The Gadayuddham (The Duel of the Maces) is a kavya composed in classical Kannada Literary style at the turn of eleventh century CE. It is written in campu, a genre that developed in the tenth century as a mixture of poetry and prose. Ranna's poem is remarkably dramatic in nature and is a meditation on the cost of war. Crisp dialogue, body gestures and imagery fill the poem. It is as if the poet were giving us directions for a play.