By the mid-16th century, Kannada literature had been influenced by three important socio-religious developments: Jainism (9th-12th centuries), Veerashaivism (devotion to the god Shiva, from the 12th century), and Vaishnavism (devotion to the god Vishnu, from the 15th century) [REF].
Jain works were written in the classical champu metre and were centred on the lives of Tirthankars (saints), princes and personages associated with the Jainism [REF].