Extensive Bibliography on Akkamahadevi

in Bibliography
Published on: 25 October 2018

Varsha Nair

Varsha is a student of Political Science, having completed her Master’s from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her interests lie in the intersections of culture, religion and politics.

Akkamahadevi’s vachanas (Compilations in Kannada): 

Basavaraju, L. 1972. ed. Akkana Vachanagalu (2nd ed.). Mysore: Geetha Book House.

Hiremath, R.C. 1973. ed. Mahadeviyakkana Vachanagalu. Dharwar: Karnatak University.

Halakatti, Pha. Gu. 1926. ed. Shree Mahadeviyakkana Vachanagalu. Vijapura: Shivanubhava Granthamale.

Hiremath, R.C. 1972. ed. Sakala Purathanara Vachanagalu. Dharwar: Karnatak University.

Kalburgi, M.M. 1993. ed. Samagra Vachana Samputa (Vol. 1 – 15). Bangalore: Department of Kannada and Culture. 

Kalburgi, M.M. 2016. ed. Basavayugada Vachana Mahasamputa (Mega Volume of Vachanas of Basava Age). Bengaluru: Kannada Pustaka Pradhikar. 

Marulaiah, S.S. 2012. ed. Akkagala Vachanagalu. Bangalore: Ragini Prakashana, 1993.

Marulasidappa, K., and K.R. Nagaraja, ed. Vachana Kammata: A Representative Collection of Vachanas (4th edition). Bangalore: Sapna Book House.

Sunkapur, M.S. 1978. ed. Sakala Purathanar Vachanagalu Vol. 3. Dharwar: Karnatak University.

 

Early Biographies:

Mahadeviyakkana Ragale by Harihara

Mahadeviyakkana Purana by Chennabasavanka

Mahadeviyakkana Sangatya by Chikkaraj 

 

Other early texts mentioning Akka’s life and works:

Prabhulingaleele by Chamarasa

Prabhudevara Purana by Yelandur Hareeshwara

Chennabasava Purana by Virupaksha Pandita

The four versions of Shoonya Sampadane compiled by Shivagana Prasadi Mahadevaiah, Halage Arya, Gummalapurada Siddhalingayati and Gulur Siddhavirannarya

 

Further Reading in Kannada:

Baali, Meenakshi. 2017. ed. Karnataka Samagra Tatvapadagala Janapriya Samputa Male, Vol 27: Mahila Tatvapadagalu. Bengaluru: National Saint Poet Kanakadasa Study and Research Centre.

Bannanje, Veena. 2007. Akkamahadeviya Dvaita. Bangalore: Kannada Sahitya Parishat.

Charantimath, Neelaganga. 1996. ed. Shivasharaneyara Charithamrita: A collection of articles on Shivasharanis. Belgaum: Shree Shivasharane Akkamahadevi Akkana Balaga. 

Dabbe, Vijaya. August 1989. ‘Akkagala Sampadanegalu: Ondu Parisheelane’. Mahile Mattu Samaja. Mysore: Rachana Prakashana.

Devi, Asha M S. 2006. ’Mahile: Basavannana Niluvugalu’. In Streematavannuttarisalaagade: Sahitya-samskruti Kurita Lekhanagalu. Heggodu: Akshara Prakashana.

Devi, Asha M S. 2006. ’Bhaktiyinda Bandayadavarege: Akkamahadevi Kurita Adhyayanagala Taatvika Svaroopa’. In Streematavannuttarisalaagade: Sahitya-Samskruti Kurita Lekhanagalu. Heggodu: Akshara Prakashana.

Govindaraj, Giraddi. 2016. Vachana Vinyasa (Criticism on Vachanas in Kannada). Dharwad: Manohara Grantha Mala.

Hampana, Kamala. 1930. Akkamahadevi. Bangalore: I B H Prakashana. 

Imrapur, Shanta. 2001. Akkamahadevi: Jeevan, Sahitya, Vyaktitwa-Prabhava Mudre (Ph.D Thesis). Hubli: Shri jagadguru Gangadhar Dharma Pracharaka Mandal, Moorusavirmath.

Kalgudi, Basavaraja. 2001. ’Akkamahadevi- prema mattu kamada sangharsha haagu anubhaavada aashaya’. In Shatamanada Sahitya Vimarshe, edited by H. S. Raghavendra Rao. Bangalore: Karnataka Sahitya Academy.

Murthy, Chidananda. 2004. ’Akkamahadeviya ondu hosa haadu mattu kinnarayya’. In Sthavara: Jangama, Chidananda Samagra Samputa IV, 285-291. Bangalore: Sapna Book House.

Murthy, Chidananda. 2004. ’Akkamahadeviya ganda kaushikanannu itihasadalli gurutisuva ondu prayatna’. In Sthavara: Jangama, Chidananda Samagra Samputa IV, 255-268. Bangalore: Sapna Book House.

Murthy, Chidananda.  2004. ’Mahadeviakkana badukina roopu reshegalu (ondu iitihasaka punarachane)’. In Sthavara: Jangama, Chidananda Samagra Samputa IV, 273-284. Bangalore: Sapna Book House.

Murthy, Chidananda. 2004. ’Mahadeviakkana hesarina bagge ondu sadhara kalpane’. In Sthavara: Jangama, Chidananda Samagra Samputa IV, 269-272. Bangalore: Sapna Book House.

Nagaratna, S. 1996. Akkamahadevi. Bangalore: Karnataka Sahitya Academy.

Puranik, Siddayya. 1986. Mahadevi. Dharwad: Karnatak University Press. 

Ramakumari, B H. 1994. Akkamahadevi. Bangalore: Karnataka Sahitya Akademi.

Subbaraj, Vijaya. 1998. ‘Stree Svaatantrya Chaluvaliya Hinneleyalli Akkamahadevi’. Shoodra 6: 44-52.

Sumitrabai, B N. 1997. ‘Akkamahadevi’. Sharana Sampada Male 4. Mysore: Akhila Bharata sharana sahitya parishattu. 

Swamiji, Lingananda. 1962. Akkana Pravachana. Bangalore: Suyidhana Sugrantha Maale. 

Udachana, Shailaja. 1991. Vachanakarara Drishtiyalli Sthree (Ph.D. Thesis). Gulbarga: Grenobles Publishers.

Vinodabai, S. 1969. Andal, Mahadevi mattu Meera. Mysore: Usha Sahitya Male.

 

Akka’s vachanas (in translation):

Ananthanarayana, S. 1988. tr. Thus sang the Veerashaiva Mystics. Hubli: Moorusaviramath.

Ananthanarayana, S. 1991. tr. Vacanas of Sivasaranas. Mysore: Ganga Taranga.

Basawanal, S.S., and K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar. 1940. tr. Musings of Basava: A Free Rendering. Mangalore: Basel Mission Press. 

Chaitanya, Vinaya. 2005. tr. Songs for Siva: Vacanas of Akka Mahadevi. U.K.: AltaMira Press. 

Chandrasekhar, Laxmi, Vijaya Guttal, Chennegowda, Vinaya Chaitanya and Pradeep Kumar. 2005. tr. Selected Vachanas of Saranas. Edited by H.S. Shivaprakash and O.L. Nagabhushanana Swamy. Bangalore: Basava Samithi. 

Menezes, Armando, and S.M. Angadi. 1973. tr. Vachanas of Akka Mahadevi. Dharwad: Manohar Appasaheb Adke.

Patil, B.A. 1975. tr. Akka Mahadevi the Divine Cuckoo: English Rendering of Akka’s 50 Vacanas. Gulbarga: Siddhavageesha Prakashana.

Ramanujan, A.K. 1973. tr. Speaking Of Siva. England: Penguin Books.

Rao, D. Seshagiri. 1981. tr. At the Lord’s Feet: An English Translation of Selected Vachanas of Akka Mahadevi (A Woman Saint of Karnataka) And some Miscellania. Bangalore: Parijatha Publications.

Shivaprakash, H.S. 2010. tr. I Keep Vigil of Rudra. India: Penguin Books.

Swamy, O.L. Nagabhushana, Laxmi Chandrasekhar and Vijaya Guttal. 2007. tr. The Sign: Vachanas of the 12th Century. Edited by O.L. Nagabhushanaswamy. Hampi: Prasaranga, Kannada University.

Yaravintelimath, C.R., and M.M. Kalburgi. 2003. tr. Heaven of Equality. Edited by Veeranna Rajur and Basavaraj Hugar. Dharwad: Shree Basaveshwara Peetha.

Yaravintelimath, C.R. 2006. tr. Vacanas of Women Saints. Bangalore: Basava Samithi.

 

 

Further Reading in English:

 

Brooks, Thom. 2002. ‘In search of Siva: Mahadeviyakka’s Virasaivism’. Asian Philosophy: An International Journal of the Philosophical Traditions of the East 12 (1): 21-34.

Dabbe, Vijaya, ed. 1991. ‘Akkamahadevi’. In Women Writing in India Volume 1, 600 BC to the Early Twentieth Century, edited by Susie Tharu and Lalita K. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. 

Dabbe, Vijaya and Robert Zydenbos. January-June 1989. ‘Akka Mahadevi’. Manushi (Delhi) 50-51-52: 39-44.

Guttal, Vijaya. Winter 2002. ‘The Akka Mahadevi: The Saint-Poet’. Studies is Humanities and Social Sciences IX (2): 133-142.

Krishnaswamy, Revathy. 1993. ‘Subversive Spirituality: Woman as Saint-Poet in Medieval India’. Women’s Studies International Forum 16 (2): 139-147.

Michael, Blake. R. 1983 (Apr-Jun). ‘Women of the Sunyasampadane: Housewives and Saints in Virasaivism’. Journal of the American Oriental Society 103 (2): 361-368.

Mudaliar, Chandra Y. September 1991. ‘Religious Experiences of Hindu Women: A Study of Akka Mahadevi’. Mystics Quarterly 17 (3): 137-146.

Mullatti, Leela. 1989. The Bhakti Movement and the Status of Women: A Case Study of Virasaivism. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications.

Ramanujan, A K. 1999. ’On Women Saints’. In The Collected Essays of A K Ramanujan, edited by Vinay Dharwadker and Stuart H. Blackburn. New York: Oxford University Press.

———1999. ’Men, Women and Saints’. In The Collected Essays of A K Ramanujan, edited by Vinay Dharwadker and Stuart H. Blackburn. New York: Oxford University Press.

Ramaswamy, Vijaya. 1996. ed. Divinity and Deviance: Women in Virasaivism. Delhi: Oxford University Press.

———2007. ed. Walking Naked: Women, Society, Spirituality in South India. Shimla: Centre for Advanced Studies.

———2014. ed. Devotion and Dissent in Indian History. Delhi: Cambridge University Press.

———Winter 1996. ‘Rebels, Mystics or Housewives? Women in Virasaivism’. India International Centre Quarterly 23 (3/4): 190-203.

Schouten, Jan Peter. 1995. ‘The Unconventional Woman Saint: Images of Akka Mahadevi’. In Female Stereotypes in Religious Traditions, edited by Ria Kloppenborg and Wouter J. Hanegraaf. Netherlands: E.J. Brill.

Shintri, S.B. 1984. ‘Women in the Virasaiva Movement’. Basava Journal 8 (4).

Shivaprakash, H.S. Winter 2003-Spring 2004. ‘Vachanas of Akkamahadevi’. India International Centre Quarterly 30 (3/4): 32-37.

Srikantaiah, T.N. 1955. ‘Akka Mahadevi’. In Women Saints of East and West, edited by Swami Ghanananda and Sir John Stewart-Wallace. London: Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre.

Thipperudraswamy, H. 1968. The Virasaiva Saints: A Study. Mysore: Rao and Raghavan.

Tyagi, Alka. 2014. Andal and Akka Mahadevi: Feminity to Divinity. New Delhi: D.K. Printworld.

 

Other Mediums: 

  1. Scribbles on Akka: Short film on the life and work of Akkamahadevi. The movie also contains contemporary composition of her vachanas by the composer Ilyaraja.                                                                                        Script and Direction: Madhushree Dutta        Running time: 60 minutes           Language: Kannada/Hindi/English                                                                                                                           Awards: National Award for Best Anthropological Film, 2001, Best Script Award at Shanghai International Festival.            For further information: majlisbombay.org/scribbles-on-akka-2000
  2. Soul Unto the Sublime: A novel on the life of Akkamahadevi, written originally in Kannada by H. Tipperudra Swamy under the title Kadaliya Karpura. The translation into English is by C.N. Hiremath.
  3. There are numerous plays drawing from the 12th century sharana movement: Some of them are Mahachaitra by H.S. Shivaprakash, Tale-Danda by Girish Karnad, Sankranti by P. Lankesh.

 

Useful links:

  1. Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur rendering Akka’s vachanas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0HBUgPP_LA
  2. Akka Mozhiyunnu is a Malayalam poem by K. Satchidanandan written in the voice of Akkamahadevi. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5WOyR7C3jU