Akka Mahadevi
Akka Mahadevi, 12th cent., Kannada writer and mystic. Daughter of a Saiva couple of Udutadi, she married unwillingly the prince Kausika to save her parents from his wrath. She,. however, left him when he failed to observe his vows, and spent all her life in devotion to Lord Chennai Mallikarjuna. She is the author of famous vachanas (`sayings’) written in rhythmic Kannada prose.