Chamarasa (c. 1425) was a 15th century

Virashaiva Lingayatism or Veera Saivism is a Hindu denomination based on Shaivism. Initially known as ''Veerashaivas'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and '' Veerashaivism'' have been ...

poet in the

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

language, during the reign of Vijayanagar Empire, a powerful empire in

Southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

during 14th - 16th centuries. A contemporary and competitor to a noted

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

Kannada poet

Kumara Vyasa Narayanappa ( kn, ನಾರಾಯಣಪ್ಪ), known by his pen name Kumara Vyasa ( kn, ಕುಮಾರವ್ಯಾಸ), was an influential and classical Vaishnava poet of early 15th century in the Kannada language. His pen name is a tribute ...

, Chamarasa was patronised by King

Deva Raya II Deva Raya II (r. 1422–1446 CE) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire. The greatest of the Sangama dynasty rulers, he was an able administrator, warrior, and scholar. He authored well-known works in the Kannada language (''Sobagina Sone'' an ...

. The work is in 25 chapters (''gatis'') comprising 1111 six-line verses (''shatpadi'').Dalal (2011), p309

Magnum Opus

His magnum opus, "Prabhulinga Leele", written in 1430 AD, described

Allama Prabhu Allamaprabhu ( kn, ಅಲ್ಲಮಪ್ರಭು) was a 12th-century mystic-saint and ''Vachana'' poet (called ''Vachanakara'') of the Kannada language, propagating the unitary consciousness of Self and Shiva. Allamaprabhu is one of the cele ...

as an early apostle of

Veerashaivism Veerashaivism is a sect within the Shaivism fold of Hinduism. According to tradition, it was transmitted by ''Panchacharyas'', ( kn, ಪಂಚಾಚಾರ್ಯರು, paṃcācāraya from sa, पंचचार्य, pañcācārya), or five ...

and an incarnation of the god

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. Chamarasa and other noted Kannada writers such as Lakkanna Dandesa and Jakkanarya flourished under the patronage of King Deva Raya II.Narasimhacharya (1988), p. 69Rice E.P. (1921), pp. 68, 70 Chamarasa was a champion of the Veerashaiva faith and was a rival of

in the king's court. His ''Prabhulinga Lile'', written in the native ''Bhamini Shatpadi'' metrical composition form (six line verse or hexa-metre) was a eulogy of 12th-century saint Allama Prabhu. So popular was the writing with the King that he had it translated into Telugu and Tamil languages, and later into the Sanskrit and Marathi languages as well.Datta (Sahitya Akademi, 1987), p. 617 In the story, the saint is considered an incarnation of the Hindu god

Ganapathi Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu de ...

while

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

took the form of a princess of Banavasi.Sastri (1955), p. 363 While Kumara Vyasa's epic is war-torn (''Kumara Vyasa Bharata'', his version of the Hindu epic Mahabharata), Chamarasa writing was full of

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

and ''vairagya'' (renunciation).Puranik in Lal (Sahitya Akademi 1992), p. 4003 The book includes details of the journey undertaken by Allama Prabhu en route to

Basavakalyana Basavakalyana is a city and municipal council in the Bidar District of the Indian state of Karnataka. History Before India's independence, Basavakalyan was called Kalyani. After independence and division of states on linguistic basis in 1956, ...

, his interaction with notable Veerashaiva mystics including Basavanna, Akka Mahadevi, Gorakhnatha, Muktayakka and Siddharama. Interesting details include how Allama avoided the temptation of Mayadevi who tried to seduce him, and how Animisha became his guru. While these personalities are all real, it is possible they also represent human qualities narrated in a "parallel allegorical story". Competition between the two powerful faiths, Veerashaivism and

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

was intense during this period. This is evident by a remark made by the poet in the writing. Chamarasa claims that his story is "not about ordinary dead mortals", implying that the Vaishnava epics (the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

and the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

) were about mere mortals.

Notes

References

* K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002) * * * * *

External links

Who is Akka - Dr. R.G. Mathapat
Kannada poets Poets from Karnataka 15th-century Indian poets People of the Vijayanagara Empire Lingayat poets Vijayanagara poets {{India-poet-stub