Vijaya Dasa

Vijaya Dasa
Temple in honor of Vijaya Dasa
Personal
Born	Dasappa 1682 CE Cheekalaparvi (Present day Manvi taluk, Raichur district, Karnataka)
Died	1755 CE Present day Karnataka, India
Religion	Hinduism
Occupation	Saint, Poet, philosopher, composer

Vijaya Dasa (Kannada: ವಿಜಯದಾಸ) (c. 1682– c. 1755) was a prominent saint from the Haridasa tradition of Karnataka, India in the 18th century, and a scholar of the Dvaita philosophical tradition. Along with contemporary haridasa saints such as Gopala Dasa, Helevankatte Giriamma, Jagannatha Dasa and Prasanna Venkata Dasa, he propagated the virtues of the philosophy of Madhwacharya across South India through devotional songs called devaranama written in the Kannada language.^[1] An integral part of Kannada Vaishnava devotional literature, these compositions in praise of the Hindu god Vishnu as well as other deities are called dasara padagalu (compositions of the dasas).^[2] He has influenced both Carnatic music and Hindustani music through his compositions. His ankita (pen name) is Vijaya vithala. These compositions can be more specifically categorized as keertanas, suladis, ugabhogas, and simply padas. They were easy to sing to the accompaniment of a musical instrument and dealt with bhakti (devotion) and the virtues of a pious life.^[3]