 = Hoysala literature = 
 
 Hoysala literature is the large body of literature in the Kannada and Sanskrit languages produced by the Hoysala Empire ( <unk> – <unk> ) in what is now southern India . The empire was established by <unk> Kama II , came into political prominence during the rule of King Vishnuvardhana ( 1108 – <unk> ) , and declined gradually after its defeat by the <unk> dynasty invaders in <unk> . 
 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 ( <unk> ) 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 <unk> from the <unk> region ( hill country in modern Karnataka ) were on the <unk> 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 <unk> , Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana defeated the <unk> of <unk> and annexed <unk> ( parts of modern southern Karnataka ) , thus bringing the region back under native rule . In the following decades , with the <unk> of the <unk> 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 , <unk> to Shaiva writings from Jain writers , early <unk> 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 <unk> ( 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. <unk> , a noted scholar on Kannada literature , more Jain writers wrote in Kannada than in any other <unk> 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 <unk> of <unk> . 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 <unk> @-@ <unk> @-@ <unk> ( 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 <unk> and <unk> ( 1235 ) . However , some scholars continued to employ Sanskritic genres such as champu ( Ramachandra <unk> ) , <unk> ( 100 verse compositions , Pampa sataka ) and ashtaka ( eight line verse compositions , <unk> ashtaka ) . 
 The exact beginnings of the haridasa movement in the Kannada @-@ speaking region have been disputed . <unk> <unk> , a noted <unk> scholar , claimed in his book Karnataka <unk> that the movement was inspired by saint <unk> Dasa of <unk> ( in the modern <unk> district ) in the 9th century . However , neither the language used in <unk> Dasa 's compositions nor the discovery of a composition with the pen name " <unk> <unk> " , 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 . <unk> topics were popular and included <unk> on poetry ( <unk> ) and writings on natural sciences ( <unk> ) , mathematics ( <unk> ) , fiction ( Lilavati ) , grammar ( Shabdamanidarpana ) , rhetoric ( <unk> ) and others . 
 Important contributions were made by some prominent literary families . One Jain family produced several authors , including Mallikarjuna , the noted <unk> ( <unk> ) ; his brother @-@ in @-@ law Janna ( 1209 ) , the court poet of King Veera Ballala II ; Mallikarjuna 's son Keshiraja ( 1260 ) , considered by D. R. <unk> , a scholar on literary cultures in history , to be the greatest theorist of Kannada grammar ; and <unk> , 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 <unk> , 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 <unk> <unk> of <unk> and the <unk> of <unk> 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 <unk> canon of the Kannada language was translated or adapted into Telugu from this time period . Palkuriki Somanatha ( <unk> ) , a devotee of social reformer Basavanna , is the most well @-@ known of these bilingual poets . The Chola chieftain <unk> ( 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 <unk> , inspired by Palkuriki Somanatha , <unk> Kavi translated the Telugu <unk> to Kannada , and King Deva <unk> II ( c . 1425 ) had <unk> 's landmark writing <unk> translated into Telugu and Tamil . Many Veerashaiva writers in the court of the 17th century Kingdom of Mysore were <unk> in Kannada , Telugu and Sanskrit while the <unk> ( 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 : <unk> ( probable author of Rama <unk> and guru of <unk> of 1235 ) , <unk> ( guru of <unk> , and author of <unk> <unk> and possibly a <unk> @-@ <unk> , 1170 ) , Sambha Varma ( mentioned by <unk> of 1145 ) , Vira Nandi ( <unk> <unk> , 1175 ) , <unk> Pandita ( <unk> <unk> <unk> and <unk> <unk> ) , <unk> Nandi ( <unk> <unk> ) , <unk> ( <unk> ) , <unk> ( <unk> <unk> ) , <unk> , a Veerashaiva <unk> ( <unk> , 1300 ) , and <unk> Kavi ( author of <unk> 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 <unk> 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 <unk> 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 <unk> of the Hoysalas attracted many bards and scholars to their court , who in turn wrote <unk> on their patrons . 
 Nagachandra , a scholar and the builder of the <unk> <unk> ( a Jain temple in honor of the 19th Jain tirthankar , <unk> , in <unk> , Karnataka ) , wrote <unk> ( 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 <unk> ( or Pampa Ramayana ) . Written in the traditional champu metre and in the <unk> <unk> tradition of <unk> , it is the earliest extant version of the epic in the Kannada language . The work contains 16 sections and <unk> significantly from the original epic by <unk> . Nagachandra represents King Ravana , the villain of the Hindu epic , as a tragic hero , who in a moment of weakness commits the sin of <unk> <unk> ( wife of the Hindu god Rama ) but is eventually purified by her devotion to Rama . In a further <unk> , Rama 's loyal brother <unk> ( instead of Rama ) kills Ravana in the final battle . Eventually , Rama takes <unk> @-@ <unk> ( converts to <unk> monk ) , becomes an ascetic and <unk> <unk> ( enlightenment ) . Considered a complementary work to the Pampa <unk> of <unk> Pampa ( <unk> , a Jain version of the epic Mahabharata ) , the work earned Nagachandra the honorific " <unk> Pampa " ( " new Pampa " ) . Only in the Kannada language do Jain versions exist of the Hindu epics , the Mahabharata and Ramayana , in addition to their <unk> version . 
 <unk> ( 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 <unk> . <unk> , a native of either <unk> or <unk> ( the modern <unk> 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 : <unk> , <unk> and Lilavati . <unk> , a Chola prince , authored a piece on rhetoric called <unk> ( 1150 ) . It was based on <unk> 's Sanskrit <unk> . 
 
 = = = Age of Harihara = = = 
 
 Harihara ( or <unk> , 1160 ) , who came from a family of <unk> ( 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 @-@ <unk> , 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 <unk> ( " Marriage of the mountain born goddess – Parvati " ) in the <unk> tradition , employing the champu style to tell a 10 @-@ part story leading to the marriage of the god Shiva and Parvati . According to an <unk> , Harihara was so against <unk> 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 <unk> ragale , which gives interesting details about the protagonist while not always conforming to popular beliefs of the time . <unk> to him is a group of 100 poems called the <unk> ragale ( also called <unk> ragale or <unk> – " The holy lake of the lives of the devotees " ) after the saint <unk> . In the sataka metre he wrote the Pampa sataka , and in the ashtaka metre , the <unk> ashtaka in about 1200 . 
 Famous among Vaishnava writers and the first brahmin writer ( of the <unk> sect ) of repute , <unk> wrote <unk> Vijaya ( 1180 ) in a style considered a transition between ancient and medieval Kannada . <unk> , 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 <unk> , it is based on an earlier writing , <unk> . 
 <unk> , court poet of King Veera Ballala II and the <unk> King <unk> of <unk> , wrote Lilavati <unk> ( 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 <unk> as the background , it narrates the love story of a <unk> prince and a princess who eventually marry after facing many obstacles . The story is based on a c . 610 Sanskrit original called <unk> by <unk> . His other work , <unk> , unfinished on account of his death ( and hence called <unk> or " incomplete <unk> " ) , details the life of the 22nd Jain tirthankar <unk> 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 <unk> <unk> he was born a <unk> ( 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 <unk> , <unk> and <unk> . His well @-@ known poems , written in the ragale metre , are <unk> ragale , <unk> ragale and <unk> ragale . He is known to have <unk> many Vaishnava poets in debates . 
 Other well @-@ known personalities from the 12th century included several Jain writers . These include <unk> , who authored <unk> ( 1189 ) , an account of the life of the eighth Jain tirthankar <unk> ; <unk> , who wrote a <unk> on <unk> of <unk> ; and <unk> <unk> , who authored <unk> <unk> and <unk> ( 1160 ) . The latter was <unk> 's version of the Sanskrit original of the same name written by <unk> c . <unk> . In this champu writing , the author narrates the story of two <unk> princess who went to Benares and exposed the vices of the gods after discussions with the <unk> there . The author questions the credibility of Hanuman ( the Hindu monkey god ) and the <unk> ( monkey @-@ like <unk> 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 <unk> in the ragale metre in 1165 . He would later become the protagonist of a biographical work called <unk> written by his descendant <unk> in c . 1400 . The brahmin poet Deva Kavi authored a romance piece called <unk> ( 1200 ) , and brahmin poet Kavi Kama ( 12th century ) authored a treatise called <unk> @-@ <unk> on the <unk> ( flavor ) of poetical sentiment . <unk> ( 1170 ) was a poet @-@ grammarian and the <unk> ( " military teacher " ) under King Narasimha I. He was also a priest in <unk> , the <unk> <unk> 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 <unk> , was the first to establish the shatpadi metre in Kannada literature in the epic Harishchandra Kavya ( 1200 ) . According to L. S. <unk> 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 <unk> over the death of her young son <unk> 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 <unk> of the <unk> 12th @-@ century Veerashaiva saint , Siddharama of <unk> ; the Somanatha charitra , a propagandist work that describes the life of saint <unk> ( or <unk> ) of <unk> ( modern <unk> ) , his humiliation by a Jain girl and his revenge ; the <unk> <unk> , a dramatic story of the blind wrath of a Shaiva warrior , <unk> ; the <unk> , an account of the life of <unk> of Hampi ; and <unk> 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 , <unk> <unk> , a unique set of stories in 310 verses dealing with <unk> , <unk> of the soul , passion gone awry and <unk> morals for human conduct . The writing , although inspired by <unk> '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 . <unk> by repentance , he burns himself on the funeral <unk> of the woman . The stories of infatuation reach a peak when Janna writes about the attraction of <unk> , the queen , to the ugly <unk> <unk> , who <unk> the queen with kicks and whip lashes . This story has <unk> the interest of modern researchers . In honour of this work , Janna received the title <unk> ( " Emperor among poets " ) from his patron , King Veera Ballala II . His other classic , <unk> Purana ( 1230 ) , is an account of the life of the 14th tirthankar <unk> . 
 <unk> , taking a non @-@ conformist path that was never repeated in Kannada literature , wrote <unk> Vijaya ( " Triumph of <unk> " , 1217 – 1235 ) using only pure Kannada words ( <unk> ) and naturalized Sanskrit words ( <unk> ) and totally avoiding assimilated Sanskrit words ( <unk> ) . 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 ( <unk> , the god of love , also called <unk> ) 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 <unk> <unk> ( " Harvest of Beauty " ) , <unk> <unk> ( " <unk> 's Conquest " ) and <unk> @-@ <unk> ( " Poets defender " ) . Kama has an important place in Jain writings even before <unk> . The possibility that this writing was yet another subtle weapon in the intensifying conflict between the dominant Jains and the <unk> , whose popularity was on the rise , is not lost on historians . 
 Mallikarjuna , a Jain ascetic , compiled an anthology of poems called <unk> ( " Gems from the poets " ) in <unk> in the court of King Vira <unk> . 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 <unk> 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 <unk> , author of <unk> and <unk> <unk> ( 1200 ) , the latter bearing on morals and <unk> , and written addressing the soul ; <unk> Kavi <unk> , the author of the <unk> fort inscription who claimed to be " master of four languages " ; <unk> , the author of an extinct commentary on the Jain theological work <unk> <unk> @-@ <unk> ( 1209 ) for which there are references , and the available commentary called <unk> giving a complete explanation of Sanskrit and <unk> authoritative citations ; <unk> , who wrote <unk> ; <unk> , author of <unk> <unk> <unk> , and Sisumayana , who introduced a new form of composition called sangatya in <unk> . He wrote an allegorical poem called <unk> ( " Burning of the triple fortress " ) and <unk> . The latter work was inspired by <unk> 's Sanskrit <unk> charitra . <unk> , a Veerashaiva scholar , wrote a <unk> of <unk> , the ruler of <unk> , and called it <unk> ( or <unk> , <unk> ) . Other Jain writers were <unk> Pandita , author of <unk> , and <unk> II , the author of the story of the ninth Jain tirthankar <unk> called <unk> <unk> ( both were patronised by the <unk> kings of <unk> ) . <unk> <unk> , a commander , minister , and the builder of the <unk> temple in <unk> , wrote <unk> in 1224 . He was patronised by King Veera Ballala II and his successor , King Vira Narasimha II . <unk> Somanatha authored a book on morals called <unk> . 
 
 = = = <unk> 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 <unk> , his most enduring work on Kannada grammar , Shabdamanidarpana ( " Mirror of Word Jewels " , 1260 ) , is available and <unk> to his scholarly <unk> 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 <unk> 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 <unk> school ) and that of earlier writings on Kannada grammar ( by King <unk> I of the 9th century and grammarian <unk> II of 1145 ) , his work has originality . Keshiraja 's lost writings are <unk> <unk> , Sri <unk> , <unk> , <unk> and <unk> ( or <unk> ) . 
 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 <unk> ( " servants of <unk> 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 <unk> order , he had served as a minister in the court of <unk> . 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 <unk> Kavi , the author of <unk> ( <unk> ) , an account of the 22nd Jain tirthankar <unk> , and <unk> , author of a Jain version of the epic Ramayana in shatpadi metre called <unk> Ramayana in 1275 . The effort was influenced by Pampa Ramayana of Nagachandra . <unk> Padmarasa , son of Kereya Padmarasa , wrote the <unk> <unk> in shatpadi metre . <unk> Kavi , a Jain noble , wrote a quasi @-@ scientific piece called <unk> ( or <unk> ) in 1300 . The writing bears on natural phenomena such rain , earthquakes , lightning , planets and <unk> . A commentary on the <unk> <unk> , considered useful to students of the language , called <unk> <unk> <unk> was written by the Jain writer <unk> ( 1300 ) . Towards the end of the Hoysala rule , <unk> wrote <unk> in 1331 in champu style , a work that narrates the stories of <unk> 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 ( <unk> – 1137 ) . <unk> possible persecution from the Chola King ( who was a Shaiva ) , Ramanujacharya sought refuge initially in <unk> and later moved to <unk> . But this event had no impact on Vaishnava literature in Hoysala lands at that time . However , the teachings of Madhvacharya ( <unk> – <unk> ) , <unk> 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 <unk> ( haridasa literature ) . 
 Born as <unk> in <unk> village near Udupi in <unk> , he learnt the <unk> and <unk> under his guru <unk> . He was initiated into <unk> ( asceticism ) after which he earned the name Madhvacharya ( or <unk> ) . 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 <unk> , who would later become Madhvacharya 's first notable disciple . Unlike Adi <unk> ( <unk> – 820 ) who <unk> <unk> philosophy ( monism ) and Ramanujacharya who <unk> <unk> philosophy ( qualified monism ) , Madhvacharya taught the Dvaita philosophy ( dualism ) . 
 Madhvacharya taught complete devotion to the Hindu god Vishnu , emphasising <unk> or the " path of knowledge " , and insisted that the path of devotion " can help a soul to attain elevation " ( <unk> ) . He was however willing to accept devotion to other Hindu deities as well . He wrote 37 works in Sanskrit including <unk> Sutra ( in which his devotion to the god Vishnu found full expression ) , <unk> <unk> , <unk> Tatparya Nirnaya , Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya , Bhagavata Tatparya Nirnaya , <unk> <unk> and Vishnu <unk> Nirnaya . To propagate his teachings he established eight monasteries near Udupi , the <unk> monastery , and the <unk> monastery in <unk> ( in modern Andhra Pradesh ) and <unk> ( near modern Mysore ) . 
 The writings of Madhvacharya and <unk> ( author of <unk> ) may have been absorbed by <unk> , brother of <unk> , the patron saint of the founders of the Vijayanagara empire in the 14th century . <unk> ( who was patronised by Hoysala King <unk> ) wrote a commentary on <unk> , <unk> wrote commentary on <unk> <unk> and <unk> , and <unk> wrote <unk> . A family of hereditary poets whose names have not been identified held the title " <unk> " ( poet laureate ) in the Hoysala court . One of them wrote <unk> , a description of the war between Hoysala king Vira Narasimha II and the <unk> , in the early 13th century . His grandson with the same title , in the court of king Veera Ballala III , composed a poem called <unk> in 16 <unk> ( chapters ) and wrote commentaries ( on <unk> ) on the <unk> and <unk> . Kalyani Devi , a sister of Madhvacharya , and <unk> , his disciple , wrote commentaries on the Dvaita philosophy . To <unk> is ascribed a poem <unk> the story of <unk> and <unk> called <unk> . Narayana Pandita composed <unk> , <unk> and a poem called <unk> . The Jain writer Ramachandra <unk> authored <unk> . 
 
 = = 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 <unk> ( native or folk ) forms of literature . With the <unk> of Jain literary output , competition between the Veerashaiva and Vaishnava writers came to the fore . The Veerashaiva writer <unk> ( author of <unk> , 1425 ) and his Vaishnava competitor <unk> ( <unk> Bharata <unk> , <unk> ) popularised the shatpadi metric tradition initiated by Hoysala poet Raghavanka , in the court of Vijayanagara King Deva <unk> II . <unk> , the 16th – 17th century writer of epic poems , continued the tradition in the <unk> Bharata , a work that has remained popular even in the modern period . The tripadi metre , one of the oldest in the Kannada language ( <unk> <unk> inscription of 700 ) , which was used by Akka <unk> ( <unk> <unk> , 1160 ) , was popularised in the 16th century by the <unk> poet <unk> . Even Jain writers , who had dominated courtly literature throughout the classical period with their Sanskritic champu style , began to use native metres . Among them , <unk> is famous for successfully integrating an element of worldly pleasure into asceticism and for treating the topic of <unk> with discretion in a religious epic written in the native sangatya metre ( a metre initiated by Hoysala poet Sisumayana ) , his magnum opus , the <unk> <unk> ( c . <unk> ) . 
 Though the Vaishnava courtly writings in Kannada began with the Hoysala poet <unk> 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 <unk> ) who played no role in courtly matters . The Bhakti writers took the message of God to the people in the form of <unk> songs composed using folk genres such as the <unk> ( a musical composition with refrain , based on tune and rhythm ) , the <unk> ( a composition based on rhythm ) and the <unk> ( a composition based on melody ) . <unk> <unk> and <unk> Kavi were well @-@ known among the Brahmin commentators , while <unk> Dasa and <unk> 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 <unk> , best described as mystic saint @-@ poets , spread the philosophy of Madhvacharya in simple Kannada , winning mass appeal by preaching devotion to God and <unk> the virtues of <unk> ( enlightenment ) , <unk> ( devotion ) and <unk> ( 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 <unk> form . The <unk> , 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 <unk> <unk> and <unk> , not only wrote literature but also patronised talented writers and poets . Veerashaiva <unk> 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 <unk> added commentaries to them , thereby providing their hidden meaning and esoteric significance . An interesting aspect of this <unk> work was the translation of the Shaiva canon into Sanskrit , bringing it into the sphere of the Sanskritic ( <unk> or mainstream as opposed to <unk> or folk ) cultural order . 
 
 