Dasa Sahitya

Abstract

Dasa Sahitya is a literary genre in Kannada, first seen in the late fifteenth century. Making its mark both in literature and in Indian classical music, Dasa Sahitya attracted the attention of missionaries and other colonial functionaries, and was one of the first genres to be edited and published in Kannada in the mid-nineteenth century. Very soon, native editors and publishers started working on the genre. Usually classified under bhakti literature in the literary historiography of Kannada literature, Dasa Sahitya was published by individuals of varying interests. This article makes a survey of some of the early publications of the genre, and notes varying concerns and interests with which they were produced. We refrain from classifying these works as either 'colonial' or 'nationalist', while noting that the genre and the associated works were inextricably linked to the brahmin community from the days of the early publications, even as this community projected it as part of 'Kannada' culture. We also note evidence of cultural opposition to the change from manuscript to print.