Purandara Dasa (1484–1564), hailed as the “Pitamaha” (grandfather) of Carnatic music, was a prominent Haridasa saint from Karnataka. Originally a wealthy merchant, he renounced material life and composed thousands of devotional songs (kirtanas) in Kannada dedicated to Lord Krishna. He formalized music pedagogy by creating graded exercises (Swaravalis, Alankaras) and structured teaching methods that are still used today. His soulful compositions made bhakti accessible through music and laid the foundation for the classical Carnatic music tradition.