One of the most fascinating episode in the religious history of Southern India is the rise of the Virasaiva movement. These heroic followers of Siva-also called Lingayatas-are characterized by a unique combination of intense devotion and social reformation. The movement arose in the twelfth century under the charismatic leadership of Basava. Men and women from every backgroud, highcaste as well as untouchable, joined the experimental community of the Virasaivas. They has their own sacred literature in the form of short poems in the vernacular language of the region: Kannada.

The bulk of the literature on Basava and Lingayatism incorporates both the Brahman and Bhakti movements. To do this is to lose sight of innovations that Basava introduced in reaction to his Brahman-dominated environment. Also, to look at Lingayatism as a direct linear descendant of the Hindu tradition is to ignore the revolutionary thrust of Lingayatism in its origin in the twelfth century A.O. and its continuing dynamism in the subsequent centuries.