Akka Mahadevi was a twelfth century Kannada poet, saint and mystic of the Virashaiva Bhakti Movement. The Virashaivites were social and spiritual revolutionaries in Karnataka during the twelfth century. They opposed orthodox Hinduism and its practices, for instance, caste and the system of worship through temple and priest. Their key form of communication was through vachanas or sayings which were free verse hymns in their mother-tongue. Through vachanas, the Virashaivites also rejected local folklore and classical traditions. Akka Mahadevi is highly regarded for her vachanas, and is seen as an inspirational woman both for the history of Karnataka and Kannada literature. It is said that she was the first woman to have written vachanas in Kannada literature. In her vachanas, Akka Mahadevi expressed her radical views on women’s roles, Hindu ritualism, caste, etc. and offers a testimony to the spiritual struggles faced by a female mystic in a patriarchal society. Having considered ‘Chennamallikarjuna’ (the god Shiva) as her husband in what is understood as the ‘madhurya’ form of devotion or the ‘madhura bhava’, she ends her verses with her ‘ankita’ (signature) calling Shiva as Chennamallikarjuna.