Sarvajna
Sarvajña (Kannada: ) was a Kannada poet, pragmatist and philosopher of the 16th century. The word "Sarvajna" in Sanskrit literally means "the all knowing". His father was Kumbara Malla and his mother was Mallaladevi. His birth anniversary is celebrated on February 20 every year. He belongs to the cast of Kumbara. He is famous for his pithy three-lined poems called "tripadi" (written in the native three-line verse metre, "with three padas, a form of "Vachana""). He is also referred as Sarvagna in modern translation. Early life. The period of Sarvajña's life has not been determined accurately, and  very little is known about his personal life. Based on studies of his literary style and the references by later writers, historians estimate that he may have lived during the first half of the 16th century. Some references in his works indicate that his real name was Pushpadatta - Sarvajña appears to have been his pseudonym. From information gleaned from his poems, historians believe that his father, a Veerashaiva-Lingayat, met his mother, named Mali in present-day Haveri district (formerly part of Dharwad district) of Karnataka state on his way to Benares while on a pilgrimage. Sarvajna upheld the wisdom  of pastoral life in rural areas in his poems and tried to persuade villagers to give up superstition, meaningless customs and traditions. Tripadis. Sarvagna grew up as a wandering monk creating "Tripadis", the famous three liners. In all, about 2000 three-liners are attributed to him. Popular because of their alliterative structure and simplicity, they deal mainly with social, ethical and religious issues. A number of riddles are also attributed to Sarvajna. All his Tripadis mostly rhyme at second letter of every line. Some examples. ವಿದ್ಯೆಯುಳ್ಳವನ ಮುಖವು ಮುದ್ದು ಬರುವಂತ್ತಿಕ್ಕು , ವಿದ್ಯೆಯಿಲ್ಲದವನ ಬರಿ ಮುಖವು ಹಾಳೂರ ಹದ್ದಿನಂತಕ್ಕು - ಸರ್ವಜ್ಞ Translation: A learned man has  radiant glow on his face, while an illiterate face resembles that of an eagle of abandoned city - sarvanja. ಮಾಸೂರ ಬಸವರಸ। ಕೂಸನೀಶನ ಕೇಳೆ।ಕಾಶಿಯ ಅಭವನೊಳು। ಪಡೆದ ವರವದುವೇ। ಸೂಸಿತೆಂತೆನಲು ಸರ್ವಜ್ಞ॥