Saints

ಶರಣರು is a specific, exalted term in Kannada religious history: the 12th-century Veerashaiva Sharana poet-saints around Basavanna (whose vachana literature founded the Lingayat reform movement) who attained the highest Aikya stage. Using ಶರಣರು for ordinary believers would import that elite, spiritually-attained status. ಪವಿತ್ರ ಜನರು keeps sainthood as the status of all believers by God’s declaration, not personal attainment.