page_title: Hoysala literature
section_title: Jain–Veerashaiva conflict
hierarchical_section_title: Hoysala literature / Kannada writings / Jain–Veerashaiva conflict
caption_attribution_description: English: The Photograph of an Old Kannada inscription (c. 1220 CE) of the Hoysala Empire was taken by self (Dinesh Kannambadi) at the Ishwara temple (also spelt Isvara) in Arasikere, Hassan district, Karnataka state, India
context_page_description: Hoysala literature is the large body of literature in the Kannada and Sanskrit languages produced by the Hoysala Empire in what is now southern India. The empire was established by Nripa Kama II, came into political prominence during the rule of King Vishnuvardhana, and declined gradually after its defeat by the Khalji 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 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.
context_section_description: 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 naturalised 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
caption: Old-Kannada Hoysala inscription of 1220 CE at Ishvara temple in Arasikere, Karnataka
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