Basava was a 12th century Indian philosopher, statesman, Kannada poet in the Shiva-focussed Bhakti movement and a social reformer during the reign of the Kalachuri-dynasty king Bijjala I in Karnataka, India. His life and ideas are narrated in the sacred text of the south Indian Hindu Lingayat community, the Basava purana.Basava spread social awareness through his poetry, popularly known as Vachanaas.