Purandara Dasa

Purandara Dasa was a Kannada poet-saint and composer of the Haridasa devotional movement who lived in the Vijayanagara Empire. A wealthy merchant before he gave away his property, he composed thousands of devotional songs to Vishnu. He systematised the teaching of Carnatic music, devising graded exercises still used by beginners, and is traditionally called the father of Carnatic music.