# List of Yakshagana plays in the Kannada language

Yakshagana (lit. "Songs of the demi-gods") is a composite folk-dance-drama or folk theater of southern India which combines literature, music, dance and painting. The best-known forms of this art, written in the Kannada language, are from the Dakshina Kannada, Udupi district, Uttara Kannada and to some extent from the Shimoga district of modern Karnataka. According to the Kannada playwright and Yakshagana researcher Shivarama Karanth, there are over one hundred such plays written in Kannada in the past few centuries though not more than fifty have been staged and gained popularity. The metrical forms used to compose these plays are usually native Kannada forms such as dvipadi (couplet, 2-line verse), caupadi (4-line verse), sangatya (also 4-line) and three or four types of shatpadi (6-line verse). Some Sanskritic metrical forms, such as the vrattas (4 line verse) and kandas (chapter) were also used for composition. The composed lines lend themselves to tala (beats) and are hence suitable for dance-dramas.
There are a variety of dance-dramas collectively termed as Yakshagana. The Yakshagana Tenkutittu (lit. "Yakshagana of the southern style") is popular primarily in the Mangalore region and the Yakshagana Badagatittu Bayalaata (lit. "Yakshagana of northern style performed outdoors") is popular in Udupi and surrounding regions. Other art forms also grouped under Yakshagana are the Nagamandalam, a dance meant to appease the deity Naga, and a variety of bhuta (spirit) dances. The "Yakshagana Tenkutittu" is more akin to the classical Kathakali of Kerala. According to Karanth, the region between Udupi and Ikkeri could be where the Yakshagana of the northern style originated. Based on internal evidence, Karanth dates these plays to about a 100 years prior to their earliest available copy. This list is not exhaustive. Many plays never reached the stage and among those that did, several plays may not have gained popularity or may longer be popular. Aliya Lingaraja, a member of the Mysore royal family and a writer in the Mysore court wrote more than forty plays which are not in this list.
From about the 1960s, the Kannada Yakshaganas of the Tenkutittu style (southern style) have been replaced almost entirely by the Tulu language. According to Muthukumaraswamy and Kaushal this appears to be a form of "protest" against playing the traditional themes in Kannada taken from classical sources and a preference for local folk themes in Tulu language.

## The list

Noted Yakshagana plays in the Kannada language :
| Play | Author | Location | Period | Earliest available copy |
| Sugriva Vijaya | Kandukuru Rudrakavi | | 16th century | ~1550 |
| Virata Parva | Vishnu Varamballi | Brahmavara | 16th century | 1564 |
| Banasura Kalaga | Vishnu Varamballi | | | 1683 |
| Indra Kilaka | Vishnu Varamballi | | | 1678 |
| Sambarasura Kalaga | Subramanya Nagire | Gersoppa | 16th century | 1623 |
| Ravanodbhava | Subramanya Nagire | | | 16th-17th century |
| Krsna Sandhana | Devidasa | Barkur or Udupi | 16th century | 1665 |
| Bhisma Parva | Devidasa | | | 1692 |
| Abhimanyu Kalaga | Devidasa | | | 1695 |
| Saindhava Vadha | Devidasa | | | 16th-17th century |
| Chitrasena Kalaga | Devidasa | | | 1695 |
| Girija Kalyana | Devidasa | | | 16th-17th century |
| Krsnarjuna Putrakamesti | Devidasa | | | 1618 |
| Indra Kilaka | Devidasa | | | 16th-17th century |
| Devi Mahatme | Devidasa | | | 16th-17th century |
| Babhruvahana Kalaga | Devidasa | | | 1647 |
| Sri Krsna Balalila | Devidasa | | | 16th-17th century |
| Venkatesa Mahatme | Devidasa | | | 16th-17th century |
| Krsnarjuna Kalaga | Venkata | Pandesvar | 16th century | 1663 |
| Tamradhavaja Kalaga | Rama | Sivapura | 16th century | 1691 |
| Putrakamesti | Anonymous | | | 1652 |
| Rukmini Swayamvara | Anonymous | | | 1678 |
| Panchavati | Anonymous | | | 1657 |
| Pattabhisheka | Anonymous | | | 1657 |
| Kumbhakarna Vadha | Anonymous | | | 1652 |
| Sabha Lakshana | Anonymous | | | 1623 |
| Airavata | Anonymous | | | 1646 |
| Kusalava | Anonymous | | | 1735 |
| Krsna Balalila | Anonymous | | | 1652 |
| Putrakamesti | Anonymous | | | 1651 |
| Babhrvahana Kalaga | Anonymous | | | 17th century |
| Chandravali | Nagappayya | Dvajapura | 17th century | 1703 |
| Nala Damayanti | Nagappayya | | | 17th-18th century |
| Ghatotkaca | Nagappayya | | | 17th-18th century |
| Gayacharitre | Halemakki Rama | Halemakki | 17th century | 1618 |
| Lava Kusa | Rama Bhatta | Hattiangadi | 17th century | 17th-18th century |
| Draupadi Swayamvara | Rama Bhatta | | | 17th-18th century |
| Atikaya | Rama Bhatta | | | 17th-18th century |
| Subhadra Kalyana | Rama Bhatta | | | 1716 |
| Druva Charitre | Rama Bhatta | | | 17th-18th century |
| Rati Kalyana | Rama Bhatta | | | 17th-18th century |
| Kamsa Vadha | Rama Bhatta | | | 17th-18th century |
| Billa Habba | Rama Bhatta | | | 17th-18th century |
| Draupadi Vastrapaharana | Rama Bhatta | | | 17th-18th century |
| Rajasuya | Rama Bhatta | | | 17th-18th century |
| Sulochana Charite | Rama Bhatta | | | 17th-18th century |
| Setu Madhava | Rama Bhatta | | | 17th-18th century |
| Sesha Garvapaharana | Rama Bhatta | | | 17th-18th century |
| Girija Vilasa | Rama Bhatta | | | 17th-18th century |
| Indrajitu Kalaga | Rama Bhatta | | | 17th-18th century |
| Kanakangi Kalyana | Nityananda Avadhuta | Not Known | 17th century | 1683 |
| Parijata | Subba Ajapura | Brahmavara | 18th century | 1698-1715 |
| Rukmini Svayamvara | Subba Ajapura | | | 1698-1715 |
| Mairavana Kalaga | Venkata Ajapura | Brahmavara | 18th century | 1726 |
| Manasa Charite | Venkanna | Mulki | 18th century | 1750 |
| Samudra Mathana | Vasudeva Prabhu | Mulki | 18th century | 18th century |
| Chandrahasa-Billahabba | Vasudeva Prabhu | | | 1814 |
| Kamsa Vadhe | Vasudeva Prabhu | | | 18th century |
| Radha Vilasa | Vasudeva Prabhu | | | 18th century |
| Rajasuya | Bhima | Uttara Kannada | 19th century | 19th century |
| Prahalada charite | Mayyavati Venkata | Mangalore | 19th century | 19th century |
| Bhisma Parva | Yennemadi Venkataramanayya | Shirali | 19th century | 19th century |
| Putrakamesti | Gersoppe Santappayya | Gersoppa | 19th century | 1850 |
| Karnarjuna Kalaga | Gersoppe Santappayya | | | 1850 |
| Ratnavati Kalyana | Lakshminaranappa | Nandalike | 19th century | 19th century |
| Kumara Vijaya | Lakshminaranappa | | | 19th century |
| Bhisma Vijaya | Narasimha Sastry | Tirthahalli | 20th century | 20th century |
| Vidyunmati Kalyana | Narasimha Sastry | | | 20th century |