Dasa Sahitya

Dasa Sahitya (ದಾಸ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ) is the literature of Bhakti movement composed by devotees in honor of Lord Vishnu or one of his Avatars. Dasa is literally servant in Kannada and sahitya is literature. Haridasas ("servants of God") were preachers of bhakti to Lord Vishnu or one of his avatars. The bhakti literature of these Haridasas is collectively referred to as Dasa Sahitya. It is in the Kannada language.

The Haridasas contributed to the rich heritage of Karntataka music. They made an indelible impression on the religious and cultural life of Karnataka. They spread the didactic teachings in a musical form to the hearts of the common man. Like other doyens of Indian classical music, these scholars offered pooja to Vishnu through music, called naadopasana. The Lord is described as Samagana priya; bhakti through music is the most preferred path to 'reach' him.

Haridasa movement made a significant contribution towards Kannada literature by spawning a whole corpus of devotional literature in the form of verses, hymns and musical compositions, popularizing the Dvaita philosophy postulated by Saint Madhvacharya.The literature that originated from this devotional movement is called Dasa Sahitya (or dasara padagalu - literature of the dasas). These various compositions are generally called as Devaranamas (literally meaning names of the Lord) and are sung in the praise of the god Vishnu. These compositions have the concept of Hari Bhakti (devotion to God) at their core and they usually revolve around references to Hindu mythology and the Dvaita philosophy. Some Haridasas' such as Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa also composed several Devaranamas using day-to-day episodes, morals and virtues as the central theme. These compositions were in simple Kannada language since the main objective of this movement was to take the devotional movement to the common man.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 frevor among the masses. As advocates of religious reform, the Haridasas' propounded the virtues of detachment (vairagya). Similes and metaphors found in their songs and hymns were used to great effect in achieving this.In addition to devotional songs, Kanaka Dasa authored five literary classical writings in the kavya style. Jagannathadasa, Vijaya Dasa and Gopaladasa etc., are more well known among a galaxy of composers who made rich contributions to Kannada literature.

The compositions can be broadly classified under one of the following three types:

Kavya or poetic compositions

Tatva or philosophic compositions

General compositions.

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