Hampeya Harihara lived between the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries in Hampe (a.k.a. Hampi) and wrote in Kannada, a language of the south-Indian Dravidian family. With the aim of reaching large segments of the population, Harihara set out to develop a new style of narrative literature in Kannada, one that introduced straightforward plotting, quotidian characters, moderate use of literary ornamentation, simple prosody, and highly emotional expressivity. The work he composed in this style, the Shivasharanara Ragalegalu ("Stories of Shiva's Saints Written in the Ragale Meter") inaugurated a new era in Kannada literature. As the first English translation of eighteen stories from this work, this book serves as an invitation to contemporary readers to enjoy and appreciate a text that is rich with religious fervor, antinomian social agendas, raucous characters, and gripping drama-but also delicate poetry and significant historical importance.
Stories of Shiva's Saints reveals Harihara's inclusive and flexible religious and social vision, according to which Shiva devotees from different backgrounds can share devotional practices and values while maintaining communal and personal commitments of different kinds. Harihara's work is of major historical significance as the first text to narrate the lives of important religious figures and vachana poets of the time, such as Allama Prabhu and Akka, and in particular Basava, the most well-known leader of the nascent tradition today identified with the Virashaivas/Lingayats.
Stories of Shiva's Saints
Acknowledgements
PART I: AN INTRODUCTION
Of Saints and Gods
Shiva Devotion, South India, and the Kannada-Speaking Region
Meter, Style, and Language
About the Translation
PART II: TRANSLATIONS
The Divine Lord Basava: Leader, Saint, and Poet
Chapter 1: In Shiva's Heavenly Realm
Chapter 2: A Human Child
Chapter 3: At Kappadi
Chapter 4: Sent on a Mission
Chapter 5: Arriving at Mangalavada
Chapter 6: At Bijjala's Court
Chapter 7: Serving the Devotees
Chapter 8: A Charge of Embezzlement
Chapter 9: Devotees and Miracles
Chapter 10: Vaishnava Brahmins and a Newborn Child
Chapter 11: The Onion Festival
Chapter 12: Shiva's Trials for Basava
Chapter 13: A Cobbled-together Epilogue
Revered Mahadevi, Who Left Her Husband for Shiva
Chapter 1: In Shiva's Heavenly Realm
Chapter 2: Earthly Birth and Childhood
Chapter 3: King Kaushika Falls Head over Heels for Mahadevi
Chapter 4: The Wedding
Chapter 5: Worshiping Shiva
Chapter 6: Walking Out on Marriage
Chapter 7: Srisailam the Holy Mountain
Allama the Master: Lover Turned Ascetic
Lord Revanasiddha: Wild and Powerful Itinerant
Chapter 1: Birth from a Linga
Chapter 2: Vibhishana and Thirty Million Lingas in Lanke
Chapter 3: King Bijjala, Gorakshaka, and a Sword
Chapter 4: A Water Reservoir and a Preterm Birth
Chapter 5: Rudramunideva, Kallayya, Chamaladevi, and Returning to Kailasa
Chief Minister Keshiraja: Brahmin and Devotee
Chapter 1: The Chief Minister
Chapter 2: Renunciation
Chapter 3: Meeting Jommayya and Recovering the Linga
Jommayya: Hunter and Zealot
Chapter 1: The Killing of a Vaishnava Storyteller
Chapter 2: Jommayya Confronts King Permadi
Chapter 3: Heaps of Flesh and a Brahmin's Visit
Kallayya, The Goldsmith Whose Dog Mastered the Vedas
Bhoganna and the Lingas that Followed Him
Gundayya, the Pot Maker Who Made the Lord Dance
Nimbavve, Who Used Her Body to Serve Shiva
Chavundaraya of Musute: Reviver of Bulls
Bommatande of Bahuru: Devotee of Miraculous Feats
Chapter 1: The Grain and the Jain
Chapter 2: King Permadi and His Elephant
Chapter 3: The Temple Dancer and the Bull
Chavundaraya of the Suragi Flower: Devotee of Murderous Faith
Shankara Dasimayya, Who Got a Fiery Eye from Shiva
Chapter 1: Govinda Acquires a Fiery Eye
Chapter 2: Teaching a Devotee and a King a Lesson
Chapter 3: Becoming a Leader
Bommatande of Kovuru, Who Sailed on a Wave of Mutilation
Chapter 1: A Shaiva King among Jains
Chapter 2: Killing the Jains
Chapter 3: Self Sacrifice
Adayya, Who Wreaked Vengeance on the Jains
Chapter 1: Adayya and Padmavati Take on Human Birth
Chapter 2: Marriage and the Incident with the Ascetics
Chapter 3: Shiva and the Temple Conversion at Puligere
Vaijakavve, Who Converted Her Jain Husband
Ramayya the Recluse, Who Offered Shiva His Own Head
APPENDIX I: SUMMARIES
The Divine Lord Basava: Leader, Saint, and Poet
Revered Mahadevi, Who Left Her Husband for Shiva
Allama the Master: Lover Turned Ascetic
Lord Revanasiddha: Wild and Powerful Itinerant
Chief Minister Keshiraja: Brahmin and Devotee
Jommayya: Hunter and Zealot
Kallayya, The Goldsmith Whose Dog Mastered the Vedas
Bhoganna and the Lingas that Followed Him
Gundayya, the Pot Maker Who Made the Lord Dance
Nimbavve, Who Used Her Body to Serve Shiva
Chavundaraya of Musute: Reviver of Bulls
Bommatande of Bahuru: Devotee of Miraculous Feats
Chavundaraya of the Suragi Flower: Devotee of Murderous Faith
Shankara Dasimayya, Who Got a Fiery Eye from Shiva
Bommatande of Kovuru, Who Sailed on a Wave of Mutilation
Adayya, Who Wreaked Vengeance on the Jains
Vaijakavve, Who Converted Her Jain Husband
Ramayya the Recluse, Who Offered Shiva His Own Head
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