Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa (born 20 August 1931) is an Indian novelist, philosopher and screenwriter who writes in Kannada.

[4] Bhyrappa's works do not fit into any specific genre of contemporary Kannada literature such as Navodaya, Navya, Bandaya, or Dalita, partly because of the range of topics he writes about.

[8][9] S L Bhyrappa was born at Santeshivara, a village in the Channarayapatna taluk of Hassan district, about 162 kilometres (101 mi) from Bangalore.

He lost his mother and brothers to Bubonic plague in his early childhood and took on odd jobs to pay for his education.

He earned a Doctor of Philosophy – Satya mattu Soundarya (Truth and Beauty) written in English, at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.

Bhyrappa' works are published in English, Kannada, and Sanskrit, and taught in Indian Studies and Western Philosophy courses.

Vamshavruksha, Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane, Matadana and Nayi Neralu were made into films that received critical acclaim.

[11] Parva, the most critically acclaimed of all his novels narrates the social structure, values and mortality in the epic of Mahabharata very effectively.

[13] And his recent work, Scion, is a beautiful translation of the Kannada original Vamshvrishka by R Ranganath Prasad, getting published by Niyogi Books in 2023.

[5] Some of his prominent novels (such as Vamshavruksha, Tabbaliyu Neenaade Magane, Parva, and Saartha) have strong roots in ancient Indian philosophical tradition, thus inviting severe criticism from Navya writers and from others.

Bhyrappa supported N. R. Narayana Murthy when he was criticized by the media and the public regarding the controversy over playing an instrumental version of the national anthem at an important occasion.

[15] Bhyrappa had a debate with Girish Karnad in the publication Vijaya Karnataka regarding the religious tolerance of 18th century Mysore ruler Tippu Sultan.

[citation needed] In Bhyrappa's novel Aavarana, he accuses Tippu Sultan of being a religious fanatic who could not stand Hindus in his court.

Bhyrappa's more recent novel Aavarana brings out historical information about what Islamic rule did to ancient Indian social and cultural life.