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Developed into an independent language around the 12th century. In the medieval period, poetry was actually the means of expressing religious sentiments and the first poetry of the language was Bharateswara Bahubali Rasa. It was composed by Shalibhadrasuri, a 7th century Jain monk. A number of Jain Sadhus followed his example and composed short story poems called Rasas till the end of the 18th century. All this while in the 15th century, Narsingh Mehta was bringing in a new era of Vaishnava poetry. His poems portray Krishna as a playful child, a lover, a friend and the poet’s muse. He became a source of inspiration for his successors in composing not only similar poetry but also philosophical poems.