Helevankatte Giriamma (Around 1750)
Helevanakatte Giriamma is known all over Karnataka for her exquisitely lyrical compositions Chandrahasa and Kaliya Mardhana. She was born in Ranibennur and was married to Tipparasa by her father Bistappa. She was a great devotee of Hari and always meditated on Ranganatha in the temple at Helavana Katte. She was dedicated to Ranga as Akka Mahadevi was to Chenna Mallikarjuna. In spite of the devotion of her husband to her, she withdrew from all worldly attachements and retreated to the serenity of Ranga Mantapa, where she by Rangavalli paintings, conjured up images of Balakrishna and his sport among the Gopis and fell into a state of samadhi. This was her daily habit and this provoked great hostility among her daily meditations and prayers through dancing and singing.
Giriamma like other great saints is reputed to have performed many miracles
She built temples and consecrated them for the worship of Maruti and Ranganatha.
She is unique among women who took to the vow of celibacy and lived a
dedicated life devtoed to hari.
