Akka Mahadevi- Most popular poetess of Karnataka

 Akka Mahadevi was one of the early female poets of the Kannada language and a well-known personality in the Veerashaiva Bhakti movement of the 12th century. Her ‘Vachanas’ in Kannada, in the form of didactic poetry, are considered her greatest contribution to Kannada Bhakti literature. In total she wrote about 430 ‘Vachanas’ which is relatively fewer than that compared to some other saints of her time. Yet the term 'Akka' (elder Sister), which is an honorific given to her by great Veerashaiva saints like Basavanna, Chenna Basavanna, Kinnari Bommayya, Siddharama, Allamaprabhu and Dasimayya, speaks volumes of her contribution to the movement that was underway.

Early Life of Akka Mahadevi

Akka Mahadevi was born in Udutadi (or Udugani) near the ancient city of Banavasi (in Shikaripura taluk Shimoga district of Karnataka). She was born in 1130 and throughout her life she mainly worked for the welfare of women. Some scholars suggest that she was born to a couple named Nirmalshetti and Sumati, who were both devotees of Lord Shiva. She displayed her religious proclivities which she possibly inherited from her parents even when a young child. She was a shining example of beauty and princess of lyrical poetry.

Works of Akka Mahadevi
Akka Mahadevi’s experiences, both spiritual and household, come out in the type of simple stanzas (vachanas) in Kannada. Set in conversational language and filled with realistic similes, her vachanas go in the ethics of the reader with their depth of meaning and lyrical beauty. They number over 300 and feature in Yoganga Trividhi, treated as a text book by advanced sadhakas. Her works, like many other Bhakti movement poets, can be sketched through the use of her ‘ankita’, or the signature name by which she addressed the figure of her devotion. She uses the name ‘Chennamallikarjuna’ to devote to Lord Shiva. About 350 lyrical poems or ‘vachanas’ are ascribed to Akka Mahadevi. Her works regularly use the metaphor of a prohibited love to explain her devotion to Lord Shiva.

The lyrics of her works have been described as symbolizing an "essential illegitimacy" that re-examines the position of women. At times she used strong sexual descriptions to symbolize the unification between the devotee and the object of devotion. In some ‘vachanas’ she explains herself as both, feminine and masculine. Her works, like the works of various other female Bhakti poets, also touch the themes of estrangement: both, from the material world, and from social hopes and mores regarding women. She describes her love for Lord Shiva as traitorous, viewing her husband (King Koushika) and his parents as obstacles to her union with her Lord Shiva.

Exploring More about Tamil Poets

Literature is a part of the heritage of India. Indian literature exists in varied languages. Various Indians skilled in writing have contributed in creating this part of India’s heritage in the form of stories, novels, prose, essays, etc. Tamil language literature is no exception in this regard. A noteworthy aspect of this literature is poetry written by eminent poets.The earliest Tamil literature goes back to the Sangam period. In ancient times, the assembly or academy of most learned men of Tamil land was called ‘Sangam‘ and the literature produced in these assemblies is known as the Sangam literature. The compilation of the corpus of literature was accomplished over a period of three to four centuries but there is a controversy amongst scholars regarding the exact period of the Sangams. Perhaps, the Sangam period stretched from 600 B.C.- 200 A.D. Many Tamil scholars mention about the existence of three Sangams at Madura, Kapatapuram and Northern Madura respectively. It is believed that most of the works relating to the first two Sangams dealt with music and dance. Unfortunately all the works of these two Sangams are lost, except for Tolkappiyam, which is the oldest extant grammar dating back to 500 B.C.

The literature of the third Sangam period mainly comprises of poems which are arranged in eight anthologies called Ettuttokoi and ten idylls called Pattuppattu. Ettuttokoi consists of Narrinai, Kuruntogai, Ainkurunuru, Padirruppattu, Paripadal, Kalittogai, Ahanuru and Purananuru. Pattuppattu consists of the following ten idylls by eight different authors:Tirumurugarruppadai, Porunararruppadai, Cirupanarruppadai, Pattinappalai, Kurincippattu, Nedunalvadai, Maduraikkanci, Malaipadukadam, Mullaippattu and Perumpanarruppadai. The third Sangam period also saw a collection of minor works called Padinen-kizhkkanakku which deals mainly with moral virtues. Among them, the most notable is Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural or Kural, which deals with philosophy and wise maxims. The Sangam literature, unlike the Rig Vedic texts, was secular in nature and revolved around the themes of various heroes and heroines. The Sangam literature provides very valuable information on the social, economic and political life of the people living in deltaic Tamil Nadu in the early Christian centuries.R. Raghava Iyengar is recognized for his critical scholarship and creative interpretation of literature from Tamil Nadu. Iyengar also explored himself as a poet. The names of some of his poems are Parikathai, Puvi Ezhupathu, Thiruvadimalai, Oru Thurai Kovai and Inkavi Thirattu. Abigna Sakuntalam Kalidasa’s Sakuntalam and Bhagavat Gita have been translated by Iyengar. Some of his edited works are Tolkappiyam and Athichoodi Uraai.

Subramanya Bharati (1882-1921 A.D.) was one of the greatest of Tamil litterateurs of the modern times. He is renowned for his patriotic and devotional songs and intense prose writings on contemporary social affairs. His Panchali Sabadam is an epic poem based on a single episode of the Mahabharata. His other great works include Kalippattu, Kannanpattu and Kuyilpattu. The other renowned Tamil poetic works of the modern times include Meyyarivu and Padal Tirattu of V.O.Chidambaram; Malarum-malaiyum and Umarkkayyam-padalkal of Desikavinayagam; Podumai Vettal, Tamiizhan Idayam and Sankoli of Kalyanasundaram; Avalum Avanum of N.K.Ramalingam; Azhakin Sirippu, Pandiyan Parisu, Tamizhiyakkam, Kudumbavilakku, etc of Bharatidasan. Durai Manickam was another important modern Tamil poet who is credited with prolific works like Aiyai, Nurasiriyam, Koyyakkani, Ensuvai Enbatu and Paviyakkottu. The other renowned poets of this period include M.L.Thangappa, Mudiyarasan, Ezhilmutalvan, N.Kanakaraja Iyer, A.Srinivasaraghavan, Kannadasan and Tamizhazhagan.

Paramartta Gurukathai written by Viramamunivar in the 18th century affords the earliest specimen in novel writing in Tamil. However, Vedanayagam Pillai (1824-1889) is credited with the writing of the first novel in Tamil, Pirataba Mudaliyarcharittiram in 1875. H.A.Krishna Pillai (1827-1900) adapted John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress in Tamil in his Iratcanyayattirigam. The other important works of this period include Bharatam of Perundevanar, Nandarcharittirak-kirttanaikal of Gopalakrishna Bharati, Kamalambalcharittiram of Rajam Ayyar (1896), Padmavatichaittiram of Madhaviah, Menaka and Balamani of Vaduvur Duraiswamy, Ratnapurirahasyam of A.Kuppuswamy, Mannasai and Kariyadarisi of Shankara Ram.