# List of milestones in Kannada literature

This is a list of important milestones in Kannada literature starting with Kavirajamarga (850 C.E.). These writings are the earliest available works in each listed genre. Though many notable works have been accomplished in each genre during later years, these writings are the forerunners for later developments.

## The list

Milestones in Kannada literature :
| Genre | Writing | Author | Year | Patron |
| Poetics, Rhetoric | Kavirajamarga | Srivijaya / Amoghavarsha I | 850 | Rashtrakuta Empire |
| Basic Grammar | Kavirajamarga | Srivijaya / Amoghavarsha I | 850 | Rashtrakuta Empire |
| Narrative Prose (Parables) | Vaddaradhane | Shivakotiacharya | 900 | Rashtrakuta Empire |
| Epic (Jain) | Adipurana, Vikramarjuna Vijaya | Adikavi Pampa | 941 | Rashtrakuta Empire |
| Epic with Elegy | Sahasa Bhima Vijaya | Ranna | 982 | Western Chalukya Empire |
| Prosody | Chandombudhi | Nagavarma I | 990 | Western Ganga Dynasty |
| Fiction (Romance) | Karnataka Kadambari | Nagavarma I | 990 | Western Ganga |
| Lexicon | Rannakanda | Ranna | 990 | Western Chalukya |
| Erotics | Madanatilaka | Chandraraja | 1025 | Western Chalukya |
| Encyclopaedia | Lokopakara | Chavundaraya II | 1025 | Western Chalukya |
| Cookery | Lokopakara (Supasastra) | Chavundaraya II | 1025 | Western Chalukya |
| Agriculture | Lokopakara (Vrksayurveda) | Chavundaraya II | 1025 | Western Chalukya |
| Fable | Panchatantra | Durgasimha | 1025 | Western Chalukya |
| Free Verse (Vers Libre) | Vachana poems | Chennaiah, Kakkaiah and others | 11th century | None |
| Bhakti poems (early native) | Vachana | Chennaiah, Kakkaiah and others | 1025 | None |
| Belles-lettres | Chandraprabha Charite | Shridaracharya | 1049 | Western Chalukya |
| Astrology | Jatakatilaka | Shridaracharya | 1049 | Western Chalukya |
| Mathematics | Vyavaharaganita, Kshetraganita, Lilavati | Rajaditya | 1105 | Hoysala Empire |
| Veterinary Science | Govaidya | Prince Kirtivarma | 1120 | Western Chalukya |
| Medicine (health) | Karnataka Kalyanakaraka | Jagadalla Somanatha | 1150 | Western Chalukya |
| Bhakti poems (mature native) | Vachana Sahitya | Basavanna and others | 1160 | Kalachuris of Kalyani (Southern branch) |
| Epic (Shaivism) | Girijakalyana | Harihara | 1160 | Hoysala Empire |
| Epic (Vaishnavism) | Jagannatha Vijaya | Rudrabhatta | 1180 | Hoysala Empire |
| Anthology | Suktisudharnava | Mallikarjuna | 1245 | Hoysala Empire |
| Mature Grammar | Shabdamanidarpana | Kesiraja | 1260 | Hoysala Empire |
| Bhakti poems (mystic, Vaishnavism) | Haridasa Sahitya | Naraharitirtha | 1281 | Hoysala Empire |
| Meteorology | Rattasutra | Rattakavi | 1300 | Hoysala Empire |
| Toxicology | Khagendramanidarpana | Mangaraja I | 1360 | Vijayanagara Empire |
| Epic (Mahabharata) | Gadugina Bharata | Naranappa (Kumara Vyasa) | 1425 | Vijayanagara Empire |
| Epic (Ramayana) | Torave Ramayana | Narahari (Kumara Valmiki) | 1500 | Vijayanagara Empire |
| Epic (native folk) | Ramanatha Charite (Kumararama Charite) | Nanjunda Kavi | 1525 | Vijayanagara Empire |
| Classical devotional | Carnatic music | Purandara Dasa | 16th century | Vijayanagara Empire |
| Theatre (folk, Yakshagana) | Virata Parva | Vishnu Varamballi | 1564 | None |
| Drama (social) | Mitravinda Govinda | Singaraya | 1680 | Mysore Kingdom |
| Biography | Kanthirava Narasaraja Vijaya | Govinda Vaidya | 1648 | Mysore Kingdom |
| History | Chikkadevaraja Vamshavali | Tirumalarya II | 1698 | Mysore Kingdom |
| Grammar (modern) | Kannada grammar | Rev. William Carrey | 1817 | Princely Mysore |
| Novel (Historical prose) | Mudramanjusha | Kempu Narayana | 1823 | Princely Mysore |
| Dictionary (modern) | Kannada-English Dictionary | Rev. W. Reeve | 1832 | Princely Mysore |
| Journalism (news) | Mangalura Samachara | Hermann Mögling | 1843 | Madras Presidency |
| Novel (modern Romance) | Saugandhika Parinaya | Krishnaraja Wodeyar III | 1850 | Princely Mysore |
| Drama (early modern) | Shakuntala | C. Sehagiri Rao | 1869 | Princely Mysore |
| Ballad (native folk) | Sangoli Rayana Dange | John Faithfull Fleet | 1874 | Bombay Presidency |
| Drama (mature modern) | Shurasena Charite (Othello) | Basavappa Shastry | 1882 | Princely Mysore |
| Epic (early, prose) | Adbhuta Ramayana | Muddanna | 1885 | Princely Mysore |
| Mature Novel (Social) | Suryakantha | Lakshmana Gadagkar | 1892 | Bombay Presidency |
| Poem (modern) | English Geethagalu | B. M. Srikantaiah | 1910 | Princely Mysore |
| Short Stories | Kelavu Sanna Kathegalu | Masti | 1920 | Princely Mysore |
| Lyrical poems | Gari | D. R. Bendre | 1936 | Bombay Presidency |
| Epic (modern) | Sri Ramayana Darshanam | Kuvempu | 1949 | Mysore state |