Kanaka Dasa
Topic: Bhakti and Sufi Traditions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Kanaka Dasa was a Kannada saint-poet of the 16th century and a leading figure of the Haridasa movement. That was a bhakti movement in Karnataka devoted to Vishnu (Hari). He was born into a family of shepherds (the Kuruba community), so his caste was low in the eyes of the orthodox. In his songs he asked what caste really means and said that true devotion matters more than birth. He matters as an example of bhakti that challenged caste from the inside.
Example
At the Krishna temple in Udupi (Karnataka) there is a small window called the Kanakana Kindi ("Kanaka's window"). The legend says Kanaka Dasa was not allowed inside the temple because of his caste. So the image of Krishna turned around to give him darshan through a crack in the wall.
Don't confuse with
- Purandara Dasa: another great Haridasa saint of the same period. He is known mainly as the "father of Carnatic music". Kanaka Dasa is remembered mainly for his sharp attack on caste.
Related concepts
- Adi Shankaracharya
- Advaita Vedanta
- Shankaracharya mathas
- Ramanuja
- Vishishtadvaita
- Madhvacharya
- Haridasa movement
- Purandara Dasa
- Annamacharya
- Basavanna