Kannada famous writers

Famous Kannada writers & poets

Kannada literature has won eight Jnanpith awards — more than any other Indian language. Here are some of its giants.

ಪಂಪ
pampa
Pampa — adi-kavi (first poet) of Kannada literature
Meaning: Vikramarjuna Vijaya, Adipurana
~902–975 CE
ಬಸವಣ್ಣ
basavaṇṇa
Basavanna — 12th-century social reformer and vachana poet
Meaning: Vachanas — short prose-poems on equality and bhakti
1131–1167
ಕುವೆಂಪು
kuveṁpu
Kuvempu (K. V. Puttappa) — first Jnanpith from Kannada; composed Karnataka state anthem
Meaning: Sri Ramayana Darshanam, Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate
1904–1994 · Jnanpith 1967
ಯು ಆರ್ ಅನಂತಮೂರ್ತಿ
yu ār anantamūrti
U. R. Ananthamurthy — Jnanpith novelist of social conscience
Meaning: Samskara (1965), Bharathipura
1932–2014 · Jnanpith 1994
ಗಿರೀಶ್ ಕಾರ್ನಾಡ್
girīś kārnāḍ
Girish Karnad — Jnanpith playwright (and actor-director)
Meaning: Tughlaq, Hayavadana, Nagamandala
1938–2019 · Jnanpith 1998

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