Vijayanagara Literature in Kannada

Vijayanagara literature in Kannada is the body of literature composed in the Kannada language of South India during the ascendancy of the Vijayanagar Empire which lasted from the 14th through the 16th century. The Vijayanagara empire was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I. Although it lasted until 1664, its power declined after a major military defeat by the Shahi Sultanates in the battle of Talikota in 1565. The empire is named after its capital city Vijayanagara, whose ruins surround modern Hampi, now a World Heritage Site in Karnataka.

Kannada literature during this period consisted of writings relating to the socio-religious developments of the Veerashaiva and Vaishnava faiths, and to a lesser extent to that of Jainism. Writing on secular topics was popular throughout this period. Authorship of these writings was not limited to poets and scholars alone. Significant literary contributions were made by members of the royal family, their ministers, army commanders of rank, nobility and the various subordinate rulers. In addition, a vast body of devotional folk literature was written by musical bards, mystics and saint-poets, influencing society in the empire. Writers of this period popularised use of the native metres: shatpadi (six-line verse), sangatya (compositions meant to be sung to the accompaniment of a musical instrument), and tripadi (three-line verse).

The development of Veerashaiva literature was at its peak during the reign of King Deva Raya II, the best-known of the Sangama Dynasty rulers. The rule of King Krishnadeva Raya of the Tuluva Dynasty and his successors was a high point in Vaishnava literature. The influence of Jain literature, which had dominated Kannada language in the previous centuries, was on the wane with increasing competition from the resurgent Veerashaiva faith and Vaishnava bhakti movement (devotional movement of the haridasas). Interaction between Kannada and Telugu literatures left lasting influences that continued after the Vijayanagara era.