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Helavanakatte Giriyamma
ಹೆಳವನಕಟ್ಟೆ ಗಿರಿಯಮ್ಮ
The first woman poet of the Haridasa tradition
Years
c. 1750
Known as
Giriyamma — the first woman saint-poet of the Haridasa movement
Birthplace
Ranebennur, Karnataka
Field
Saints & Sages
“The Lord is my husband, my home, and my all — what have I to fear in this world?”
— Helavanakatte Giriyamma
The Story
Born around 1750 at Helavanakatte near Ranebennur, Giriyamma was married into a family of the region, but her heart was given wholly to the Lord. She became a devotee of Ranganatha and was initiated into the Haridasa tradition, taking the pen name Bhimesha Krishna under the guidance of her guru.
She composed devotional songs — keertanas and ugabhogas — of great sweetness, expressing the soul's love for the Lord in the voice of a woman of the land. Her songs are counted among the treasures of the Haridasa tradition, and she is honoured as its first woman poet, the pioneer of a line of women saints.
Her life was a model of devotion lived in the world — a householder saint whose love of the Lord filled her days. She died in the eighteenth century, and her keertanas are still sung in the temples and homes of the Kannada land, keeping her memory alive.
Core Ideas
The First Woman Haridasa
The pioneer woman poet of the devotional tradition.
The Bhimesha Krishna
Her pen name in the Haridasa tradition.
The Keertanas
Her devotional songs are still sung.
The Devotee of Ranganatha
Her love of the Lord filled her life.
The Household Saint
Devotion lived in the world of the home.
Why it matters today
Helavanakatte Giriyamma is honoured as the first woman poet of the Haridasa tradition — the saint whose songs opened the path for the women of the devotional movement of Karnataka. Her keertanas are still sung, and her name is remembered as the pioneer of a great line of women saints.