Nijaguna Shivayogi (15th century) was an Indian poet and a prolific writer in the

Kannada language Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native ...

. He lived in the 15th century. He was a follower of the

Veerashaiva Veerashaivism is a sect within the Shaivism fold of Hinduism. According to tradition, it was transmitted by ''Panchacharyas'', ( kn, ಪಂಚಾಚಾರ್ಯರು, paṃcācāraya from sa, पंचचार्य, pañcācārya), or five ...

faith (devotee of the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

god

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

), which he attempted to reconcile with the

Advaita ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' ( ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

Adi Shankaracharya Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

.Sahitya Akademi (1988), p. 1165 Tradition has it that Shivayogi was a petty chieftain of

Kollegal Kollegal is one of the major taluks in the Chamarajanagara District of Karnataka State in the south of India. It is also the largest taluk in Karnataka, Kollegal is well known for its silk industry which attracts traders from all over the s ...

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

in modern

Mysore district Mysore district, officially Mysuru district is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mysore division.Chamarajanagar District was carved out of the origi ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

state,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. Considered a visionary of his time, his ''Vivekachintamani'', written in encyclopaedic proportions and in prose style, and the ''Kaivalya Paddhati'', a musical treatise consisting of songs are considered his most enduring works.Shiva Prakash (1997), p. 190

Writings

The ''Vivekachintamani'', written in ten chapters, characterises by subject over 1500 topics including

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

poetics Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry. History The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...

erotica Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use ...

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

and dance-drama (''natya shastra''). Each topic is divided into sub-topics and each sub-topic is further divided into items. For example, the topic of poetics includes a sub-topical description of ''alamkara'' (figures of speech) which includes 65 types of ''alamkaras''. The writing was translated into

Marathi language Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state o ...

in 1604, and into

Sanskrit language Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

in 1652 and again in the 18th century, an indication of its importance among medieval Kannada language writings. Shivayogi authored a collection of songs in early 15th century called the ''Kaivalya Paddhati'' (''lit'', "Songs of the pathway to emancipation"). These songs are best described as lyrical ''

swara Svara or swara (Devanagari: स्वर, generally pronounced as ''swar'') is a Sanskrit word that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave or '' ...

Vachanas'' (poems written to notes) set to various classical ''

ragas A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, and as a ...

'' ("tunes"). They are based on religious, philosophical and reflective themes and are quite unlike those composed by the contemporary

Haridasa The Haridasa Bhakti Sahitya devotional movement ( sampradaya) originated in Karnataka, India, after Madhvacharya, and spread to eastern states such as Bengal and Assam of medieval India. Over a span of nearly six centuries, several saints and ...

s (devotee-saint-poets of the god

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

) of Karnataka. This work established Shivayogi as the originator of a mystical form of literature called ''Kaivalya Sahitya'' (''lit'' "Kaivalya literature"), a synthesis of the Veerashaiva and Advaita philosophies, with an emphasis on knowledge as opposed to devotion. His influence on writers in the ''swara Vachana'' genre over the next three centuries is evident. Notable poets who were inspired by Shivayogi include Shadaksharadeva (Muppina Sadakshari), a contemporary poet, Chidananda Avadhuta (17th century), Sarpabhushana Shivayogi (18th century) and the

itinerant poet An itinerant poet or strolling minstrel (also known variously as a gleeman, circler, or cantabank) was a wandering minstrel, bard, musician, or other poet common in medieval Europe but extinct today. Itinerant poets were from a lower class than jest ...

Shishunala Sharif Muhammad Sharif was an Indian social reformer, philosopher and poet. Birth and early life Santa Shishunala Sharifa was born on 7 March 1819 in Shishuvinahala, a village in Shigganvi (now Shiggaon) taluk (in Haveri district), Karnataka. He ...

.Sahitya Akademi (1987), p. 200 The ''Puratana Trividhi'' is a short work by him consisting of 77 ''

tripadi Tripadi (Kannada, lit. ''tri'': three, ''pad'' or "adi": feet) is a native metre in the Kannada language dating back to c. 700 CE. Definition The ''tripadi'' consists of three lines, each differing from the others in the number of feet and mora ...

s'' (three-line verses) eulogising the 63

Nayanmars The Nayanars (or Nayanmars; ta, நாயன்மார், translit=Nāyaṉmār, translit-std=ISO, lit=hounds of Siva, and later 'teachers of Shiva ) were a group of 63 Tamil Hindu saints living during the 6th to 8th centuries CE who were de ...

(devotee-saints of the Hindu god Shiva) of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. His other compositions include ''Paramanubhava Bodhe'', '' Paramartha Gita'' and ''Anubhavasara''.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shivayogi, Nijaguna Poets from Karnataka History of Karnataka Kannada poets 15th-century Indian poets Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Lingayatism Indian male poets Vijayanagara poets