| Part ofa series on |
| Dvaita |
|---|
|
| Hinduism portal |
TheHaridasa Bhakti Sahitya devotional movement (sampradaya) originated inKarnataka, India, afterMadhvacharya, and spread to eastern states such asBengal andAssam of medieval India.[1] Over a span of nearly six centuries, several saints and mystics helped shape the culture, philosophy and art ofSouth India in general and Karnataka in particular by exerting considerable spiritual influence over the masses and kingdoms that ruled South India.[2]
This movement was ushered in by theHaridasas (lit "servants of LordHari") and took shape in the 13th century – 14th century CE period, prior to and during the early rule of theVijayanagara Empire. The main objective of this movement was to propagate theDvaita philosophy ofMadhvacharya (Madhva Siddhanta) to the masses through a literary medium known asDasa Sahitya (lit "literature of the dāsas").[3]
ProminentHindu philosophers, poets and scholars such asSripadaraya,Vyasathirtha,Vadirajatirtha,Purandara Dasa andKanaka Dasa played an important role during this time.[3] Though the movement found its roots in theKannada country and later spread to other parts of South India, it was a net result of earlier devotional movements such as theVeerashaiva movement (ofVachana literature in Kannada) of northern Karnataka led byBasavanna (12th century) and theAlvar saints ofTamil Nadu (10th century).[4][5] Later,Vallabhacharya inGujarat and GuruChaitanya were influenced by the teachings ofMadhvacharya. Chaitanya's devotees started theInternational Society for Krishna Consciousness - known colloquially as the Hare Krishna Movement.[6]
The Haridasas were saints, some of whom were wandering bards, and considered themselves as slaves of their supreme lord - Hari. While the movement was mainly heralded by theBrahmins, it was adevotional one whose ideals and thoughts pervaded and received noteworthy contributions from all sections of society.[7] The Haridasa movement can be considered as a part of a largerBhakti movement whose devotional inspiration to the masses lasted over a millennium. The Haridasa movement made significant contribution to Kannada devotional literature.[8]
The origin of the Haridasa movement is not clearly known, with some legends indicating there were holy men and kings who espoused this form of devotion as early as the 9th century. The Haridasas' songs attributeSripadaraya as the movement's true founder in the 15th century, despite the Srikurmam inscription suggesting thatNarahari Tirtha, the direct disciple ofMadhvacharya may have been its originator. However it is well known that the greatVaishnava religious devotionalism calledDasa Kuta found its organizational base and started to produce large congregation of devotees in theKarnataka region, largely due to theVedanta (philosophy) propounded in the 13th century byMadhvacharya ofUdupi (1238 - 1317 CE).[4]
The Haridasas' who propagated the philosophy of Madhvacharya belonged to two groups; theDasakuta, those who conveyed the philosophy of Madhvacharya in simple and lucidKannada to the masses, and theVyasakuta, those who were required to be proficient in theVedas,Upanishads and otherDarshana (scriptures).[9] During this period, this movement became a strongspiritual force which helped a resurgence of a strongHindu sentiment in Southern India, when Northern India was already underMuslim rule. The Haridasas' found state patronage in theVijayanagara Empire which at its peak, ruled over the entireSouthern India.[10] Vyasatirtha was intimately associated with the empire and was considered the family guru by KingKrishnadevaraya.[11][12][13]
Haridasas' belonged to theVaishnava tradition ofHinduism and worshippedVitthala, a manifestation of the Hindu godVishnu and all forms ofKrishna (anavatar of Vishnu).[14] The Vittalanatha temple atPandharapura on the bank of Bhima in present-dayMaharashtra, the Vittala Swami temples atHampi inKarnataka and theSrinivasa temple onTirumala hills inAndhra Pradesh,Raghavendra Swamy Mutt in Mantralaya,Lord Shri Krishna in Udupi,Shri ChennaKeshava Temple in Belur, and almost all ancientVaishnavite temples are considered the pivotal and important in the Haridasa context.
The Haridasas' generally hailed from places in present-dayKarnataka, but there were some exceptions such asJayatirtha who was a native of Mangalvedhe nearPandharapur in modernMaharashtra[15] andNaraharitirtha who was a native of eitherAndhra Pradesh orOrissa.[16] Naraharitirtha (1281), a minister in the court of Kalinga was inducted into the Madhvacharya order. He composed many early devotional hymns in praise of Vishnu in the Kannada language, some of which are available today.[17] While the Srikurmam inscription indicates that Naraharitirtha may have been the originator of this devotional movement, the songs of the Haridasas' give credit toSripadaraya as the real founder of the movement in the 15th century.[16]
Famous Saints & Haridasas from the Madhvacharya order during theVijayanagar empire period were:[18]
Sripadaraya, Vyasatirtha and Vadirajatirtha are called "three great saints" (yathi raja trayaru, as they were accorded royal patronage) in the Haridasa movement whereas the epithet "great trinity of Vaishnava composers" from Karnataka goes to Sripadaraya, Purandaradasa and Kanakadasa, though it is difficult to separate literature, music, devotion from their composite writings.[19] The center of their activity in the 15th–16th century wasHampi, the royal centre ofVijayanagara, the regal capital of Vijayanagara empire.
The Haridasa movement gained further impetus in the 17th and 18th centuries in and aroundRaichur District. Some of the noted saints from this era wereGuru Raghavendra,Vijaya Dasa,Gopala Dasa,Jagannatha Dasa, Prasanna Venkata Dasa, Pranesha Dasa, Venugopala Dasa also known asPanganama Timmanna Dasa, Mahipathi Dasa, Mohanna Dasa, Helevanakatte Giriamma and Harapanhalli Bhimavva.[20][21] The history of the Haridasa movement from the 13th century to the present day is the history of spreadingHari bhakti (devotion toHari or Vishnu) to the common man and in that purpose contributed immensely toKannada literature and to the development of Kannada language. Both the Haridasa and Veerashaiva movements pervade the length and breadth of Karnataka and exert ennobling influences upon the neighboring provinces ofAndhra Pradesh,Tamil Nadu andMaharashtra.[3]
Haridasa movement made a significant contribution towardsKannada literature by spawning a whole corpus of devotional literature in the form of verses, hymns and musical compositions, popularizing theDvaita philosophy postulated by Saint Madhvacharya.[2][22] The literature that originated from this devotional movement is calledDasa Sahitya (ordasara padagalu - literature of thedasas). These various compositions are generally called asDevaranamas (literally meaningnames of the Lord) and are sung in the praise of the god Vishnu. These compositions have the concept ofHari Bhakti (devotion to God) at their core and they usually revolve around references toHindu mythology and the Dvaita philosophy. Some Haridasas' such as Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa also composed severalDevaranamas using day-to-day episodes, morals and virtues as the central theme.[3] These compositions were in simple Kannada language since the main objective of this movement was to take the devotional movement to the common man.[3][23] In doing so, the common people were also educated in the importance of consciousness (jnana), devotion (bhakti), ethics and Hindu religion. Their hymns (padas) set to various musical tones (ragas) aroused fervor among the masses. As advocates of religious reform, the Haridasas' propounded the virtues of detachment (vairagya).Similes andmetaphors found in their songs and hymns were used to great effect in achieving this.[23] In addition to devotional songs, Kanaka Dasa authored five literary classical writings in thekavya style.[24] Jagannathadasa,Vijaya Dasa and Gopaladasa etc., are more well known among a galaxy of composers who made rich contributions to Kannada literature.[25][26]
The compositions can be broadly classified under one of the following three types:
Each Haridasa had a uniqueankita nama, or pen-name, with which they 'signed' all their compositions. Thepen names of some of the most well known Haridasas is listed below:[27]
| Haridasa | Period | Ankita nama (Insignia) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naraharitirtha | 1243-1333 | Narahari Raghupathi | |
| Sripadaraya | 1404-1502 | Ranga Vitthala | |
| Vyasatirtha | 1460-1539 | Sri Krishna | |
| Vadirajatirtha | 1480-1600 | Hayavadana | |
| Raghavendratirtha | 1595-1671 | Dheera Venugopala | |
| Purandara Dasa | 1484-1564 | Purandara Vittala | |
| Kanaka Dasa | 1508-1606 | Kaginele Adikeshava | |
| Vijaya Dasa | 1682-1755 | Vijaya Vittala | |
| Gopala Dasa | 1722-1762 | Gopala Vittala | |
| Panganama Timmanna Dasa | 1722-1765 | Venugopala Vittala | |
| Helevanakatte Giriyamma | 18th Century | Helevanakatte Ranga | |
| Jagannatha Dasa | 1727-1809 | Jagannatha Vittala | |
| Mahipathidasa | 1611-1681 | Mahipathi | |
| Prasanna Venkatadasa | 1680-1752 | Prasanna Venkata | |
| Mohanadasa | 1728-1751 | Mohana Vittala | |
| Nekkara Krishnadasa | 18th Century | Varaha Thimmappa | |
| Jayesha Vittala Dasa | 1850-1932 | Jayesha Vittala |
The Haridasa movement developed theCarnatic music tradition as a distinct art form from theHindustani style there by heralding a renaissance in the world of Indianclassical music.Purandara Dasa, one of the foremost of Haridasas' is known as the "Father of carnatic music" (Karnataka Sangeeta Pitamaha) for his invaluable contributions to this art form.[28][29][30] He was a prolific composer. Historians propose the number of his compositions in the Kannada language were as many as 75,000 - 475,000, though only few hundreds are available today.[28][31] He composed severalKirtane which later served as the foundation for theKriti form, elaborated and perfected by theTrinity of Carnatic music. He codified and consolidated the teaching of Carnatic music by evolving several graded steps such assarali,jantai,thattu varisai,alankara andgeetham, and laid down a framework for imparting formal training in the art form.[32] The structure and lessons he formulated four centuries ago remain the foundation for all students of Carnatic music. Apart from Purandara Dasa, several later Haridasas' composed songs adhering to the same musical and philosophical traditions. Their compositions usually fell in one of the following categories:Padagalu (orDevaranama- devotional hymns),Kriti,Ugabhoga,Suladi,Vruttanama,Dandaka,Tripadi (three line poetry),Pattadi,Sangathya[33] andRagale (lyrical verses in blank verse). These forms of composition are still prevalent inSouth India and especially inKarnataka.
Though these compositions usually adhere to the carnatic style of music, some of these compositions have also been sung in theHindustani style by musicians such asBhimsen Joshi andGangubai Hangal.
