Scribd
Upload
299 views1 page

Vachana Sahitya

Vachana Sahitya is a form of Kannada poetry that emerged in the 11th century as part of the Sharana movement, with Madara Chennaiah recognized as its 'father.' The Vachanas express spiritual experiences and emphasize the pursuit of God, encouraging a lifestyle detached from materialism, and are characterized by their epigrammatic and allusive style. There are over 22,000 Vachanas, with significant contributions from both male and female authors, and compilations have been published by the Karnataka government.

Uploaded by

devarajpuldinni2023
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
299 views1 page

Vachana Sahitya

Vachana Sahitya is a form of Kannada poetry that emerged in the 11th century as part of the Sharana movement, with Madara Chennaiah recognized as its 'father.' The Vachanas express spiritual experiences and emphasize the pursuit of God, encouraging a lifestyle detached from materialism, and are characterized by their epigrammatic and allusive style. There are over 22,000 Vachanas, with significant contributions from both male and female authors, and compilations have been published by the Karnataka government.

Uploaded by

devarajpuldinni2023
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Vachana Sahitya

Vachana sahitya is a type of Kannada rhythmic composition (also known as Kannada poetry) which
originated in the eleventh century and thrived throughout the twelfth century as element of the Sharana
movement. Madara Chennaiah, an eleventh century cobbler-saint who lived in the time of the Western
Chalukyas' rule and is considered as the "father of Vachana poetry" by certain researchers. "That which
is spoken" is the literal meaning of the term "vachanas." These are easy-to-understand prose works.

Vachanas and Sharana Movement


The Vachanas of Basavaadi Sharana were their experiences in the journey of realising God. About 800
sharanas practised the method and recorded their interms of Guru (Unmanifest Chaitanya), Linga
(Manifest Chaitanya), Jangama (True consciousness of Lingatattva in one's soul), Padodaka
(closeness with the knower/source of Lingatattva), as well as, Prasad (becoming lingatattva). According
to records, the sharanas exclusively exchanged experiences of God realisation in group conversation in
Karnataka, primarily under the direction of Basavanna, Channa Basavanna Allama Prabhu, and
Siddarameshwar. This has been ascribed to the movement's widespread appeal. There were about
200 Vachana authors (Vachanakaras) documented, with over thirty of them being women.

About Vachanas
Vachanas are short paragraphs that conclude with one or more local names by which Shiva is called or
Pooja is performed. They are epigrammatical, parallelistic, as well as allusive in style. They reflect on
wealth's vanity, the meaninglessness of ceremonies or book study, life's unpredictability, and Shiva
Bhakta's spiritual advantages (worshiper of lord Shiva). The Vachanas urge men to abandon their
desire for material prosperity and comfort, to live a lifestyle of serenity and dissociation from the world,
and to seek shelter in Siva.
The manner of invocation of God (Basveshvara summons "Kudala Sangama Deva," whereas Allama
Prabhu invokes "Guheshwara," Akkamadevi invokes "Channa Mallikarjuna," Siddhrama (Siddheshwar)
of Solapur elicits "Kapilasidda Mallikarjuna") in the vachana can be used to identify the writer. The
majority of current vachana readings are based on European interpretations of Indian traditions. There
are over 22,000 vachanas available. Samagra Vachana Samputa was published in 15 volumes by the
Karnataka government. Individual vachana authors' compilations have been released by Karnataka
University Dharwad. The 'Adya Vachanakara' is Jedara Dasimaiah (The First Vachanakara).

You might also like