Composed in various ragas, and often ending with a salutation to the Hindu deity Vittala, his compositions presented the essence of the Upanishads and the Puranas in simple yet expressive language. He also devised a system by which the common man could learn Carnatic music, and codified the musical composition forms , and . Owing to his contributions in music, Purandara Dasa earned the honorific ("Father of Carnatic Music"). Kanaka Dasa (whose birth name was Thimmappa Nayaka, 1509–1609) of Kaginele (in modern Haveri district) was an ascetic and spiritual seeker, who according to historical accounts came from a family of Kuruba (shepherds) or (hunters). Under the patronage of the Vijayanagara king, he authored such important writings as ("River of Delight", 1550), written in dedication to King Krishnadevaraya, which narrates the story of Krishna in metre. His other famous writings are , a work dealing with glory of God Narasimha, , the story of Nala, which is noted for its narration, and , a spontaneous writing on devotion in metre. The latter writing, which is on (morals), (devotion) and (renunciation), continues to be a popular standard book of learning for children. A unique allegorical poem titled ("Story of Rama's Chosen Grain") which exalts ragi over rice was authored by Kanaka Dasa. In this poem, a quarrel arises between ragi, the food grain of the poor, and rice, that of the rich, as to which is superior. Rama decides that ragi is superior because it does not rot when preserved. This is one of the earliest poetic expressions of class struggle in the Kannada language. In addition to these classics, about 240 songs written by Kanaka Dasa are available. For a brief period following the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire, the devotional movement seemed to lose momentum, only to become active again in the 17th century, producing an estimated 300 poets in this genre; famous among them are Vijaya Dasa (1682–1755), Gopala Dasa (1721–1769), Jagannatha Dasa (1728–1809), Mahipathi Dasa (1750), Helavanakatte Giriamma and others. Over time, their devotional songs inspired a form of religious and didactic performing art of the Vaishnava people called the ("Stories of Hari"). Similar developments were seen among the followers of the Veerashaiva faith, who popularised the ("Stories of Shiva"). Veerashaiva writings poetry, developed in reaction to the rigid caste-based Hindu society, attained its peak in popularity among the under-privileged during the 12th century. The Veerashaivas, who wrote