The 12th-century Hindu philosopher, statesman, and poet Basavanna Vachanagalu has been the major inspiration for the Bhakti movement. In his poetry, he has expressed his love and admiration for the god Shiva and his involvement in the creation of the world.

In spite of his great role in the development of Kannada literature and literature in general, Basavanna is not much known in the rest of the world. This is probably because he lived in a time when Kannada was not much known to the rest of the world. But his poems, which are called Vachanaas, are well known and have been set to music.