 = Hoysala literature = 
 
 Hoysala literature is the large body of literature in the Kannada and Sanskrit languages produced by the Hoysala Empire ( 1025 – 1343 ) in what is now southern India . The empire was established by Nripa Kama II , came into political prominence during the rule of King Vishnuvardhana ( 1108 – 1152 ) , and declined gradually after its defeat by the Khilji dynasty invaders in 1311 . 
 Kannada literature during this period consisted of writings relating to the socio @-@ religious developments of the Jain and Veerashaiva faiths , and to a lesser extent that of the Vaishnava faith . The earliest well @-@ known brahmin writers in Kannada were from the Hoysala court . While most of the courtly textual production was in Kannada , an important corpus of monastic Vaishnava literature relating to Dvaita ( dualistic ) philosophy was written by the renowned philosopher Madhvacharya in Sanskrit . 
 Writing Kannada literature in native metres was first popularised by the court poets . These metres were the sangatya , compositions sung to the accompaniment of a musical instrument ; shatpadi , six @-@ line verses ; ragale , lyrical compositions in blank verse ; and tripadi , three @-@ line verses . However , Jain writers continued to use the traditional champu , composed of prose and verse . Important literary contributions in Kannada were made not only by court poets but also by noblemen , commanders , ministers , ascetics and saints associated with monasteries . 
 
 = = Kannada writings = = 
 
 
 = = = Overview = = = 
 
 Beginning with the 12th century , important socio @-@ political changes took place in the Deccan , south of the Krishna river . During this period , the Hoysalas , native Kannadigas from the Malnad region ( hill country in modern Karnataka ) were on the ascendant as a political power . They are known to have existed as chieftains from the mid @-@ 10th century when they distinguished themselves as subordinates of the Western Chalukyas of Kalyani . In 1116 , Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana defeated the Cholas of Tanjore and annexed Gangavadi ( parts of modern southern Karnataka ) , thus bringing the region back under native rule . In the following decades , with the waning of the Chalukya power , the Hoysalas proclaimed independence and grew into one of the most powerful ruling families of southern India . Consequently , literature in Kannada , the local language , flourished in the Hoysala empire . This literature can be broadly subdivided as follows : works dominated by the themes of Jain writings , contrasting works by Veerashaiva writers not belonging to the vachana poetic tradition , rebuttals to Shaiva writings from Jain writers , early brahminical works ( Vaishnava ) , works from the birth of the Bhakti ( devotional ) movement in the Kannada @-@ speaking region , writings on secular topics , and the first writings in native metres ( ragale , sangatya and shatpadi ) . 
 As in earlier centuries , Jain authors wrote about tirthankars ( saints ) , princes and other personages important to the Jain religion . Jain versions of the Hindu epics such as the Ramayana and Bhagavata ( tales of Hindu god Krishna ) were also written . According to R. Narasimhacharya , a noted scholar on Kannada literature , more Jain writers wrote in Kannada than in any other Dravidian language during the " Augustan age " of Kannada literature , from the earliest known works to the 12th century . The Veerashaiva writers , devotees of the Hindu god Shiva , wrote about his 25 forms in their expositions of Shaivism . Vaishnava authors wrote treatments of the Hindu epics , the Ramayana , the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata . Breaking away from the old Jain tradition of using the champu form for writing Kannada literature , Harihara penned poems in the ragale metre in Siva @-@ ganada @-@ ragalegalu ( 1160 ) . His nephew Raghavanka established the shatpadi tradition by writing a unique version of the story of King Harishchandra in Harishchandra Kavya ( 1200 ) . Sisumayana introduced the sangatya metre in his Anjanacharita and Tripuradahana ( 1235 ) . However , some scholars continued to employ Sanskritic genres such as champu ( Ramachandra Charitapurana ) , shataka ( 100 verse compositions , Pampa sataka ) and ashtaka ( eight line verse compositions , Mudige ashtaka ) . 
 The exact beginnings of the haridasa movement in the Kannada @-@ speaking region have been disputed . Belur Keshavadasa , a noted Harikatha scholar , claimed in his book Karnataka Bhaktavijaya that the movement was inspired by saint Achalananda Dasa of Turvekere ( in the modern Tumkur district ) in the 9th century . However , neither the language used in Achalananda Dasa 's compositions nor the discovery of a composition with the pen name " Achalanada Vitthala " , which mentions the 13th @-@ century philosopher Madhvacharya , lends support to the 9th @-@ century theory . Naraharitirtha ( 1281 ) , one of earliest disciples of Madhvacharya , is therefore considered the earliest haridasa to write Vaishnava compositions in Kannada . Secular topics were popular and included treatises on poetry ( Sringararatnakara ) and writings on natural sciences ( Rattasutra ) , mathematics ( Vyavaharaganita ) , fiction ( Lilavati ) , grammar ( Shabdamanidarpana ) , rhetoric ( Udayadityalankara ) and others . 
 Important contributions were made by some prominent literary families . One Jain family produced several authors , including Mallikarjuna , the noted anthologist ( 1245 ) ; his brother @-@ in @-@ law Janna ( 1209 ) , the court poet of King Veera Ballala II ; Mallikarjuna 's son Keshiraja ( 1260 ) , considered by D. R. Nagaraj , a scholar on literary cultures in history , to be the greatest theorist of Kannada grammar ; and Sumanobana , who was in the court of King Narasimha I and was the maternal grandfather of Keshiraja . Harihara ( 1160 ) and his nephew Raghavanka ( 1200 ) , poets who set the trend for using native metres , came from a Shaiva family ( devotees of the god Shiva ) . 
 The support of the Hoysala rulers for the Kannada language was strong , and this is seen even in their epigraphs , often written in polished and poetic language , rather than prose , with illustrations of floral designs in the margins . In addition to the Hoysala patronage , royal support was enjoyed by Kannada poets and writers during this period in the courts of neighbouring kingdoms of the western Deccan . The Western Chalukyas , the southern Kalachuris , the Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri and the Silharas of Kolhapur are some of the ruling families who enthusiastically used Kannada in inscriptions and promoted its literature . 
 Writers bilingual in Kannada and Telugu gained popularity which caused interaction between the two languages , a trend that continued into modern times . The Veerashiva canon of the Kannada language was translated or adapted into Telugu from this time period . Palkuriki Somanatha ( 1195 ) , a devotee of social reformer Basavanna , is the most well @-@ known of these bilingual poets . The Chola chieftain Nannechoda ( c . 1150 ) used many Kannada words in his Telugu writings . After the decline of the Hoysala empire , the Vijayanagara empire kings further supported writers in both languages . In 1369 , inspired by Palkuriki Somanatha , Bhima Kavi translated the Telugu Basavapurana to Kannada , and King Deva Raya II ( c . 1425 ) had Chamarasa 's landmark writing Prabhulingalile translated into Telugu and Tamil . Many Veerashaiva writers in the court of the 17th century Kingdom of Mysore were multilingual in Kannada , Telugu and Sanskrit while the Srivaishnava ( a sect of Vaishnavism ) Kannada writers of the court were in competition with the Telugu and Sanskrit writers . 
 Information from contemporary records regarding several writers from this period whose works are considered lost include : Maghanandi ( probable author of Rama Kathe and guru of Kamalabhava of 1235 ) , Srutakirti ( guru of Aggala , and author of Raghava Pandaviya and possibly a Jina @-@ stuti , 1170 ) , Sambha Varma ( mentioned by Nagavarma of 1145 ) , Vira Nandi ( Chandraprabha Kavyamala , 1175 ) , Dharani Pandita ( Bijjala raya Charita and Varangana Charita ) , Amrita Nandi ( Dhanvantari Nighantu ) , Vidyanatha ( Prataparudriya ) , Ganeshvara ( Sahitya Sanjivana ) , Harabhakta , a Veerashaiva mendicant ( Vedabhashya , 1300 ) , and Siva Kavi ( author of Basava Purana in 1330 ) . 
 
 = = = Jain epics = = = 
 
 During the early 12th @-@ century ascendancy of the Hoysalas , the kings of the dynasty entertained imperial ambitions . King Vishnuvardhana wanted to perform Vedic sacrifices befitting an emperor , and surpass his overlords , the Western Chalukyas , in military and architectural achievements . This led to his conversion from Jainism to Vaishnavism . Around the same time , the well @-@ known philosopher Ramanujacharya sought refuge from the Cholas in Hoysala territory and popularised the Sri Vaishnava faith , a sect of Hindu Vaishnavism . Although Jains continued to dominate culturally in what is now the southern Karnataka region for a while , these social changes would later contribute to the decline of Jain literary output . The growing political clout of the Hoysalas attracted many bards and scholars to their court , who in turn wrote panegyrics on their patrons . 
 Nagachandra , a scholar and the builder of the Mallinatha Jinalaya ( a Jain temple in honor of the 19th Jain tirthankar , Mallinatha , in Bijapur , Karnataka ) , wrote Mallinathapurana ( 1105 ) , an account of the evolution of the soul of the Jain saint . According to some historians , King Veera Ballala I was his patron . Later , he wrote his magnum opus , a Jain version of the Hindu epic Ramayana called Ramachandra Charitapurana ( or Pampa Ramayana ) . Written in the traditional champu metre and in the Pauma charia tradition of Vimalasuri , it is the earliest extant version of the epic in the Kannada language . The work contains 16 sections and deviates significantly from the original epic by Valmiki . Nagachandra represents King Ravana , the villain of the Hindu epic , as a tragic hero , who in a moment of weakness commits the sin of abducting Sita ( wife of the Hindu god Rama ) but is eventually purified by her devotion to Rama . In a further deviation , Rama 's loyal brother Lakshmana ( instead of Rama ) kills Ravana in the final battle . Eventually , Rama takes jaina @-@ diksha ( converts to Digambara monk ) , becomes an ascetic and attains nirvana ( enlightenment ) . Considered a complementary work to the Pampa Bharatha of Adikavi Pampa ( 941 , a Jain version of the epic Mahabharata ) , the work earned Nagachandra the honorific " Abhinava Pampa " ( " new Pampa " ) . Only in the Kannada language do Jain versions exist of the Hindu epics , the Mahabharata and Ramayana , in addition to their brahminical version . 
 Kanti ( 1108 ) , known for her wit and humour , was one of the earliest female poets of the Kannada language and a contemporary of Nagachandra , with whom she indulged in debates and repartees . Rajaditya , a native of either Puvinabage or Raibhag ( the modern Belgaum district ) , was in the Hoysala court during the days of King Veera Ballala I and King Vishnuvardhana . He wrote in easy verse on arithmetic and other mathematical topics and is credited with three of the earliest writings on mathematics in the Kannada language : Vyavaharaganita , Kshetraganita and Lilavati . Udayaditya , a Chola prince , authored a piece on rhetoric called Udayadityalankara ( 1150 ) . It was based on Dandin 's Sanskrit Kavyadarsa . 
 
 = = = Age of Harihara = = = 
 
 Harihara ( or Harisvara , 1160 ) , who came from a family of karnikas ( accountants ) in Hampi , was one of the earliest Veerashaiva writers who was not part of the Vachana poetic tradition . He is considered one of the most influential Kannada poets of the Hoysala era . A non @-@ traditionalist , he has been called " poet of poets " and a " poet for the masses " . Kannada poetry changed course because of his efforts , and he was an inspiration for generations of poets to follow . Impressed by his early writings , Kereya Padmarasa , the court poet of King Narasimha I , introduced him to the king , who became Harihara 's patron . A master of many metres , he authored the Girijakalyana ( " Marriage of the mountain born goddess – Parvati " ) in the Kalidasa tradition , employing the champu style to tell a 10 @-@ part story leading to the marriage of the god Shiva and Parvati . According to an anecdote , Harihara was so against eulogising earthly mortals that he struck his protégé Raghavanka for writing about King Harishchandra in the landmark work Harishchandra Kavya ( c . 1200 ) . Harihara is credited with developing the native ragale metre . The earliest poetic biographer in the Kannada language , he wrote a biography of Basavanna called Basavarajadevara ragale , which gives interesting details about the protagonist while not always conforming to popular beliefs of the time . Ascribed to him is a group of 100 poems called the Nambiyanana ragale ( also called Shivaganada ragale or Saranacharitamanasa – " The holy lake of the lives of the devotees " ) after the saint Nambiyana . In the sataka metre he wrote the Pampa sataka , and in the ashtaka metre , the Mudige ashtaka in about 1200 . 
 Famous among Vaishnava writers and the first brahmin writer ( of the Smartha sect ) of repute , Rudrabhatta wrote Jagannatha Vijaya ( 1180 ) in a style considered a transition between ancient and medieval Kannada . Chandramouli , a minister in the court of King Veera Ballala II , was his patron . The writing , in champu metre , is about the life of the god Krishna . Leading to the god 's fight with Banasura , it is based on an earlier writing , Vishnupurana . 
 Nemichandra , court poet of King Veera Ballala II and the Silhara King Lakshmana of Kholapur , wrote Lilavati Prabandham ( 1170 ) , the earliest available true fiction ( and hence a novel ) in Kannada , with an erotic bent . Written in the champu metre , with the ancient town Banavasi as the background , it narrates the love story of a Kadamba prince and a princess who eventually marry after facing many obstacles . The story is based on a c . 610 Sanskrit original called Vasavadatta by Subhandu . His other work , Neminathapurana , unfinished on account of his death ( and hence called Ardhanemi or " incomplete Nemi " ) , details the life of the 22nd Jain tirthankar Neminatha while treating the life of the god Krishna from a Jain angle . 
 Palkuriki Somanatha , a native of modern Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh , is considered one of the foremost multi @-@ lingual Shaiva ( or Shiva @-@ following ) poets of the 12th and 13th centuries . Historians are divided about the time and place of his birth and death and his original faith . He was adept in the Sanskrit , Telugu and Kannada languages . He was a devotee of Basavanna ( the founder of the Veerashaiva movement ) , and all his writings propagate that faith . It is generally accepted that he was born a brahmin and later adopted the Shaiva faith , although according to the scholar Bandaru Tammayya he was born a Jangama ( follower of the Shaiva faith ) . His time of birth has been identified as either the 12th century or late 13th century . In Kannada , his most important writings are Silasampadane , Sahasragananama and Pancharatna . His well @-@ known poems , written in the ragale metre , are Basava ragale , Basavadhya ragale and Sadguru ragale . He is known to have humbled many Vaishnava poets in debates . 
 Other well @-@ known personalities from the 12th century included several Jain writers . These include Aggala , who authored Chandraprabhapurana ( 1189 ) , an account of the life of the eighth Jain tirthankar Chandraprabha ; Sujanottamsa , who wrote a panegyric on Gomateshwara of Shravanabelagola ; and Vritta Vilasa , who authored Sastra sara and Dharmaparikshe ( 1160 ) . The latter was Vilasa 's version of the Sanskrit original of the same name written by Amitagati c . 1014 . In this champu writing , the author narrates the story of two Kshatriya princess who went to Benares and exposed the vices of the gods after discussions with the brahmins there . The author questions the credibility of Hanuman ( the Hindu monkey god ) and the Vanaras ( monkey @-@ like humanoids in the Hindu epic Ramayana ) . Although controversial , the work sheds useful information on contemporary religious beliefs . Kereya Padmarasa , a Veerashaiva poet patronised by King Narasimha I , wrote Dikshabodhe in the ragale metre in 1165 . He would later become the protagonist of a biographical work called Padmarajapurana written by his descendant Padmanaka in c . 1400 . The brahmin poet Deva Kavi authored a romance piece called Kusumavali ( 1200 ) , and brahmin poet Kavi Kama ( 12th century ) authored a treatise called Sringara @-@ ratnakara on the rasa ( flavor ) of poetical sentiment . Sumanobana ( 1170 ) was a poet @-@ grammarian and the Katakacharya ( " military teacher " ) under King Narasimha I. He was also a priest in Devagiri , the Seuna Yadava capital . 
 
 = = = Jain – Veerashaiva conflict = = = 
 
 Harihara 's nephew and protégé , the dramatic poet Raghavanka of Hampi , whose style is compared to that of 10th @-@ century poet Ranna , was the first to establish the shatpadi metre in Kannada literature in the epic Harishchandra Kavya ( 1200 ) . According to L. S. Seshagiri Rao , it is believed that in no other language has the story of King Harishchandra been interpreted in this way . The writing is an original in tradition and inspiration that fully develops the potential of the shatpadi metre . The narration has many noteworthy elegiac verses such as the mourning of Chandramati over the death of her young son Lohitashva from snake bite . The very writing that made Raghavanka famous was rejected by his guru , Harihara . His other well @-@ known writings , adhering to strict Shaiva principles and written to appease his guru , are the Siddharama charitra ( or Siddharama Purana ) , a larger than life stylistic eulogy of the compassionate 12th @-@ century Veerashaiva saint , Siddharama of Sonnalige ; the Somanatha charitra , a propagandist work that describes the life of saint Somayya ( or Adaiah ) of Puligere ( modern Lakshmeshwar ) , his humiliation by a Jain girl and his revenge ; the Viresvara charita , a dramatic story of the blind wrath of a Shaiva warrior , Virabhadra ; the Hariharamahatva , an account of the life of Harisvara of Hampi ; and Sarabha charitra . The last two classics are considered lost . 
 In 1209 , the Jain scholar , minister , builder of temples and army commander Janna wrote , among other classics , Yashodhara Charite , a unique set of stories in 310 verses dealing with sadomasochism , transmigration of the soul , passion gone awry and cautionary morals for human conduct . The writing , although inspired by Vadiraja 's Sanskrit classic of the same name , is noted for its original interpretation , imagery and style . In one story , the poet tells of the infatuation of a man for his friend 's wife . Having killed his friend , the man abducts the wife , who dies of grief . Overcome by repentance , he burns himself on the funeral pyre of the woman . The stories of infatuation reach a peak when Janna writes about the attraction of Amrutamati , the queen , to the ugly mahout Ashtavakra , who pleases the queen with kicks and whip lashes . This story has piqued the interest of modern researchers . In honour of this work , Janna received the title Kavichakravarthi ( " Emperor among poets " ) from his patron , King Veera Ballala II . His other classic , Anathanatha Purana ( 1230 ) , is an account of the life of the 14th tirthankar Ananthanatha . 
 Andayya , taking a non @-@ conformist path that was never repeated in Kannada literature , wrote Madana Vijaya ( " Triumph of cupid " , 1217 – 1235 ) using only pure Kannada words ( desya ) and naturalized Sanskrit words ( tadbhava ) and totally avoiding assimilated Sanskrit words ( tatsamas ) . This is seen by some as a rebuttal meant to prove that writing Kannada literature without borrowed Sanskrit words was possible . The poem narrates the story of the moon being imprisoned by the god Shiva in his abode in the Himalayas . In his anger , Kama ( Cupid , the god of love , also called Manmata ) assailed Shiva with his arrows only to be cursed by Shiva and separated from his beloved . Kama then contrived to rid himself of Shiva 's curse . The work also goes by other names such as Sobagina Suggi ( " Harvest of Beauty " ) , Kavane Gella ( " Cupid 's Conquest " ) and Kabbigara @-@ kava ( " Poets defender " ) . Kama has an important place in Jain writings even before Andayya . The possibility that this writing was yet another subtle weapon in the intensifying conflict between the dominant Jains and the Veerashaivas , whose popularity was on the rise , is not lost on historians . 
 Mallikarjuna , a Jain ascetic , compiled an anthology of poems called Suktisudharnava ( " Gems from the poets " ) in 1245 in the court of King Vira Someshwara . Some interesting observations have been made by scholars about this important undertaking . While the anthology itself provides insight into poetic tastes of that period ( and hence qualifies as a " history of Kannada literature " ) , it also performs the function of a " guide for poets " , an assertive method of bridging the gap between courtly literary intelligentsia and folk poetry . Being a guide for " professional intellectuals " , the work , true to its nature , often includes poems eulogising kings and royalty but completely ignoring poems of the 12th @-@ century vachana canon ( Veerashaiva folk literature ) . However , the selection of poems includes contributions from Harihara , the non @-@ conformist Veerashaiva writer . This suggests a compromise by which the author attempts to include the " rebels " . 
 Other notable writers of the early 13th century were Bhanduvarma , author of Harivamsabhyudaya and Jiva sambhodana ( 1200 ) , the latter bearing on morals and renunciation , and written addressing the soul ; Balachandra Kavi Kandarpa , the author of the Belgaum fort inscription who claimed to be " master of four languages " ; Maghanandycharya , the author of an extinct commentary on the Jain theological work Sastrasara Samuccaya @-@ tiku ( 1209 ) for which there are references , and the available commentary called padarthasara giving a complete explanation of Sanskrit and Prakrit authoritative citations ; Hastimalla , who wrote Purvapurana ; Chandrama , author of Karkala Gomateshvara charite , and Sisumayana , who introduced a new form of composition called sangatya in 1232 . He wrote an allegorical poem called Tripuradahana ( " Burning of the triple fortress " ) and Anjanacharita . The latter work was inspired by Ravisena 's Sanskrit Padma charitra . Somaraja , a Veerashaiva scholar , wrote a eulogy of Udbhata , the ruler of Gersoppa , and called it Sringarasara ( or Udbhatakavya , 1222 ) . Other Jain writers were Parsva Pandita , author of Paravanathapurana , and Gunavarma II , the author of the story of the ninth Jain tirthankar Pushpadanta called Pushpadanta purana ( both were patronised by the Ratta kings of Saundatti ) . Polalva Dandanatha , a commander , minister , and the builder of the Harihareshwara temple in Harihar , wrote Haricharitra in 1224 . He was patronised by King Veera Ballala II and his successor , King Vira Narasimha II . Puligere Somanatha authored a book on morals called Somesvarasataka . 
 
 = = = Consolidation of grammar = = = 
 
 Keshiraja was a notable writer and grammarian of the 13th century . He came from a family of famous poet @-@ writers . Although five of Keshiraja 's writings are not traceable , his most enduring work on Kannada grammar , Shabdamanidarpana ( " Mirror of Word Jewels " , 1260 ) , is available and testifies to his scholarly acumen and literary taste . True to his wish that his writing on grammar should " last as long as the sun , the moon , the oceans and the Meru mountain lasted " , Shabdamanidarpana is popular even today and is considered a standard authority on old Kannada grammar . It is prescribed as a textbook for students of graduate and post @-@ graduate studies in the Kannada language . Although Keshiraja followed the model of Sanskrit grammar ( of the Katantra school ) and that of earlier writings on Kannada grammar ( by King Amoghavarsha I of the 9th century and grammarian Nagavarma II of 1145 ) , his work has originality . Keshiraja 's lost writings are Cholapalaka Charitam , Sri Chitramale , Shubhadraharana , Prabodhachandra and Kiratam ( or Kiratarjuniyam ) . 
 A major development of this period that would have a profound impact on Kannada literature even into the modern age was the birth of the Haridasa ( " servants of Hari or Vishnu " ) movement . This devotional movement , although reminiscent in some ways of the Veerashaiva movement of the 12th century ( which produced Vachana poetry and taught devotion to the god Shiva ) , was in contrast intimately devoted to the Hindu god Vishnu as the supreme God . The inspiration behind this movement was the philosophy of Madhvacharya of Udupi . Naraharitirtha ( 1281 ) is considered the first well @-@ known haridasa and composer of Vaishnava devotional songs in Kannada . Before his induction into the Madhva order , he had served as a minister in the court of Kalinga . The Vaishnava poetry however disappeared for about two centuries after Naraharitirtha 's death before resurfacing as a popular form of folk literature during the rule of the Vijayanagara Empire . Only three of Naraharitirtha 's compositions are available today . 
 Other writers worthy of mention are Mahabala Kavi , the author of Neminathapurana ( 1254 ) , an account of the 22nd Jain tirthankar Neminatha , and Kumudendu , author of a Jain version of the epic Ramayana in shatpadi metre called Kumudendu Ramayana in 1275 . The effort was influenced by Pampa Ramayana of Nagachandra . Kumara Padmarasa , son of Kereya Padmarasa , wrote the Sananda Charitre in shatpadi metre . Ratta Kavi , a Jain noble , wrote a quasi @-@ scientific piece called Rattasutra ( or Rattamala ) in 1300 . The writing bears on natural phenomena such rain , earthquakes , lightning , planets and omens . A commentary on the Amara Khosa , considered useful to students of the language , called Amara Khosa Vyakhyana was written by the Jain writer Nachiraja ( 1300 ) . Towards the end of the Hoysala rule , Nagaraja wrote Punyasrava in 1331 in champu style , a work that narrates the stories of puranic heroes in 52 tales and is said to be a translation from Sanskrit . 
 
 = = Sanskrit writings = = 
 
 The Vaishnava movement in the Kannada @-@ speaking regions found momentum after the arrival of the philosopher Ramanujacharya ( 1017 – 1137 ) . Fleeing possible persecution from the Chola King ( who was a Shaiva ) , Ramanujacharya sought refuge initially in Tondanur and later moved to Melkote . But this event had no impact on Vaishnava literature in Hoysala lands at that time . However , the teachings of Madhvacharya ( 1238 – 1317 ) , propounder of the Dvaita philosophy , did have a direct impact on Vaishnava literature , in both the Sanskrit and Kannada languages . This body of writings is known as haridasa sahitya ( haridasa literature ) . 
 Born as Vasudeva in Pajaka village near Udupi in 1238 , he learnt the Vedas and Upanishads under his guru Achyutapreksha . He was initiated into sanyasa ( asceticism ) after which he earned the name Madhvacharya ( or Anandatirtha ) . Later , he disagreed with the views of his guru and began to travel India . He successfully debated with many scholars and philosophers during this time and won over Naraharitirtha , a minister in Kalinga , who would later become Madhvacharya 's first notable disciple . Unlike Adi Shankaracharya ( 788 – 820 ) who preached Advaita philosophy ( monism ) and Ramanujacharya who propounded Vishishtadvaita philosophy ( qualified monism ) , Madhvacharya taught the Dvaita philosophy ( dualism ) . 
 Madhvacharya taught complete devotion to the Hindu god Vishnu , emphasising Jnanamarga or the " path of knowledge " , and insisted that the path of devotion " can help a soul to attain elevation " ( Athmonathi ) . He was however willing to accept devotion to other Hindu deities as well . He wrote 37 works in Sanskrit including Dwadasha Sutra ( in which his devotion to the god Vishnu found full expression ) , Gita Bhashya , Gita Tatparya Nirnaya , Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya , Bhagavata Tatparya Nirnaya , Mayavada Khandana and Vishnu Tattwa Nirnaya . To propagate his teachings he established eight monasteries near Udupi , the Uttaradhi monastery , and the Raghavendra monastery in Mantralayam ( in modern Andhra Pradesh ) and Nanjanagud ( near modern Mysore ) . 
 The writings of Madhvacharya and Vidyatirtha ( author of Rudraprshnabhashya ) may have been absorbed by Sayanacharya , brother of Vidyaranya , the patron saint of the founders of the Vijayanagara empire in the 14th century . Bharatasvamin ( who was patronised by Hoysala King Ramanatha ) wrote a commentary on Samaveda , Shadgurusishya wrote commentary on Aitareya Brahmana and Aranyaka , and Katyayana wrote Sarvanukramani . A family of hereditary poets whose names have not been identified held the title " Vidyachakravarti " ( poet laureate ) in the Hoysala court . One of them wrote Gadyakarnamrita , a description of the war between Hoysala king Vira Narasimha II and the Pandyas , in the early 13th century . His grandson with the same title , in the court of king Veera Ballala III , composed a poem called Rukminikalyana in 16 kandas ( chapters ) and wrote commentaries ( on poetics ) on the Alankarasarvasva and Kavyaprakasa . Kalyani Devi , a sister of Madhvacharya , and Trivikrama , his disciple , wrote commentaries on the Dvaita philosophy . To Trivikrama is ascribed a poem narrating the story of Usha and Aniruddha called Ushaharana . Narayana Pandita composed Madhwavijaya , Manimanjari and a poem called Parijataharana . The Jain writer Ramachandra Maladhari authored Gurupanchasmriti . 
 
 = = Literature after the Hoysalas = = 
 
 Literary developments during the Hoysala period had a marked influence on Kannada literature in the centuries to follow . These developments popularised folk metres which shifted the emphasis towards desi ( native or folk ) forms of literature . With the waning of Jain literary output , competition between the Veerashaiva and Vaishnava writers came to the fore . The Veerashaiva writer Chamarasa ( author of Prabhulingalile , 1425 ) and his Vaishnava competitor Kumaravyasa ( Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari , 1450 ) popularised the shatpadi metric tradition initiated by Hoysala poet Raghavanka , in the court of Vijayanagara King Deva Raya II . Lakshmisa , the 16th – 17th century writer of epic poems , continued the tradition in the Jaimini Bharata , a work that has remained popular even in the modern period . The tripadi metre , one of the oldest in the Kannada language ( Kappe Arabhatta inscription of 700 ) , which was used by Akka Mahadevi ( Yoganna trividhi , 1160 ) , was popularised in the 16th century by the mendicant poet Sarvajna . Even Jain writers , who had dominated courtly literature throughout the classical period with their Sanskritic champu style , began to use native metres . Among them , Ratnakaravarni is famous for successfully integrating an element of worldly pleasure into asceticism and for treating the topic of eroticism with discretion in a religious epic written in the native sangatya metre ( a metre initiated by Hoysala poet Sisumayana ) , his magnum opus , the Bharatadesa Vaibhava ( c . 1557 ) . 
 Though the Vaishnava courtly writings in Kannada began with the Hoysala poet Rudrabhatta and the devotional song genre was initiated by Naraharitirtha , the Vaishnava movement began to exert a strong influence on Kannada literature only from the 15th century on . The Vaishnava writers consisted of two groups who seemed to have no interaction with each other : the Brahmin commentators who typically wrote under the patronage of royalty , and the Bhakti ( devotion ) writers ( also known as haridasas ) who played no role in courtly matters . The Bhakti writers took the message of God to the people in the form of melodious songs composed using folk genres such as the kirthane ( a musical composition with refrain , based on tune and rhythm ) , the suladi ( a composition based on rhythm ) and the ugabhoga ( a composition based on melody ) . Kumara Vyasa and Timmanna Kavi were well @-@ known among the Brahmin commentators , while Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa were the most notable of the Bhakti writers . The philosophy of Madhvacharya , which originated in the Kannada @-@ speaking region in the 13th century , spread beyond its borders over the next two centuries . The itinerant haridasas , best described as mystic saint @-@ poets , spread the philosophy of Madhvacharya in simple Kannada , winning mass appeal by preaching devotion to God and extolling the virtues of jnana ( enlightenment ) , bhakti ( devotion ) and vairagya ( detachment ) . 
 Vachana poetry , developed in reaction to the rigid caste @-@ based Hindu society , attained its peak in popularity among the under @-@ privileged during the 12th century . Though these poems did not employ any regular metre or rhyme scheme , they are known to have originated from the earlier tripadi metrical form . The Veerashaivas , who wrote this poetry , had risen to influential positions by the Vijayanagara period ( 14th century ) . Court ministers and nobility belonging to the faith , such as Lakkanna Dandesa and Jakkanarya , not only wrote literature but also patronised talented writers and poets . Veerashaiva anthologists of the 15th and 16th centuries began to collect Shaiva writings and vachana poems , originally written on palm leaf manuscripts . Because of the cryptic nature of the poems , the anthologists added commentaries to them , thereby providing their hidden meaning and esoteric significance . An interesting aspect of this anthological work was the translation of the Shaiva canon into Sanskrit , bringing it into the sphere of the Sanskritic ( marga or mainstream as opposed to desi or folk ) cultural order . 
 
 