• Shri. Raghavendra A.G.

Kanakadasa occupies a central position in the history of medieval Kannada literature as a poet, philosopher, devotee, musician, and acute observer of social life. Although scholars typically place him within the Haridasa Bhakti tradition, reducing his poetry to mere devotional expression fails to capture its full depth. Within the Haridasa Bhakti tradition, his poetry cannot be adequately understood if it Reducing his poetry to devotional expression alone, as it fails to adequately convey its meaning within the Haridasa Bhakti tradition. to devotional expression alone. One of the distinctive features of his literary achievement is the manner in which he brings together philosophical thought, regional language, folk culture, oral tradition, music, and popular experience. His poetry repeatedly moves between the sacred and the ordinary, transforming the language of everyday life into a medium of philosophical reflection and social criticism. This article argues that Kanakadasa’s use of popular Kannada is not simply a question of stylistic simplicity; it constitutes an important cultural and epistemological intervention. He moves literary and philosophical knowledge from elite textual spaces into the everyday lives of regular people by using everyday words, proverbs, agricultural images, domestic experiences, food culture, job references, folk stories, and performative structures. His Ramadhanyacharitre, in particular, demonstrates how material culture can become a vehicle for interrogating social hierarchy and notions of value, while Mohanatarangini, Nalacharitre, Haribhaktisara, and his keerthanas reveal the breadth of his engagement with narrative, devotion, morality, and popular expression. The article also explores the connection between oral transmission and cultural memory, arguing that the musical and performative dimensions of Kanakadasa’s poetry allowed his compositions to circulate beyond the confines of literacy. His poetry consequently occupies a productive space between classical and folk, written and oral, and philosophical and popular. Kanakadasa’s enduring relevance lies in this ability to transform the experiences of ordinary people into literary knowledge and to make Kannada itself a democratic medium of spiritual and social thought.

Kanakadasa, Kannada literature, Haridasa tradition, folk culture, popular expression, oral tradition, Bhakti poetry, Ramadhanyacharitre, language, social criticism.

"Folk Culture, Language, and Popular Expression in Kanakadasa’s Poetry", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.13, Issue 10, page no.a687-a699, October-2026, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2610074.pdf

"Folk Culture, Language, and Popular Expression in Kanakadasa’s Poetry", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.13, Issue 10, page no. ppa687-a699, October-2026, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2610074.pdf