Western Chalukya literature in Kannada

Western Chalukya literature in Kannada

A large body of Western Chalukya literature in the Kannada language was produced during the reign of the Western ChalUkya Empire. For a brief period, the Kalachuris of Kalyani, a dynasty of kings who had earlier migrated to the Karnataka region from central India, exploited the growing weakness of their overlords.

About Western Chalukya literature in Kannada in brief

Summary Western Chalukya literature in KannadaA large body of Western Chalukya literature in the Kannada language was produced during the reign of the Western ChalUkya Empire. For a brief period, the Kalachuris of Kalyani, a dynasty of kings who had earlier migrated to the Karnataka region from central India, exploited the growing weakness of their overlords. The beginnings of the Vachana poetic tradition in the Kannada-speaking region trace back to the early 11th century. Important literary contributions were made not only by court poets, noblemen, royalty, ascetics and saints who wrote in the marga style, but also by commoners and artisans, including cobblers, weavers, cowherds and shepherds who wrote in the desi style. The earliest well-known writers belonging to the Shaiva faith are also from this period. A century before these political developments, the age of great Sanskrit and Prakrit epics and classics had come to an end. The influential Jains had had a language that dominated the cultural landscape of 9th and 10th century Karnataka. According to S. Altekar, who according to Atekar may have comprised 30 percent of the population, may have dominated the cultural scape. For the next few centuries, a virtual displacement of Sanskrit as a language of discourse occurred in the Chalukyan court. Scholars claim that 90 per cent of the royal inscriptions are in the language of the Chalu Kyas, as well as a few in the Sanskrit of the Hoysalas, the Kakatiyas and the Seunas.

The influence of the Jains in Karnataka was so great that they were also eager to encourage literature in local language. In addition to hundreds of male poets, over thirty female poets have been recorded, some of whom wrote along with their husbands. These Vachan poets revolutionised Kannado literature, rejecting traditional themes that eulogised kings and noblemen and writing didactic poems that were closer to the spoken and sung form of the language. For more information, visit: http://www.kannada.org/news/features/2013/01/29/kannadafilms-and-poetry-from-the-early-11th-century-kalachuri-empire.html#storylink=cpy. The author is also a member of the Indian Council of Learned Societies (ICOS), a non-profit organisation that promotes the study of the history of the ancient Indian language and culture. She is based at the University of Calcutta and has written a book on the history and culture of Karnataka, called The Kannadas: A Journey Through The History Of The Kallyani Valley, which is published by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bangalore (ITB). For more details, visit www.kalyani.org.uk.