Hoysala people

Raghavanka was a noted Kannada writer and a poet in the Hoysala court who flourished in the late 12th to early 13th century. He was born into an Aradhya Brahmana family. Raghavanka is credited for popularizing the use of the native shatpadi metre (hexa metre, 6 line verse) in Kannada literature. Harishchandra Kavya, in shatpadi metre, is known to have been written with an interpretation unlike any other on the life of King Harishchandra is well known and is considered one of the important classics of Kannada language. He was a nephew and protégé of the noted Early 12-century Kannada poet Harih