Palkuriki Somanatha , a native of modern Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh , is considered one of the foremost multi @-@ lingual Shaiva ( or Shiva @-@ following ) poets of the 12th and 13th centuries . Historians are divided about the time and place of his birth and death and his original faith . He was adept in the Sanskrit , Telugu and Kannada languages . He was a devotee of Basavanna ( the founder of the Veerashaiva movement ) , and all his writings propagate that faith . It is generally accepted that he was born a brahmin and later adopted the Shaiva faith , although according to the scholar Bandaru Tammayya he was born a Jangama ( follower of the Shaiva faith ) . His time of birth have been identified as either the 12th century or late 13th century . In Kannada , his most important writings are Silasampadane , Sahasragananama and Pancharatna . His well @-@ known poems , written in the ragale metre , are Basava ragale , Basavadhya ragale and Sadguru ragale . He is known to have humbled many Vaishnava poets in debates .