Narayanappa, known by his pen name Kumara Vyasa, was an influential and classical poet of early 15th century in the Kannada language.

He was the contemporary and archrival of the famous Veerashaiva poet laureate Chamarasa who wrote the seminal work Prabhulingaleele covering the lives of Allama Prabhu and other Shiva Sharanas, circa 1435.

[4] Kumara Vyasa explores a wide range of human emotions, examines values, and displays extensive mastery over vocabulary.

The subsequent parts of the original Mahabharata like the Yudhishthira Pattabhishekha, Ashwa Medha Yaaga, and the Swargaarohana Parva are not included.

It may be noted that Lakshmeesha, another great poet who was born a few decades after Kumara's death, took up and completed Ashwa Medha Yaaga parva alone in his work Jaimini Bharata in Kannada.

The poet sat in front of the sanctum sanctorum in the temple and Narayana himself narrated the story of the ancient Mahabharatha from behind the statue.

He writes that in his poetry "A king enjoys the valor, A brahmin the essence of all vedas, philosopher the ultimate philosophy, ministers and state administrators the tact of rule and Lovers the romantic notes."

His magnum opus, Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari,[5] was completed in 1430 when Deva Raya II was ruling the Vijayanagara empire.