THIPPERUDRASWAMY H., 1928-1994
H. Thipperudraswamy (honnALi tippErudfrsfvAmi) (ಹೊನ್ನಾಳಿ
ತಿಪ್ಪೇರುದ್ರಸ್ವಾಮಿ) is a scholar who made a
pioneering effort to look at the culture of Karnataka in its entirety.
(‘ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ
ಸಮೀಕ್ಷೆ) He took various dimensions such as political history,
religious realities and cultural aspects in to consideration while indulging in
a holistic appraisal of the situation. It’s a laudable effort even though some of
his attitudes and methodological tools may seem a little outdated in the contemporary
context.
Thipperudraswamy was born in Honnali a small town in Davanagere district
and obtained early education in his native town and Teerthahalli. He secured B.A.
(Hons.) (1951) and M.A. (1952) degrees in Kannada from the
Thipperudraswamy was a creative writer and contributed a few works to various
genres of literature such as poetry, drama and fiction. Novels such as ‘paripurnadedege’,
‘kadaLi karpUra’, ‘kartArana kammaTa’, ‘jyOti beLagutide’ and ‘vacana virUpAksha’
are based on the lives of historical personalities i.e. Allamaprabhu, Akkamahadevi,
Basavanna, Nijaguna Shivayogi and Raghavanka respectively. They do constitute an
interesting attempt of merging historical data with fictional imagination. However
his fame rests on his scholastic efforts in the fields Cultural history, comparative
poetics, literary criticism and Veerashaiva religion. He has edited a few ancient
and medieval texts.
His doctoral work studies the philosophical traits of the Shivasharans in the
light of their literary out put as well as their mystical pursuits. ‘VachanagaLalli
Veerashaiva Dharma’ is another attempt to place literature in a philosophical and
religious frame work. ‘KarnATaka Samskruti Sameekshe’ which fetched him the coveted
Sahitya Academy Award is a systematic attempt to study and analyze the culture of
Karnataka. It is divided in to ten chapters including the introductory and concluding
chapters. Remaining chapters deal with the political history of Karnataka, community
life, Inscriptions, literature, folklore, architecture and sculpture, music and
dance and painting. Cultural aspects are invariably delineated and appreciated.
The mode of presentation is basically informative and descriptive. The book is valuable
more for the information provided rather than polemical debates. It serves as an
important source book for further research. He has dealt with thematic pre occupations
of ‘Shunya
Sampadane’, an important work based on Veerashaiva philosophy and Vachanas.
Tipperudraswami was a keen student of comparative poetics and ‘taulanika kAvyamImAmse’
is an illustration. His contributions to literary criticism and modern literature
are beyond the scope of this note. Some of his important works are enumerated here:
1.
‘shUnyatatva
vikAsa mattu shUnya sampAdane’, 1963
2.
‘sharanara
anubAvasAhitya’, 1963
3.
‘vacanagaLalli
vIrashaivadharma’, 1969
4.
‘karnATaka
samskriti samIkshe’, 1968.
5.
‘kannaDadalli
anuBAvasAhitya’ , 1962
6.
‘cAmarasa’
(Biography)
7.
‘BImakavi’
(1970)
8.
‘cAmarasa’
9.
‘Shri
sharaNa carita mAnasa’ 1956, (Textual Criticism)
10.
‘Amugi
dEvayyagaLa sAngatya’ 1965, (Textual Criticism)
11.
‘siddarAma
carite’, 1975, (Textual Criticism)
12.
‘basaveshvara vachanadeepike’,
He has written a few biographies
meant for children on the lives of Kannada poets and Veerashaiva saints.
Thipperudraswamy was awarded
the Central Sahitya Academy award for his ‘Karnataka Samskriti Sameekshe’ in 1969
and the life time award of the Karnataka Sahitya Academy in 1985.