Basavanna titled (or ), using the protagonist's poems and giving details of his 88 famous deeds, as well as information about his opponents in the court of Southern Kalachuri King Bijjala II. An eminent poet of this time was Guru Basava, known for his authorship of seven famous poems (), all but one being written in the metre. He expounded on religious teachings in the form of formal discussions between the guru and disciple. His (classical epic poems) deal with spiritualism and extrasensory perception. Mallanarya of Gubbi, a poet bilingual in Kannada and Sanskrit, enjoyed the patronage of King Krishnadeva Raya. His important writings in Kannada in the metre are the (also called , 1513) and the (1530). The former was based on a 7th-century Tamil work and about a Chola King in the context of the Shaiva faith; the latter is a writing of encyclopedic proportions that goes beyond philosophical content, describing the various forms (or sports, called ) of god Shiva and the lives of famous Shaiva saints. In 1584, Virupaksha Pandita, the head priest at the Virupaksha Temple in Vijayanagara, wrote an account on the life and deeds of the 12th-century saint and poet Chennabasava. The writing, titled , regards the protagonist as an incarnation of god Shiva and describes the glory of Shiva and his famous devotees. The book gives valuable information, including dates, about early Veerashaiva saints and ( poets). In addition to religious content, the writing provides useful insights about the former capital Vijayanagara, its royal palace, its market places and merchants, its military encampments, specialisations and divisions and the guilds of workers who served the military in various capacities. Other authors from the 16th century were Chermanka (), Virabhadraraja (), Chennabasavanka (), Nanjunda of Ikkeri () and Sadasiva Yogi (). Jain writings The cultural supremacy of the Jains steadily diminished from the 12th century; the decline began in the 10th century after the conquest of the predominantly Jain Rashtrakutas by the Western Chalukya Empire, and the defeat of the Ganga kingdom by the Cholas of Tanjore. While Veerashaivism flourished in northern Karnataka from the time of Basavanna, Sri Vaishnavism (a branch of Vaishnavism) thrived in the South due to the influence of Ramanujacharya. The Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana and his descendants took to Vaishnavism. Though tolerant of all faiths, the founders of the Vijayanagara Empire and the succeeding kings of the Sangama dynasty were