Devar Dasimayya

Devar Dasimayya is a famous mid 10th century poet in Kannada. He said to have been born in Mudanuru, a village full of temples. His village has Ramanath temple among its many temples, dedicated to Shiva as worshiped by Rama, the epic hero, an incarnation of Vishnu. He was a strong devotee of Ramanath.

Devar Dasimayya composed vachanas in the name of his god Ramnath. He was an early propagator of Virashaiva faith; preceded Basavanna and Akka Mahadevi.

Tradition says that Dasimayya was performing intense ascetic practices in a jungle when Shiva appeared to him and told him to stop punishing his body. Shiva urged him instead to work in the world. Dasimayya renounced his extreme practices and took up the trade of a weaver. He is also known as Jedar Dasimayya “Dasimayya of the weavers”. Today there is a large community of weavers named as “Devanga or Jada/Jandra kuruvina shetty” predominantly spread across the south states of India, are followers of Devara Dasimayya.

Today in Mudanuru, popular tradition identifies several places where Dasimayya set up his weavers looms.

Like most Virasaivas that followed him, this gentle saint taught a life of complete nonviolence, even teaching local hunting tribes to renounce meat and, instead, provide for themselves through pressing and selling oil.

Dasimayya was married to Duggale from a village by name Shivapura.he became a famous teacher, eventually giving initiation to the wife of the local king, who was a Jain. Dasimayya engaged in several debates with the powerful Jain community and, through a series of miraculous events, managed to convert large numbers to the worship of his loving vision of Shiva as the eternal God.