Tattva Heritage Foundation is pleased to support support for an important cultural documentation initiative undertaken by Kathana Studio, run by Chandan Gowda. This project is dedicated to creating a comprehensive video archive on early Kannada literary traditions associated with Jain intellectual culture, featuring lectures by Hampa Nagarajaiah, the foremost living authority on the subject.

As part of this initiative, a substantial series of fourteen in-depth lectures has been recorded, each approximately one hour long. Together, they survey a wide range of early Kannada texts and authors, including foundational religious narratives centred on the Jain tradition, as well as major classical works authored by Jain poets that played a formative role in shaping Kannada literary culture more broadly. The lectures cover seminal texts such as Vaddarādhane, Kavirājamārga, Pampa’s Ādipurāṇa and Bhārata, Ranna’s Gadayuddha and Ajitapurāṇa, Janna’s Yaśodharacarita, and Nemicandra’s Neminātha Purāṇa, offering both historical context and close literary insight.

These lectures are being made publicly accessible through Kathana Studio’s YouTube channel, ensuring wide reach and long-term availability for students, scholars, and general readers interested in early Kannada literature and intellectual history.

We are glad to have been able to support this effort to preserve, curate, and disseminate a vital but often underrepresented strand of India’s literary heritage. Initiatives such as this play a crucial role in ensuring that foundational scholarly knowledge is not only preserved, but also meaningfully shared with contemporary audiences.