SHATPADI — Classical Kannada Six-Line Verse Form

The Vachana movement was a 12th-century social-religious reform movement in Karnataka, led by Basaveshvara and the Sharanas. Vachanas (meaning "that which is said") are prose-poems composed in Old Kannada, expressing Lingayat philosophy, social equality, and devotion to Shiva. The Shatpadi is the classical six-line meter form used by these poet-saints, with distinct metrical patterns governing each of the six lines. Each vachana ends with an ankita — the poet's personal signature name of Shiva.