Vyasatirtha (Kannada: ವ್ಯಾಸತೀರ್ಥ) (1460–1539), also called Vyasaraja or Vyasaraya or Vyasraja swamin or Chandrikacharya, was acclaimed as one of the three spiritual lights or munitrayam of dvaita Vedanta, i.e., Sri Madhvacharya, Sri Jayatirtha and Sri Vyasatirtha. He was a scholar of very high order with a judicious defence of the Dvaita Vedanta against all rival schools of thought. He also brought the Haridasa cult, historically believed to be propagated by Sri Narahari Tirtha, into limelight. He belonged to the Dvaita school of Madhvacharya. He, along with Jayatirtha, helped systematize Dvaita into an established school of Vedic thought. Vyasatirtha's genius lay in his clear understanding and exposition of all his opposing schools of thought, for which even his opponents admired him. He was a master at debate and dialogue in logic and philosophy. Till the publication of the Vyasayogicharita of the poet Somanatha, the world had no idea of the part played by Vyasatirtha in the history of the Vijayanagara empire.

Kanaka Dasa (Kannada: ಕನಕ ದಾಸ) (1509–1609) was a great poet, philosopher, musician and composer from Karnataka. He is known for his Kirtanes and Ugabhoga compositions in the Kannada language for Carnatic music. Like some other dasas, he often used colloquial language for his compositions. He was a deciple of Vyasathirtha and a follower of Dwaita philosophy propounded by Madhvacharya.

Thimmappa Nayaka was his original name and he belonged to chieftain (Kuruba Gowda) / (Dhangar) family of Kaginele in Haveri district. He was born to the Kuruba Gowda couple Biregowda and Bachchamma at Bada village. Kanaka Nayaka being of the warrior community (Kuruba Gowda) his defeat in the field of battle, directed him to the path of devotion. He came to be called Kanaka Nayaka as he found a treasure-trove of gold (kanaka means gold in Kannada). Kanaka Dasa was well educated and capable of analyzing the society microscopically. Based on one of his compositions it is interpreted that after he severely got injured in a war and was miraculously saved, he gave up his profession as a warrior and devoted his life to composing music and literature with philosophy explained in common man's language. It appears that he started traveling to places a lot to gain more knowledge. However he had maintained a balanced view about all faiths^{[citation needed]}. At a young age he authored poetries Narasimha stotra, Ramadhyana Mantra, and Mohanatarangini. (See Ref 2)