The literature that originated from this devotional movement is called Dasa Sahitya (or dasara padagalu - literature of the dasas).
Comparatively recent devotional movements largely conceive Kāli as a benevolent mother goddess.
The history of devotional movements is as ancient as that of the worship of the significant deities.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a prominent saint from distant Bengal, visited the region in 1510, further stimulating the devotional movement.
The local Kannada language was widely used in the rising number of devotional movements to express the ecstatic experience of closeness to the deity (vachanas and devaranama).
The devotional movement is based on the idea that love of God should be seen as an end in itself, not as a means to something else.
Rural and devotional movements arose, along with Shaivism, Vaisnavism, Bhakti and Tantra, though "sectarian groupings were only at the beginning of their development".
Hoysala temples were not limited to any specific organised tradition of Hinduism and encouraged pilgrims of different Hindu devotional movements.
The patronage Kannada received from rich and literate Jains eventually led to its use in the devotional movements of later centuries.
Hindus in India have numerous devotional movements.