Kannada literature
[12][13] Starting with the Kavirajamarga (c. 850), and until the middle of the 12th century, literature in Kannada was almost exclusively composed by the Jains, who found eager patrons in the Chalukya, Ganga, Rashtrakuta, Hoysala[14][15] and the Yadava kings.
[16] Although the Kavirajamarga, authored during the reign of King Amoghavarsha, is the oldest extant literary work in the language, it has been generally accepted by modern scholars that prose, verse and grammatical traditions must have existed earlier.
[20] With the waning of Jain influence during the 14th-century Vijayanagara empire, a new Vaishnava literature grew rapidly in the 15th century; the devotional movement of the itinerant Haridasa saints marked the high point of this era.
[27] An important change during the Bhakti "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.
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 form of writing as late as the 17th century.
[49] The reign of the imperial Rashtrakutas and their powerful feudatory, 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.
[66] From the late 10th century, Kannada literature made considerable progress under the patronage of the new overlords of the Deccan, the Western Chalukyas and their feudatories: the Hoysalas, the southern Kalachuris of Kalyanis, the Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri and Silharas of Karad.
[66][69][70] Unlike Pampa, who glorified Arjuna and Karna in his writing, Ranna eulogised his patron King Satyashraya and favourably compared him to Bhima, whom he crowned at the end of the Mahabharata war.
[57] Among grammarians, Nagavarma-II, Katakacharya (poet laureate) of the Chalukya king Jagadhekamalla II 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.
[80][81] 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.
[83] Based on the earlier work of Vishnu Purana, he wrote Jagannatha Vijaya (1180) in the champu style, relating the life of Lord Krishna leading up to his fight with the demon Banasura.
[90] 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.
These poems were spontaneous utterances of rhythmic, epigrammatical, satirical prose emphasising the worthlessness of riches, rituals and book learning, displaying a dramatic quality reminiscent of the dialogues of Plato.
[83][101][102][103] 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.
The Haridasas conveyed the message of Vedantic philosopher Madhvacharya to the common man through simple Kannada language in the form of devaranamas and kirthanas (devotional songs in praise of god).
[106][107][108] Kanaka Dasa (whose birth name was Thimmappa Nayaka, 1509–1609) of Kaginele (in modern Haveri district) was an ascetic and spiritual seeker who authored important writings such as Mohanatarangini ("River of Delight"), the story of the Hindu god Krishna in sangatya metre; Nrisimhastava, a work dealing with glory of god Narasimha; Nalacharita, the story of Nala, noted for its narration; and Hari Bhaktisara, a spontaneous writing on devotion in shatpadi metre.
[109] Kanaka Dasa authored a unique allegorical poem titled Ramadhanya Charitre ("Story of Rama's Chosen Grain"), which exalts ragi over rice.
[117][118] Geetha Gopala, a well-known treatise on music, is ascribed to King Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar (1673–1704), the earliest composer of the dynasty, who went by the honorific Sahitya Vidyanikasha Prastharam ("Expert in literature").
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.
This period saw the rise of acclaimed lyricists whose works combined native folk songs and the mystic poetry of the medieval vachanas and kirthanas with influences from modern English romantics.
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.
[148] 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.
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).
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.
[157] 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.
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.
[165] Considered an important creation in Kannada theatre, the play depicts the 14th-century Sultan of Delhi, Mohammad Tughlaq in contrasting styles, a tyrannical and whimsical ruler and at the same time, an idealist who sought the best for his subjects.
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.
