The Basava Puranam is a 13th-century Telugu

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

written by Palkuriki Somanatha. It is a sacred text of the

Lingayat The Lingayats are a monotheistic religious denomination of Hinduism. Lingayats are also known as , , , . Lingayats are known for their unique practice of Ishtalinga worship, where adherents carry a personal linga symbolizing a constant, intim ...

tradition. The epic poem narrates the life story of philosopher and social reformer Basava (1134–1196 CE), also known as , , , and , the founder of Lingayat. It is also an anthology of several Lingayat saints (also known as Shiva Sharanas, devotees of Lord Shiva) and their philosophies. In contrast to

champu Champu or Chapu-Kavya (Devanagari: चम्पू-काव्य) is a genre of literary composition in Indian literature. The word 'Champu' means a combination of poetry and prose. A ''champu-kavya'' consists of a mixture of prose (Gadya-Kav ...

style (poems in verse of various metres interspersed with paragraphs of prose), Somanatha adopted the

desi Desi ( or or ; Hindustani language, Hindustani: देसी , , ) also Deshi, is a loose term used to describe the ethnic groups in South Asia, peoples, culture of South Asia, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and their Sout ...

(native) style and composed the purana in dvipada (couplets), a meter popular in oral tradition and closely related to folk music. In 1369, the Basava Puranam was translated to

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

by Bhima Kavi. This version contains detailed descriptions of the life of Basava and came to be considered his standard biography. There are several Kannada and Sanskrit Lingayat puranas inspired by Bhima Kavi's Basava Puranam. This Telugu puranam was first translated into English by C.P. Brown, a British administrator in colonial south India, in 1863.Multifaceted and Multilayered Orientalism: Translations of Lingayath Puranas by Administrators and Missionaries, Vijayakumar M. Boratti, 2013

Translations

* ''Siva's Warriors: The Basava Purana of Palkuriki Somanatha'', Tr. by Velcheru Narayana Rao. Princeton Univ Press, 1990. .

References

Lingayat literature Lingayatism Epic poems 13th-century poems Telugu-language literature Indian poems Books about philosophers Indian biographies Kannada literature {{reli-bio-book-stub

Translations

See also

References