Kannada poetry Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ) is the language spoken in Karnataka (ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ, ಕರುನಾಡು). Karnataka has eight Jnanapeeth (ಜ್ಞಾನ ಪೀಠ ಪುರಸ್ಕೃತ) award winners, the highest honor bestowed for Indi ...

dates back many centuries, to before the time of Adikavi Pampa. A revival took place in the early 20th century led by

Kuvempu Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa (29 December 1904 – 11 November 1994), popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He wa ...

B. M. Srikanthaiah Belluru Mylaraiah Srikantaiah (3 January 1884 – 5 January 1946), was an Indian author, writer and translator of Kannada literature. Prominent Students * V. Seetharamaiah * K. V. Puttappa Works * ''Gadayuddha Natakam'' (ಗದಾಯುದ� ...

and others. The genre was further developed after Indian independence with poets including

Gopalakrishna Adiga Mogeri Gopalakrishna Adiga (1918–1992) was a modern Kannada poet. He is known by some commentators as the "pioneer of New style" poetry. The Hindu - 26 September 2002 Biography He was born in an orthodox brahmin family in coastal village of ...

A

K. S. Nissar Ahmed Kokkare Hosahalli Shekh Haider Nissar Ahmed (5 February 1936 – 3 May 2020) was an Indian poet and writer in the Kannada language. He was awarded the Padma Shri (2008), the Rajyotsava Award (1981) and the Pampa award for his work (2017). He be ...

Amoghavarsha Amoghavarsha I (also known as Amoghavarsha Nrupathunga I) (r.814–878 CE) was the greatest emperor of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and one of the most notable rulers of Ancient India. His reign of 64 years is one of the longest precisely dated mo ...

* U. R. Ananthamurthy *

Kappe Arabhatta Kappe Arabhatta ( kn, ಕಪ್ಪೆ ಅರಭಟ್ಟ) was a Chalukya warrior of the 8th century who is known from a Kannada verse inscription, dated to c. 700 CE, and carved on a cliff overlooking the northeast end of the artificial lake in ...

Asaga Asaga was a 9th-century Digambara Jain poet who wrote in Sanskrit and Kannada language. He is most known for his extant work in Sanskrit, the ''Vardhamana Charitra'' (Life of Vardhamana). This epic poem which runs into eighteen cantos was wr ...

(9th century) *

Aravind Malagatti Aravind Malagatti (born 1 May 1956) is a prominent Indian poet and writer in Kannada-language. He is the author of more than forty books which include poetry collections, short fiction collections, a novel, essay-collections, critical works and f ...

* Anupama Niranjana * Aryamba Pattabhi

B

Basavanna Basaveshwara, colloquially known as Basavanna, was a 12th-century CE Indian statesman, philosopher, poet, Lingayat social reformer in the Shiva-focussed bhakti movement, and a Hindu Shaivite social reformer during the reign of the Kalyani Chal ...

D. R. Bendre Dattātreya Rāmachandra Bēndre (31 January 1896 – 26 October 1981), popularly known as Da Rā Bēndre, is generally considered the greatest Kannada lyric poet of the 20th century and one of the greatest poets in the history of Kannada ...

* S.L.Bhairappa

C

Chamarasa Chamarasa (c. 1425) was a 15th century Virashaiva poet in the Kannada language, during the reign of Vijayanagar Empire, a powerful empire in Southern India during 14th - 16th centuries. A contemporary and competitor to a noted Brahmin Kannada poe ...

* Chikkupadhyaya * Gangadhar V. Chittal *

Chavundaraya Chavundraya or Chamundaraya (Kannada ''Cāmuṇḍarāya, Cāvuṇḍarāya'', 940–989) was an Indian military commander, architect, poet and minister. He served in the court of the Western Ganga dynasty of Talakad (in modern Karnataka, In ...

D

Kanaka Dasa Kanaka Dasa (1509–1609) was a Haridasa saint and philosopher, popularly called Daasashreshta Kanakadasa (ದಾಸಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಕನಕದಾಸ). He was a renowned composer of Carnatic music, poet, reformer and musician. He is kn ...

Purandara Dasa Purandara Dasa ( IAST: Purandara dāsa) ( 1470 – 1565) was a Haridasa philosopher and a follower of Madhwacharya 's Dwaitha philosophy -saint from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-pr ...

Dinakara Desai Dinakara Desai (ದಿನಕರ ದೇಸಾಯಿ) was a poet, writer, educationist, and political activist. He was famous for his poetry form called ''chutuka'' (also known as ''Chutuka Brahma''). Chutuka or chutuku is a quadraplet poem. Thi ...

Devanur Mahadeva Devanoora Mahadeva is an Indian writer and intellectual who writes in Kannada language. The Government of India conferred upon him the Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian award. Known among literary circles to be a rebel, Mahadeva re ...

E

* Subbanna Ekkundi

G

Gangadevi Gangadevi, also known as Gangambika, was a 14th-century princess and Sanskrit-language poet of the Vijayanagara Empire of present-day India. She was wife of Kumara Kampana, the son of the Vijayanagara king Bukka Raya I (c. 1360s-1370s). Gang ...

D. V. Gundappa Devanahalli Venkataramanaiah Gundappa (17 March 1887 – 7 October 1975), popularly known as DVG, was an Indian writer, poet and philosopher in Kannada-language. He is one of the stalwarts of modern Kannada literature. His most notable work is th ...

* V. K. Gokak

H

Pha. Gu. Halakatti

I

Masti Venkatesha Iyengar Masti Venkatesha Iyengar (6 June 1891 – 6 June 1986) was a well-known writer in Kannada language. He was the fourth among Kannada writers to be honored with the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honor conferred in India. He was popularly re ...

* M. K. Indira

J

* Janna *

Jayalakshmi Seethapura Dr. T. Jayalakshmi, known by her pen name as Dr. Jayalakshmi Seethapura ( kn, links=no, ಡಾ. ಜಯಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿ ಸೀತಾಪುರ), is one of the eminent folklorists of modern India who writes in Kannada language. She is a retir ...

K

Gourish Kaikini Gourish Kaikini (12 September 1912 – 14 November 2002) was a teacher and Kannada litterateur. He received many awards including the Sahitya Academy award and the Rajyotsava Award given by the government of Karnataka. He also wrote in Ma ...

Jayant Kaikini Jayanth Kaikini (born 24 January 1955) is a poet, short story writer, playwright, columnist in Kannada and a lyricist in Kannada Cinema. He has so far published six anthologies of short stories, four books of poetry, three plays and a collecti ...

Chandrashekhara Kambara Chandrashekhara Kambara ( kn, ಚಂದ್ರಶೇಖರ ಕಂಬಾರ; born 2 January 1937) is a prominent Indian poet, playwright, folklorist, film director in Kannada language and the founder-vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hamp ...

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the ...

Shivarama Karanth Kota Shivaram Karanth (10 October 1902 – 9 December 1997), also abbreviated as K. Shivaram Karanth, was an Indian polymath, who was a novelist in Kannada language, playwright and an ecological conservationist. Ramachandra Guha called him th ...

M

Akka Mahadevi Akka Mahadevi ಅಕ್ಕ ಮಹಾದೇವಿ (c.1130–1160) was one of the early female poets of the Kannada literature and a prominent person in the Lingayat Shaiva sect in the 12th century. Her 430 extant Vachana poems (a form of spont ...

* A. N. Murthy Rao

N

* Nagavarma I *

Nagavarma II Nagavarma II (mid-11th or mid-12th century) was a Kannada language scholar and grammarian in the court of the Western Chalukya Empire that ruled from Basavakalyan, in modern Karnataka state, India. He was the earliest among the three most notabl ...

K. S. Narasimhaswamy Kikkeri Subbarao Narasimhaswamy (26 January 1915 – 27 December 2003) commonly known as K. S. Narasimhaswamy, was an Indian poet who wrote in Kannada language. His most popular collection of poems, '' Mysooru Mallige'', has seen more than thi ...

* P. T. Narasimhachar * K. V. Narayana

P

M. Govinda Pai Manjeshwar Govinda Pai (23 March 1883 – 6 September 1963), also known as Rastrakavi Govinda Pai, was a Kannada poet. He was awarded the first Rashtrakavi title by the Madras Government (Kasaragod district was part of South Kanara district of M ...

* Adikavi Pampa *

Sri Ponna Ponna ( kn, ಪೊನ್ನ) (c. 945) was a noted Kannada poet in the court of Rashtrakuta Dynasty king Krishna III (r.939–968 CE). The emperor honoured Ponna with the title "emperor among poets" (''Kavichakravarthi'') for his ...

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 ...

Pandhareenathachar Galagali Pandit Pandharinathacharya Galagali (10 July 1922 — 29 August 2015) was a Sanskrit scholar, author, poet, journalist, and orator. He has authored over 50 books in Kannada and Sanskrit, among which are Shri Shambhu Linga Vijaya Champu (Sanskr ...

Pratibha Nandakumar Pratibha Nandakumar (25 January 1955) is an Indian poet, journalist, feminist, columnist and activist who works in Kannada and English. She is considered as one of the pioneers of modern woman's poetry in Kannada literature. For her work ''Kavade ...

R

Raghavanka Raghavanka ( kn, ರಾಘವಾಂಕ) was a noted Kannada writer and a poet in the Hoysala court who flourished in the late 12th to early 13th century. Raghavanka is credited for popularizing the use of the native '' shatpadi'' metre (hexa m ...

Kayyar Kinhanna Rai Kayyara Kinhanna Rai (8 June 1915 – 9 August 2015) was an Indian independence activist, author, poet, journalist, teacher and farmer. Early life Rai was born on 8 June 1915 to Duggappa and Deyyakka Rai in a Tulu-speaking Bunt family. Hi ...

* G. P. Rajarathnam * Ranna *

Rudrabhatta Rudrabhatta was an influential 12th-century Kannada poet in the court of the Hoysala Empire King Veera Ballala II(r.1173–1220 CE). According to Kannada language expert Narasimhacharya, the poet was also patronized by a minister of the King.Na ...

Baraguru Ramachandrappa Baraguru Ramachandrappa (born 18 October 1947) is an Indian essayist, lyricist, screenwriter, film director, socialist, writer, novelist, predominantly works in Kannada language and President of the Textbook Revision Committee, in Karnataka Tex ...

S

Sara Aboobacker Sara Aboobacker ( kn, ಸಾರಾ ಅಬೂಬಕ್ಕರ್; 30 June 1936 – 10 January 2023) was an Indian Kannada writer of novels and short stories, and a translator. Early life and education Sara was born in Kasaragod, Kerala on 30 ...

Mamta Sagar Mamta Sagar ( kn, ಮಮತಾ ಸಾಗರ) is an Indian poet, academic, and activist writing in the Kannada language. Her writings focus on identity politics, feminism, and issues around linguistic and cultural diversity. She is a professor of ...

* Sarvajna *

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 ...

Shivakotiacharya Shivakotiacharya (also Shivakoti), a writer of the 9th-10th century, is considered the author of didactic Kannada language Jain text ''Vaddaradhane'' (''lit'', "Worship of elders", ca. 900). A prose narrative written in pre-Old-Kannada (''P ...

G. S. Shivarudrappa Guggari Shanthaveerappa Shivarudrappa (7 February 1926 – 23 December 2013), or colloquially GSS, was an Indian Kannada poet, writer, and researcher who was awarded the title of ''Rashtrakavi'' (national poet) by the Government of Karnataka in ...

B. M. Srikantaiah Belluru Mylaraiah Srikantaiah (3 January 1884 – 5 January 1946), was an Indian author, writer and translator of Kannada literature. Prominent Students * V. Seetharamaiah * K. V. Puttappa Works * ''Gadayuddha Natakam'' (ಗದಾಯುದ� ...

T. N. Srikantaiah Theerthapura Nanjundaiah Srikantaiah ( kn, ತೀರ್ಥಪುರ ನಂಜುಂಡಯ್ಯ ಶ್ರೀಕಂಠಯ್ಯ) (26 November 1906 – 7 September 1966) commonly known as 'Thee. Nam. Shree. (ತೀ. ನಂ. ಶ್ರೀ.), was a ...

B. G. L. Swamy Bengaluru Gundappa Lakshminarayana Swamy (5 February 1916 – 2 November 1980) was an Indian botanist and Kannada writer who was professor, head of the botany department and principal of Presidency College, Chennai. He was the son of D. V. Gun ...

T

Poornachandra Tejaswi Kuppali Puttappa Poornachandra Tejaswi (8 September 1938 – 5 April 2007) was a prominent Indian writer and novelist in Kannada. He also worked as a photographer, publisher, painter, naturalist, and environmentalist. He made a great impress ...

Tirumalamba Tirumalamba, a poet of the Vijayanagara Empire, wrote "Varadambika Parinayam", the story of marriage of King Achyuta Deva Raya, in Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan ...

* Triveni

V

* Kumara Vyasa *

Vyasatirtha Vyāsatīrtha (. 1460 – 1539), also called ''Vyasaraja'' or ''Chandrikacharya'', was a Hindu philosopher, scholar, polemicist, commentator and poet belonging to the Madhwacharya's Dvaita order of Vedanta. As the patron saint of the Vija ...

Vani Vani ( ka, ვანი) is a town in Imereti region of a western Georgia, at the Sulori river (a tributary of the Rioni river), 41 km southwest from the regional capital Kutaisi. The town with the population of 3,744 (2014) is an administr ...

* H. S. Venkateshamurthy *

Kum. Veerabhadrappa Veerabhadrappa Kumbar, popularly known by the pen name KumVee, is an Indian novelist, poet, story writer and critic in the Kannada-language. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2007 for his work ''Aramane''. Early life KumVee was b ...

Vaidehi Vaidehi may refer to: *Of, from or related to the ancient Indian kingdom of Videha **Vaidehi, another name for the goddess Sita **Queen Vaidehi, mother of king Ajatashatru * ''Vaidehi'' (2006 TV series), also known as ''Vaidehi – Ek Aur Agni Pa ...

References

{{Lists of poets

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 ...

Kannada language