Old Kannada temple at Lakshmeshwar where the notable
Adikavi Pampa wrote the
Adipurana in Kannada language The oldest known existing record of
Kannada poetry in
Tripadi metre is the
Kappe Arabhatta record of the 7th century AD.
Kavirajamarga by King Nripatunga
Amoghavarsha I (850 AD) is the earliest existing literary work in Kannada. It is a writing on literary criticism and poetics meant to standardise various written Kannada dialects used in literature in previous centuries. The book makes reference to Kannada works by early writers such as King
Durvinita of the 6th century and
Ravikirti, the author of the Aihole record of 636 AD. Since the earliest available Kannada work is one on grammar and a guide of sorts to unify existing variants of
Kannada grammar and literary styles, it can be safely assumed that literature in Kannada must have started several centuries earlier. An early
extant prose work, the
Vaḍḍārādhane (ವಡ್ಡಾರಾಧನೆ) by
Shivakotiacharya of 900 AD provides an elaborate description of the life of Bhadrabahu of
Shravanabelagola. Some early writers of prose and verse mentioned in the
Kavirajamarga, numbering 8–10, stating these are but a few of many, but whose works are lost, are Vimala or Vimalachandra (c. 777), Udaya, Nagarjuna, Jayabodhi,
Durvinita (6th century), and poets including Kavisvara,
Srivijaya, Pandita Chandra,
Ravikirti (c. 634) and Lokapala.
Amoghavarsha Nripatunga compares the
puratana-kavigal (old Kannada poets) who wrote the great
Chattana poems in Kannada to the likes of the great Sanskrit poets like Gunasuri, Narayana, Bharavi, Kalidasa, Magha, etc. This Old Kannada work,
Kavirajamarga, itself in turn refers to a
Palagannada (Old Kannada) of much ancient times, which is nothing but the Pre-Old Kannada and also warns aspiring Kannada writers to avoid its archaisms, as per R. S. Hukkerikar. Regarding earlier poems in Kannada, the author of "
Kavirajamarga" states that old Kannada is appropriate in ancient poems but insipid in contemporaneous works as per R. Narasimhacharya. Gunanandi (900 AD), quoted by the grammarian Bhattakalanka and always addressed as
Bhagawan (the adorable), was the author of a logic, grammar and
sahitya. Durvinita (529–579 AD), the Ganga king, was the pupil of the author of Sabdavatara, i.e., Devanandi Pujyapada. Durvinita is said to have written a commentary on the difficult 15th
sarga of Bharavi's
Kiratarjuniya in Kannada. Early Kannada writers regularly mention three poets as of especial eminence among their predecessors – Samanta-bhadra, Kavi Parameshthi and Pujyapada. Since later Kannada poets so uniformly name these three as eminent poets, it is probable that they wrote in Kannada also. Samantabhadra is placed in the 2nd century AD by Jain tradition. Old Kannada commentaries on some of his works exist. He was said to have been born in Utkalikagrama and while performing penance in Manuvakahalli, he was attacked by a disease called
Bhasmaka. Pujyapada also called Devanandi, was the preceptor of Ganga king Durvinita and belonged to the late 5th to early 6th century AD. Kaviparameshthi probably lived in the 4th century AD. He may possibly be the same as the
Kaviswara referred to in the Kavirajamarga, and the
Kaviparameswara praised by Chavunda Raya (978 AD) and his spiritual teacher, Nemichandra (10th century AD), all the names possibly being only epithets. Kannada works from earlier centuries mentioned in the
Kavirajamarga are not yet traced. Some ancient Kannada texts now considered extinct but referenced in later centuries are
Prabhrita (650 AD) by Syamakundacharya,
Chudamani (Crest Jewel—650 AD or earlier) by Srivaradhadeva, also known as Tumbuluracharya, which is a work of 96,000 verse-measures and a commentary on logic (
Tatwartha-mahashastra). Other sources date
Chudamani to the 6th century or earlier. An inscription of 1128 AD quotes a couplet by the famous Sanskrit poet Dandin (active 680–720 AD), highly praising Srivaradhadeva, for his Kannada work Chudamani, as having "produced Saraswati (i.e., learning and eloquence) from the tip of his tongue, as Siva produced the Ganges from the tip of his top-knot." Bhattakalanka (1604 CE), the great Kannada grammarian, refers to Srivaradhadeva's Chudamani as the greatest work in Kannada, and as incontestable proof of the scholarly character and value of Kannada literature. This makes Srivaradhadeva's time earlier than the 6th–7th century AD. are Syamakundacharya (650), who authored the "Prabhrita", and Srivaradhadeva (also called Tumubuluracharya, 650 or earlier), who wrote the "Chudamani" ("Crest Jewel"), a 96,000-verse commentary on logic. The
Karnateshwara Katha, a eulogy for King
Pulakesi II, is said to have belonged to the 7th century; this served as the basis for 2 popular folk songs
Ovanige and
Onakevadu, which were sung either while pounding corn or to entice wild elephants into a pit ("
Ovam"). The
Chandraprabha-purana by Sri Vijaya, a court poet of emperor
Amoghavarsha I, is ascribed to the early 9th century. During the 9th century period, the Digambara Jain poet Asaga (or Asoka) authored, among other writings, "Karnata Kumarasambhava Kavya" and "Varadamana Charitra". His works have been praised by later poets, although none of his works are available today. Tamil Buddhist commentators of the 10th century AD (in the commentary on
Neminatham, a Tamil grammatical work) make references that show that Kannada literature must have flourished as early as the BC 4th century. Around the beginning of the 9th century, Old Kannada was spoken from
Kaveri to
Godavari. The Kannada spoken between the rivers
Varada and
Malaprabha was the pure well of Kannada undefiled. The late classical period gave birth to several genres of Kannada literature, with new forms of composition coming into use, including
Ragale (a form of blank verse) and meters like
Sangatya and
Shatpadi. The works of this period are based on
Jain and
Hindu principles. Two of the early writers of this period are
Harihara and Raghavanka, trailblazers in their own right. Harihara established the
Ragale form of composition while
Raghavanka popularised the
Shatpadi (six-lined stanza) meter. A famous
Jaina writer of the same period is
Janna, who expressed Jain religious teachings through his works. The
Vachana Sahitya tradition of the 12th century is purely native and unique in world literature, and the sum of contributions by all sections of society. Vachanas were pithy poems on that period's social, religious and economic conditions. More importantly, they held a mirror to the seed of social revolution, which caused a radical re-examination of the ideas of caste, creed and religion. Some of the important writers of Vachana literature include
Basavanna,
Allama Prabhu and
Akka Mahadevi. Emperor Nripatunga Amoghavarsha I of 850 AD recognised that the Sanskrit style of Kannada literature was
Margi (formal or written form of language) and
Desi (folk or spoken form of language) style was popular and made his people aware of the strength and beauty of their native language Kannada. In 1112 AD, Jain poet Nayasena of Mulugunda, Dharwad district, in his Champu work
Dharmamrita (ಧರ್ಮಾಮೃತ), a book on morals, warns writers from mixing Kannada with Sanskrit by comparing it with mixing of clarified butter and oil. He has written it using very limited Sanskrit words that fit with idiomatic Kannada. In 1235 AD, Jain poet Andayya, wrote
Kabbigara Kava- ಕಬ್ಬಿಗರ ಕಾವ (Poet's Defender), also called
Sobagina Suggi (Harvest of Beauty) or
Madana-Vijaya and Kavana-Gella (Cupid's Conquest)
, a
Champu work in pure Kannada using only indigenous (
desya) Kannada words and the derived form of Sanskrit words –
tadbhavas, without the admixture of Sanskrit words. He succeeded in his challenge and proved wrong those who had advocated that it was impossible to write a work in Kannada without using Sanskrit words. Andayya may be considered as a protector of Kannada poets who were ridiculed by Sanskrit advocates. Thus Kannada is the only Dravidian language that is not only capable of using only native Kannada words and grammar in its literature (like Tamil), but also use Sanskrit grammar and vocabulary (like Telugu, Malayalam, Tulu, etc.) The Champu style of literature of mixing poetry with prose owes its origins to the Kannada language and was later incorporated by poets into Sanskrit and other Indian languages.
Middle Kannada During the period between the 15th and 18th centuries,
Hinduism had a great influence on Middle Kannada (
Naḍugannaḍa- ನಡುಗನ್ನಡ) language and literature.
Kumara Vyasa, who wrote the
Karṇāṭa Bhārata Kathāman̄jari (ಕರ್ಣಾಟ ಭಾರತ ಕಥಾಮಂಜರಿ), was arguably the most influential Kannada writer of this period. His work, entirely composed in the native
Bhamini Shatpadi (hexa-meter), is a sublime adaptation of the first ten books of the
Mahabharata. During this period, the Sanskritic influence is present in most abstract, religious, scientific and rhetorical terms. During this period, several
Hindi and
Marathi words came into Kannada, chiefly relating to feudalism and militia. Hindu saints of the
Vaishnava sect such as
Kanakadasa,
Purandaradasa,
Naraharitirtha,
Vyasatirtha,
Sripadaraya,
Vadirajatirtha,
Vijaya Dasa,
Gopala Dasa,
Jagannatha Dasa, Prasanna Venkatadasa produced devotional poems in this period. Kanakadasa's
Rāmadhānya Charite (ರಾಮಧಾನ್ಯ ಚರಿತೆ) is a rare work, concerning with the issue of class struggle. This period saw the advent of
Haridasa Sahitya (
lit Dasa literature), which made rich contributions to
Bhakti literature and sowed the seeds of Carnatic music. Purandara Dasa is widely considered the
Father of Carnatic music. The first novel printed was
John Bunyan's ''
Pilgrim's Progress, along with other texts including Canarese Proverbs
, The History of Little Henry and his Bearer'' by
Mary Martha Sherwood,
Christian Gottlob Barth's
Bible Stories and "a Canarese hymn book." Modern Kannada in the 20th century has been influenced by many movements, notably
Navodaya,
Navya,
Navyottara,
Dalita and
Bandaya. Contemporary Kannada literature has been highly successful in reaching people of all classes in society. Further, Kannada has produced a number of prolific and renowned poets and writers such as
Kuvempu,
Bendre, and
V K Gokak. Works of Kannada literature have received eight
Jnanpith awards, the highest number awarded to any Indian language.
Dictionaries The oldest known Kannada-Kannada, dictionary,
Ranna Kanda was composed by the poet
Ranna in 996 AD. Other pre-modern Kannada dictionaries include
Abhidanavastukosa, a dictionary of Sanskrit words for Kannada users, composed in 1054 by
Nagavarma and 'Abhinavaabhidaana', by Abhinava Mangaraja (1398). Missionary
Ferdinand Kittel published a Kannada–English dictionary of more than 70,000 words. and
A Grammar of the Kannada language in English (1903).
G. Venkatasubbiah edited the first modern Kannada–Kannada dictionary, the 9,000-page, 8-volume
Kannaḍa nighaṇṭu, published by
Sahitya Parishat. He also wrote a Kannada–English dictionary and a dictionary of difficult words. ==Dialects==