrishniah M.

Ramayya P.R.

R.S. Chakravarthi

Rangayya, Agaram

Hanumantharao, Mohare
Mohare
Mohare is a village in Belgaum district in the southwestern state of Karnataka, India....

Puttaswamayya B.

Srinivasan P.B.

Ramachandrarao T.S.

Krishnamurthy Y.N.

Nagesharao H.R.

Ramakrishnamurthy K.S.

Sheshappa P.

Shamarao K.

Satyanarayana K.

Jayasheelarao S.V.

Rajagopal C.V.

Surendra Dani

Nagarajarao, Mattihalli

Singh M.B.

Bharadwaj M.S.

Nagiah H.M.

Krishnamurthy S.R.

Shamanna, Khadri

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