Western Chalukya literature in Kannada

[14] These Vachana poets (called Vachanakaras) revolutionised Kannada literature, rejecting traditional themes that eulogised kings and noblemen, and writing didactic poems that were closer to the spoken and sung form of the language.

Their earliest inscription is dated to c. 957 and is ascribed to a subordinate ruler, Tailapa II of Tardavadi, later to become the founding king of the empire, in the Bijapur district, Karnataka.

[23][24] An inscription from c. 967 suggests that an unsuccessful rebellion was staged by Chattideva, a local king belonging to the Chalukya family, with the help of the Kadamba chief from the temple town Banavasi.

The influential Jains, who according to historian A.S. Altekar may have comprised 30 percent of the population, not only dominated the cultural landscape of 9th and 10th century Karnataka, but were also eager to encourage literature in the local language.

[29][30] Scholars Sheldon Pollock and Jan Houben have claimed that 90 percent of the Chalukyan royal inscriptions are in Kannada, a virtual displacement of Sanskrit as the language of courtly discourse.

[35] Kannada writings by Jain authors thus used impressive Sanskrit-derived verses interspersed with prose to extol the virtues of their patron kings, who were often compared to heroes from the Hindu epics.

[36] The mainstream literary style was to lose popularity during the mid-12th century Kalachuri rule, due to the rise of revolutionary notions about the social and cultural order.

The Veerashaivas, acting in protest, used the pure form of Kannada language in their poems; moreover, they encouraged writers from lower castes to participate and eliminated themes that had been considered formal by the king and the monastery.

[39] While the Vachana poetry is generally categorised as a part of the pan-Indian Bhakti (devotional) literature, such generalisations tend to disguise the very esoteric and anti-bhakti positions taken by many Vachanakaras.

The integrationists, such as L. Basavaraju, trace the source of Vachana poetic tradition to the Sanskrit Upanishad scriptures and the Agama doctrine, though this does not explain why the movement did not blossom earlier or in the neighbouring Telugu-speaking region where radical Shaiva sects were known to be active.

[55][56] Unlike Pampa who glorifies Arjuna and Karna in his writing, Ranna eulogises his patron King Satyashraya and favourably compares him to Bhima, whom he crowns at the end of the Mahabharata war.

[61] Other writers from the close of the 10th century whose works are now lost but have been praised by the Chalukya minister Durgasimha (1031) are Kavitavilasa (patronised by King Jayasimha II), Madiraja, Chadrabhatta, Kannamayya and Manasija.

[66] Among notable writings, Chandraraja's Madanatilaka ("Forehead ornament of passion", 1025), written in the champu metre, is the earliest available work on erotica in the Kannada language and an adaptation of the Sanskrit Kamasutra by Vatsyayana.

[64][68] Mentioned in this book is the popular South Indian dish Idli and its preparation by soaking Urad dal (black gram) in butter milk, grinding it to a fine paste, and mixing with spices and the clear water of curd.

[70] Durgasimha, the Sandhi Vigrahi (minister of war and peace) of King Jayasimha II wrote the well-known Panchatantra ("The five stratagems", 1031) in champu style, basing it on Gunadhya's Paishachi language original Brihatkatha.

[85] Karnaparya's account of the life of the 22nd tirthankar Neminatha, the Neminathapurana (c. 1145) in champu metre, includes details of the Hindu epic Mahabharata and of the god Krishna from a Jain outlook.

[48] The meteoric rise of Veerashaivism (a religious sect which preaches devotion to the god Shiva, also called "Lingayatism") in caste-ridden 12th-century Karnataka has historic significance because it embraced commoners from the lower strata of society, people who had hitherto been denied access to even basic education.

[107] Born to Brahmin parents in the town of Basavana Bagewadi, Basavanna (1106–1167) rejected the upanayanam ("ritual thread ceremony") and left home for Kudalasangama, a holy place at the confluence of the Krishna and Ghataprabha rivers in Bagalkot district, Karnataka.

He was born into a family of hereditary temple performers and was himself an expert on the drum (called maddale) in Balligavi, a town of great antiquity in the Shivamogga district, Karnataka.

[119] While Basavanna's zeal and influence led to the formation and popularity of the Veerashaiva movement in Kalyani, it was Allama who was the undisputed spiritual authority presiding over the gatherings of the devotees.

Born to a merchant family in the town Udatadi (or Udugani) in the Shivamogga district, and possibly married against her wishes to a feudal chief called Kausika, she renounced worldly pleasures, opting for a life of devotion and asceticism.

The resulting confrontation between rebellious Veerashaivas and the conservative upper classes lead to the assassination of King Bijjala II and the eviction of most devotees, including Basavanna, from Kalyani.

[138] The successors of King Bijjala II were weak, prompting Chalukya Someshvara IV, ruling from Annigeri, to attempt rebuilding his empire by invading Kalyani in 1183.

[4][139] Though these turbulent events caused a setback to the Veerashaiva gatherings and creation of poems, the movement had set roots in the Kannada soil and regained popularity in the 15th century under the patronage of the rulers of the Vijayanagara Empire.

[106][138] The post-Chalukya period is characterised by the popularity of Shaiva and Vaishnava devotional writings, though secular and courtly topics written in native metres continued to flourish.

Native metres in vogue were the shatpadi (six-line verse), the tripadi, the ragle (rhymed couplets) and the sangatya (compositions meant to be sung to the accompaniment a musical instrument).

[144] Some Jain authors continued the champu tradition, such as Janna, immortalised by his writing Yashodhara Charite (1207), a unique set of stories in 310 verses dealing with sadomasochism and transmigration of the soul.

[147] Although this period is not as famous for the proliferation of the Vachana poems as the 12th century was, contemporary writers adopted the preachings of the saints and devotees of the bygone era and made them the protagonists of their writings.

Written using the simple native tripadi metre to instruct the country folk, these poems cover a vast range of topics, from caste and religion to economics and administration, from arts and crafts to family life and health.

Purandaradasa was the most prolific Haridasa poet who wrote in the ragale metre and also earned the honorific Karnataka Sangeeta Pitamaha ("Father of Carnatic music").