The exact beginnings of the haridasa movement in the Kannada @-@ speaking region have been disputed . Belur Keshavadasa , a noted Harikatha scholar , claimed in his book Karnataka Bhaktavijaya that the movement was inspired by saint Achalananda Dasa of Turvekere ( in the modern Tumkur district ) in the 9th century . However , neither the language used in Achalananda Dasa 's compositions nor the discovery of a composition with the pen name " Achalanada Vitthala " , which mention the 13th @-@ century philosopher Madhvacharya , lend support to the 9th @-@ century theory . Naraharitirtha ( 1281 ) , one of earliest disciples of Madhvacharya , is therefore considered the earliest haridasa to write Vaishnava compositions in Kannada . Secular topics was popular and included treatises on poetry ( Sringararatnakara ) and writings on natural sciences ( Rattasutra ) , mathematics ( Vyavaharaganita ) , fiction ( Lilavati ) , grammar ( Shabdamanidarpana ) , rhetoric ( Udayadityalankara ) and others .