Nijaguna Shivayogi (15th century) was an Indian poet and a prolific writer in the
Kannada language
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 sp ...
. He lived in the 15th century. He was a follower of the
Veerashaiva
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 ...
faith (devotee of the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
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 ...
), which he attempted to reconcile with the
Advaita
''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' (lit ...
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
of
Adi Shankaracharya
Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...
.
[Sahitya Akademi (1988), p. 1165] Tradition has it that Shivayogi was a petty chieftain of
Kollegal
Kollegal is one of the major taluks in the Chamarajanagara District of Karnataka State in the south of India. It is also the largest taluk in Karnataka, Kollegal is well known for its silk industry which attracts traders from all over the stat ...
taluk
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
in modern
Mysore district
Mysore district, officially Mysuru district is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mysore division.Chamarajanagar district, Chamarajanagar District wa ...
of
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
state,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Considered a visionary of his time, his ''Vivekachintamani'', written in encyclopaedic proportions and in prose style, and the ''Kaivalya Paddhati'', a musical treatise consisting of songs are considered his most enduring works.
[Shiva Prakash (1997), p. 190]
Writings
The ''Vivekachintamani'', written in ten chapters, characterises by subject over 1500 topics including
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
,
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
,
poetics
Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry.
History
The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...
,
erotica
Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use a ...
,
musicology
Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
and dance-drama (''natya shastra''). Each topic is divided into sub-topics and each sub-topic is further divided into items. For example, the topic of poetics includes a sub-topical description of ''alamkara'' (figures of speech) which includes 65 types of ''alamkaras''. The writing was translated into
Marathi language
Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state o ...
in 1604, and into
Sanskrit language
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the lat ...
in 1652 and again in the 18th century, an indication of its importance among medieval Kannada language writings.
Shivayogi authored a collection of songs in early 15th century called the ''Kaivalya Paddhati'' (''lit'', "Songs of the pathway to emancipation"). These songs are best described as lyrical ''
swara
Svara or swara (Devanagari: स्वर, generally pronounced as ''swar'') is a Sanskrit word that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave or '' ...
Vachana
Vachana sahitya is a form of rhythmic writing in Kannada (see also Kannada poetry) that evolved in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th century, as a part of the Sharana movement. Madara Chennaiah, an 11th-century cobbler-saint who live ...
s'' (poems written to notes) set to various classical ''
ragas
A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, and as a ...
'' ("tunes"). They are based on religious, philosophical and reflective themes and are quite unlike those composed by the contemporary
Haridasa
The Haridasa Bhakti Sahitya devotional movement (sampradaya) originated in Karnataka, India, after Madhvacharya, and spread to eastern states such as Bengal and Assam of medieval India. Over a span of nearly six centuries, several saints and ...
s (devotee-saint-poets of the god
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
) of Karnataka. This work established Shivayogi as the originator of a mystical form of literature called ''Kaivalya Sahitya'' (''lit'' "Kaivalya literature"), a synthesis of the Veerashaiva and Advaita philosophies, with an emphasis on knowledge as opposed to devotion. His influence on writers in the ''swara Vachana'' genre over the next three centuries is evident. Notable poets who were inspired by Shivayogi include
Shadaksharadeva (Muppina Sadakshari), a contemporary poet, Chidananda Avadhuta (17th century), Sarpabhushana Shivayogi (18th century) and the
itinerant poet An itinerant poet or strolling minstrel (also known variously as a gleeman, circler, or cantabank) was a wandering minstrel, bard, musician, or other poet common in medieval Europe but extinct today. Itinerant poets were from a lower class than jest ...
Shishunala Sharif
Muhammad Sharif was an Indian social reformer, philosopher and poet.
Birth and early life
Santa Shishunala Sharifa was born on 7 March 1819 in Shishuvinahala, a village in Shigganvi (now Shiggaon) taluk (in Haveri district), Karnataka.
He ...
.
[Sahitya Akademi (1987), p. 200]
The ''Puratana Trividhi'' is a short work by him consisting of 77 ''
tripadi
Tripadi (Kannada, lit. ''tri'': three, ''pad'' or "adi": feet) is a native metre in the Kannada language dating back to c. 700 CE.
Definition
The ''tripadi'' consists of three lines, each differing from the others in the number of feet and mora ...
s'' (three-line verses) eulogising the 63
Nayanmars
The Nayanars (or Nayanmars; ta, நாயன்மார், translit=Nāyaṉmār, translit-std=ISO, lit=hounds of Siva, and later 'teachers of Shiva ) were a group of 63 Tamil Hindu saints living during the 6th to 8th centuries CE who were de ...
(devotee-saints of the Hindu god Shiva) of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
. His other compositions include ''Paramanubhava Bodhe'', '' Paramartha Gita'' and ''Anubhavasara''.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shivayogi, Nijaguna
Poets from Karnataka
History of Karnataka
Kannada poets
15th-century Indian poets
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
Lingayatism
Indian male poets
Vijayanagara poets