In the mediaeval period Karnataka witnessed a rare literary form of poetic prose, namely 'vachanas'. These vachanas are studded with spirituality that is the Doctrine of the ultimate. The authors of vachanas or the vachanakaras are many in number. However the most prominent of them are Jedaradasimaiah, Basavanna, Allamaprabhu and Akkamahadevi. Basavanna, the greatest social reformer and visionary in whose vachanas paramount importance is given to Bhakthi. Another contemporary of Basavanna was great Allamaprabhu. Allamaprabhu's vachanas pertains to divine enlightenment (Jnana), while the vachanas of Akkamahadevi are about divine love. Vachanas have enriched Kannada literature to a great extent, however because of the immense spiritual message they convey, vachanas are aptly called the gist of upanishads in kannada.
Vachanas are translated to many Indian and foreign languages. Prof A.K. Ramanujan has translated them to English language. In my opinion, a firm grasp and deep understanding of Indian ethics and Hindu philosophy are absolutely essential for undertaking vachana translation (of course the competence in the concerned language is also essential.)
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