Contribution To Kannada Literature
Haridasa movement has made a significant contribution towards Kannada literature by spawning a whole corpus of devotional literature in the form of verses, hymns and musical compositions, rendering the spread of the Dvaita philosophy (Vedanta) postulated by Madhvacharya. The literature that originated from this devotional movement is called Dasa Sahitya (or dasara padagalu - literature of the dasas). These various compositions are generally called as Devaranamas (literally meaning names of the Lord) and are sung in the praise of the Lord Hari. All these compositions have the concept of Hari Bhakti (devotion to God) at their core and they usually revolve around references to Hindu mythology and the Dvaita philosophy. Some Haridasas like Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa also composed several Devaranamas using the day-to-day happenings, morals and virtues as the central theme. These compositions were in the Kannada language since the main objective of this movement was to take the devotional philosophy to the common man. In doing so, the common people were also educated in the importance of consciousness (jnana), devotion (bhakti), ethics and Hindu religion. Their hymns (padas) set to various musical tones (ragas) aroused the frevor among the masses. As advocates of religious reform, the Haridasas' propounded the virtues of detachment (vairagya). Similes and metaphors were used to great effect in achieving this and they are found in abundance in songs and hymns. In addition to devotional songs, Kanaka Dasa authored five literary classical writings in the kavya style. Jagannathadasa, Vijaya Dasa and Gopaladasa etc., are more well known among a galaxy of composers who made rich contributions to Kannada literature.
The compositions can be broadly classified under one of the following three types:
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- Kavya or poetic compositions
- Tatva or philosophic compositions
- General compositions.
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