Medieval Kannada literature covered a wide range of subjects and genres which can broadly be classified under the Jain, Virashaiva, Vaishnava and secular traditions. These include writings from the 7th century rise of the Badami Chalukya empire to the 16th century, coinciding with the decline of Vijayanagara Empire. The earliest known literary works until about the 12th century CE were mostly authored by the Jainas along with a few works by Virashaivas and Brahmins and hence this period is called the age of Jain literature, . The 13th century CE, to the 15th century CE, saw the emergence of numerous Virashaiva and Brahminical writers with a proportional decline in Jain literary works. Thereafter, Virashaiva and Brahmin writers have dominated the Kannada literary tradition.Narasimhacharya (1988), p17 Some of the earliest metres used by Jain writers prior to 9th century include the chattana, bedande and the melvadu metres, writings in which have not been discovered but are known from references made to them in later centuries. Popular metres from the 9th century onwards when Kannada literature is available are the champu-kavyas or just champu,Poems in verse of various metres interspersed with paragraphs of prose (Narasimhacharya 1988, p12) vachanaVirashaiva poetic prose in simple and lucid Kannada from the 12th century (Narasimhacharya 1988, p17) sangatya,sung to the accompaniment of a musical instrument and introduced in 1232 by Sisumanayana (Sastri 1955, p359) shatpadi,Six liners popular in later Jain, Brahminical and Virashaiva works (Narasimhacharya 1988, p17) ragale,lyrical poems with refrain (Sastri 1955, p361) tripadi,Three line poetry (Sastri 1955, p361) and kavya.A poem in classical style.
The Jain scholars wrote mostly about the life of Tirthankars and about princes and persons who attained sainthood. These writings are called Jain puranas. Virashaiva works centered on the Hindu god Shiva, his various forms and his saintly devotees. A unique and native form of poetry called Vachana sahitya was born in the 12th century CE, as a reaction to the rigid social customs prevailing at that time. This form of poetry in pithy prose was heralded by the Virashaiva saints and remains popular even today. Brahminical writings were on the Vaishnava Hindu epics, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata, the Puranas and subjects bearing on the Vedas.Narasimhacharya (1988), p61 Another devotional movement, inspired by the teachings of Madhwacharya heralded by Vaishnava saints ushered in a form of Kannada literature called the Haridasa sahitya (literature of slaves of god) in the 14th century CE, and resulted in the production of a vast corpus of devotional compositions over the next four centuries. A vast amount of literature came to be written on non-religious subjects generally classified as secular literature. Secular literatures were on such subjects as grammar (sabdagama), logic (yuktyagama), philosophy (paramagama), poetry, romance, drama, rhetoric, prosody, lexicon, biography, history, medicine, veterinary science, mathematics, poetic inscriptions called kavya, cookery, fiction, astrology, meteorology, toxicology, eroticism etc.Narasimhacharya (1988), pp61-65
Early literature The verse form of inscriptions were popular in the 7th century and the Shravanabelagola inscription of Nandisena (7th century), and the Kappe Arabhatta record of 700 in tripadi metre is considered the earliest available lithic records of Kannada poetry.Kamath (2001), p67 The Karnateshwara Katha, which was quoted later by Jayakirti, must have belonged to the period and was a eulogy of Pulakeshin II.Chidananda Murthy in Kamath (2001), p67 Other Kannada writers of this time whose works are considered extinct are Syamakundacharya (650) who wrote Prabhrita and Srivaradhadeva, also called Tumubuluracharya (650) who wrote the Chudamani (Crest Jewel), a 96,000 verse commentary on logic (Tattvartha-mahashastra).Sastri (1955), p355Narasimhacharya (1988), p4-5 Other sources date the Chudamani to the 6th century or earlier.B.L. Rice (1897), p4976th century Sanskrit poet Dandin praised Srivaradhadeva's writing as "having produced Saraswati from the tip of his tongue, just as Shiva produced the Ganges from the tip of his top knot (Rice E.P., 1921, p27) Bhattakalanka, a 17th-century Kannada grammarian, wrote of the Chudamini being a milestone which demonstrated that Kannada was well suited for scientific works.Narasimhacharya (1988), pp4-5 Gajashtaka, a rare work on elephant management was written by the Western Ganga King Shivamara II around 800 but is now considered extinct.Kamath (2001), p50 Around 900, Gunavarma I authored the Shudraka and Harivamsha. His writings are considered extinct but references to these writings are found in later years. He is known to have been patronised by King Ereganga Neetimarga II. In Shudraka, he has favourably compared his patron to King Shudraka of ancient times.Narasimhacharya (1988), p18 Sri Vijaya, court poet of Rashtrakuta King Amoghavarsha I wrote Chandraprabha-purana in the early 9th century.The author and this work were praised by later day poet Durgasimha of 1025 CE (Narasimhacharya 1988, p18) A prosody called Guna-gankiyam has been referenced in a Tamil work called Yapparungalakkarigai by Amritasagara and has been dated to the middle of the 9th century.Historians propose the name of the author to be Gunaga (or Gunaganka, Gunakenalla) (Narasimhacharya 1988, p29)
Kavirajamarga (850) written by King Amoghavarsha I and Sri vijaya is the earliest available book on rhetoric and poetics,Kamath (2001), p90 though it is evident from the book that several works and metres of Kannada literature and poetry had existed in previous centuries. Kavirajamarga is a guide to poets (Kavishiksha) that aims to standardize these various styles. The book refers to early Kannada writers such as the 6th century Western Ganga Dynasty King Durvinita, a writer of prose. Hence it is proposed that a considerable volume of prose and poetry must have come into existence prior to 850.Narasimhacharya (1988), p2, p17 Other writers mentioned in Kavirajamarga are Vimala, Udaya, Nagarjuna, Jayabhandu for Kannada prose and Ravikirti (636), Kavisvara, Pandita, Chandra and Lokapala in Kannada poetry.Narasimhacharya, 1988, p2
Jain literature
The Jain age of literature in Kannada has been called as the "Augustan age" of Kannada literature with writings of nearly 200 authors considered important. Jain authors in Kannada are far more than in Tamil or Telugu languages. Kannada is the only language in which a Jain version of Ramayana and Mahabharata exists, in addition to Brahminical version of the same epics.Narasimhacharya (1988), p66 Famous among Jain writers were Adikavi Pampa, Sri Ponna, Chavundaraya, Ranna, Gunavarma I, Nagachandra, Nayasena, Nagavarma I, Aggala, Janna etc.Narasimacharya (1988), p65 Adikavi Pampa, widely regarded as one of the greatest Kannada writers, became famous for his purana, Adipurana (941). Written in champu style, it is the life history of the first Jain thirtankar Rishabhadeva. Pampa's other notable work was Vikramarjuna Vijaya (941), is a Jain version of the Hindu epic, Mahabharata, with Arjuna as the hero.Sastri (1955), p356 Also called Pampa Bharata, it praises the writer's patron, King Chalukya Arikeseri of Vemulavada (a Rashtrakuta feudatory), comparing the king's virtues favorably to those of Arjuna. Pampa demonstrates such a command of classical Kannada that scholars over the centuries have written many interpretations of his work.
Pampa's contemporary was Sri Ponna, the court poet of Rashtrakuta king Krishna III. He received the title Kavichakravarthi (poet laureate) and Ubhaya-Chakravarthi (imperial poet in two languages, for his command over Sanskrit as well) from his patron. He became famous for his Santipurana written around 950, narrating the life history of the 16th tirthankar Santinatha. Other classics by Sri Ponna are Jinaksharamale, a poem in praise of Jainas and Bhuvanai-karamabhyudaya, the later considered extinct but known from citations in later works. Ranna was the court poet of Western Chalukya kings Tailapa II and Satyashraya. He along with Pampa and Sri Ponna are called the "three gems of Kannada literature". Ranna wrote Ajitapurana in 993, a champu writing in 12 chapters on the life of the second tirthankar. His other classics are Sahasabhimavijaya (or Gadayuddha) written in 982, a champu writing in 10 chapters which narrates the story of the epic Mahabharata with particular reference to the duel with clubs between Pandava Bhima and Kaurava Duryodhana. In this writing, the poet favourably compares his patron king Satyashraya to Sahasabhima (daring Bhima). Earlier to this, Ranna was patronised by Western Ganga minister Chavundaraya when he wrote Parashurama charita, in which he compares his patron to Parashurama.Kamath (2001), p45
In 1105, Nagachandra, a poet and builder in the court of Hoysala Veera Ballala I who was responsible for the consecration of important Jain temples (Jainalaya) wrote the Jain version of Ramayana called Ramachandra-charitapurana. The story which deviates from the Valmiki Ramayana narrates the legend of Rama in a champu of 16 sections. In this work, Rama becomes a Jain ascetic and attains nirvana at the end. A complement to Pampa Bharata by Adikavi Pampa, the effort earned Nagachandra the title Abhinava Pampa.Sastri (1955), pp357-8Kamath (2001), p133 The earliest available prose in Kannada is Vaddaradhane (900) by Shivakotiacharya. The title means "worship of elders". The writing contains 19 stories mostly borrowed from the Sanskrit book Brihatkatha-Kosha and is about Jain tenets. The writing describes issues such as rebirth, karma, plight of humans on earth, social issues of the time such as education, trade and commerce, magic, superstitions and condition of women in society. Janna who was given the title Kavichakravarti (poet laureate) in the court of Hoysala Veera Ballala II was also a minister, builder of many Jain temples and came from a family of such famous writers of the Hoysala court as Sumanobana and Mallikarjuna. His Yasodhara charita (1209) and Ananthanathapurana (1230) are considered to be enduring classics. The former work narrates the story of a king who was about to sacrifice two boys to a local deity called Mariamma. On hearing their story, the king releases the boys and gives up the practice of sacrificing live victims.Sastri (1955), p359Narasimhacharya (1988), p20
In the early 13th century, Andayya wrote the Madana Vijaya (also known as Kavana Gella – victory of Kama or Kabbigara Kava – poets defender or Sobagina Suggi – harvest of beauty). In this unique work, Andayya used only indigenous Kannada words (desya) and naturalised Sanskrit words (tatbhava) totally avoiding assimilated Sanskrit words (tatsamas). In the story, Shiva imprisons the moon and cupid (Kama) in his anger assails Shiva with his arrows. An angry Shiva curses cupid to be separated from his bride, when cupid contrives to free himself of the curse.
Virashaiva literature