Shivakotiacharya authored Vaddaradhane in 900 C.E., during the rule of Rashtrakuta king Krishna II. Vaddaradhane is considered the earliest extant prose work written in Kannada. However, there seems to be a 800 C.E. and a 930 C.E date given to this work by some other sources. The 900 C.E. date seems most plausible according to Professor K.A. Nilakanta Sastri and Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat. The work is a Kannada version of the earlier Sanskrit work Brihatkatha-Kosha, a Jaina tenet describing the conflict between spirituality and worldly desires. Apart from touching upon a wide range of issues of that time like women, superstition and commerce, the work describes karma and rebirth.
References
Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, A Concise history of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present, Jupiter books, MCC, Bangalore, 2001 (Reprinted 2002)
Prof K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002).
