Shravanabelagola is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is 144 km from Bengaluru. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas in Jainism, one that reached a peak in architectural and sculptural activity under the patronage of Western Ganga dynasty of Talakad. Chandragupta Maurya is said to have died here in 298 BCE after he became a Jain monk and assumed an ascetic life style.
The Kadambas were an ancient royal family of Karnataka, India, that ruled northern Karnataka and the Konkan from Banavasi in present-day Uttara Kannada district. The kingdom was founded by Mayurasharma in c. 345, and at later times showed the potential of developing into imperial proportions. An indication of their imperial ambitions is provided by the titles and epithets assumed by its rulers, and the marital relations they kept with other kingdoms and empires, such as the Vakatakas and Guptas of northern India. Mayurasharma defeated the armies of the Pallavas of Kanchi possibly with the help of some native tribes and claimed sovereignty. The Kadamba power reached its peak during the rule of Kakusthavarma.
Humcha / Hombuja is a small village near Ripponpet, Hosanagara taluk in Shimoga district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Humbaja Atishaya Jain Teerth Kshetra is famous for being home to an ancient temple of Goddess Padmavati, and to the Humbaj Matha (seminary/monastery), an important institution of the Jain community. This temple is considered to be very holy and is known for its cultural and historical heritage. Other notable highlights of the place are a lake that reputedly never dries up and a tree that likewise always remains green.
Lakkundi, also referred to as Lokkugundi, was a major city prior to the 14th-century, and is now a village in Gadag District of Karnataka, India. By 10th-century, it was already a major economic and commerce center with mint operations for South India, one mentioned in Kannada and Sanskrit inscriptions and texts. By 12th-century, a galaxy of Hindu and Jain temples had been consecrated here, along with public infrastructure such as step wells and water reservoirs. Among the major temples are the Brahma Jinalaya (oldest), Mallikarjuna, Lakshminarayana, Manikeshwara, Naganatha, Kumbheshvara, Nanneshwara, Someshwara, Narayana, Nilakanteshwara, Kasivisesvara, Virabhadhara, Virupaksha, and others. As its importance and wealth grew, Lakkundi became one of the capitals of the Hoysalas.
Halasi is a town in Khanapur Taluk, Belgaum District in Karnataka, India. It is 14 km from Khanapur and about 25 km from Kittur. As known from inscriptions, the ancient name of the town was Palāśikā. A centre of the early Kadamba Dynasty, it was a minor capital of the Goa Kadambas (980-1025). The town is notable for a series of medieval temples. The most famous are the Varāha Narasiṃha temple and Suvarṇeśvara temple in the town, and a third temple of Rāmeśvara. On a hill about 1.9 km. south-west of the town is a pilgrimage place known as Rāmatītha. There is also a Jain temple in Halasi as well as mosques and tombs, most notably the Dargah of Hazrat Nūr al-Dīn Shāh Qadri. The Eidgah is located south of the town.
North Karnataka is a geographical region in Deccan plateau from 300 to 730 metres elevation that constitutes the region of the Karnataka state in India and the region consists of 13 districts. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra. North Karnataka lies within the Deccan thorn scrub forests ecoregion, which extends north into eastern Maharashtra.
Mayurasharma or Mayuravarma, a native of Talagunda, was the founder of the Kadamba Kingdom of Banavasi, the earliest native kingdom to rule over what is today the modern state of Karnataka, India. Before the rise of the Kadambas, the centres of power ruling the land were outside the Karnataka region; thus the Kadambas' ascent to power as an independent geo-political entity, with Kannada, the language of the soil as a major regional language, is a landmark event in the history of modern Karnataka with Mayurasharma as an important historical figure. The earliest Kannada language inscriptions are attributed to the Kadambas of Banavasi.
The Alupa dynasty was an ancient ruling dynasty of India. The kingdom they ruled was known as Alvakheda Arusasira and its territory spanned the coastal districts of the modern Indian state known as Karnataka. The Alupas in their prime were an independent dynasty, centuries after reigning due to the dominance of Kadambas from Banavasi, they became feudatory to them. Later they became the vassals of the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas with the change in political scenario of Southern India. Their influence over coastal Karnataka lasted for about 1200 years. There is evidence that the Alupas followed the law of matrilineal inheritance (Appekatt/Aliyasantana) since the Alupa king Soyideva was succeeded by his nephew Kulasekhara Bankideva. The legendary king who is credited with introducing matrilineality in Alva Kheda|Tulu Vishaya Kheda is named Bhuta Alupa Pandya The descendants of this dynasty still survive to this date and have spread in the karavali region and they are widely called as Bunt The Buntfollows Matrilineality, unlike any other warrior community, they can be identified with their surnames such as Shetty, Rai, Hegde, Alva, Chowta etc., even though most Bunt are hindus by faith now, The sizeable section of the community still follows Jainism and they are called Jain Bunt The last Alupa king to have ruled is Kulasekharadeva Alupendradeva whose inscription dated 1444 CE have been found in Mudabidri Jain Basadi.
Karnataka, a state in South India has a long association with Jainism, a religion which enjoyed patronage of major historic kingdoms in the state such as the Rastrakuta Dynasty, Western Ganga, Kadamba and Chalukya dynasties and the Hoysala Empire. Today the state is home to a number of Jain monuments, such as temples, Gommata statues and stambhas.
Kakusthavarma or Kakusthavarman was a ruler of the Kadamba dynasty in South India. He succeeded his brother Raghu as king. Under Kakusthavarma's rule the Kadamba kingdom attained the height of its power and influence, and the Kadambas enjoyed close diplomatic relations with the great royal houses of India. The Talagunda and Halmidi inscriptions praise Kakusthavarma as a formidable Kadamba warrior.
The Western Ganga Dynasty was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka. Its members are known as Western Gangas to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over modern Orissa. The Western Gangas ruled as a sovereign power from the middle of fourth century to middle of sixth century, initially from Kolar, later moving their capital to Talakad on the banks of the Kaveri River in modern Mysore district. Though territorially a small kingdom, the Western Ganga contribution to polity, culture and literature of the modern south Karnataka region is considered noteworthy. The Ganga kings showed benevolent tolerance to all faiths but are most famous for their patronage towards Jainism resulting in the construction of fine monuments in such places as Shravanabelagola and Kambadahalli.
Jainism in North Karnataka flourished under the Chalukyas, Kadamba, Rashtrakutas, and Vijayanagara empire. Imbued with religious feeling, patronage was extended towards the building of Jain temple and it garnered high repute among the people, particularly the ruling classes and the mercantile community; effectively getting treated as the state religion.
Halashi (Halasi) is a historical village in Belgaum district in the southern state of Karnataka, India. It is about 45 kilometres away from Belgaum on the route to Dandeli, Goa.
Kadamba architecture was a style of temple architecture founded by Mayurasharma in the 4th century AD in Karnataka, India. Kadambas created new style of architecture which was the basis of the Hoysalas style of architecture, developed original school of sculpture, was the forerunner of series of South Indian sculptors. Many temples at Aihole, Badami and Hampi are built in Kadamba style.
The Kadambas of Hangal was a South Indian dynasty during the Late Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Hangal in Karnataka. Chatta Deva who reigned from 980-1031 CE founded the dynasty. He helped Western Chalukyas in the coup against the Rashtrakutas; re-established the Kadamba Dynasty mostly as a feudatory of Western Chalukyas, but his successors enjoyed considerable independence and were almost sovereign rulers of Goa and Konkan till 14th century CE.
The Brahma Jinalaya, sometimes called as the Greater Jain Temple of Lakkundi, is an early 11th-century Mahavira temple in Lakkundi, Gadag District of Karnataka state, India. The temple is attributed to Attiyabbe, the wife of the local governor Dandanayaka Nagadeva. It faces east, has a mukhamandapa, a gudhamandapa and its sanctum is covered by a sur-temple style vimana superstructure. The temple is notable for its reliefs depicting Jaina artwork, statues of the Tirthankaras and the two Hindu statues of Brahma and Saraswati inside its inner mandapa.
About 25,000 inscriptions found in Karnataka and states near by belongs to Kannada rulers like Kadambas, Western Ganga Dynasty, Rashtrakuta, Chalukya, Hoysala and Vijayanagara Empire. Many inscriptions related to Jainism are unearthed. The inscriptions generally found are on stone (Shilashasana) or copper plates (Tamarashasana). The Kannada inscriptions found on historical Hero Stone, coin and temple wall, piller, tablet and rock edict. These Inscription have contributed towards Kannada literature and helped to classify as Proto Kannada, Pre Old Kannada, Old Kannada, Middle Kannada and New KannadaInscriptions depicts culture, tradition and prosperity of those era. The world wide recognized literature Ramayana and Mahabharata are transferred through generation by these Inscription Hazara Rama Temple and Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple are the best example.
Chaturmukha Basadi is a symmetrical Jain temple situated in Karkala, Karnataka, India. It is one of the most famous monuments in Karkala.
The Humcha Jain temples or Humcha basadis are a group of temples found in Humcha village of Shimoga district in Karnataka, India. They were constructed in the 7th century CE in the period of the Santara dynasty and are regarded as one of the major Jain centres of Karnataka. The Padmavati Basadi is the most well-known of these temples.
The Lakshmeshwara Jain temples is a group of Jain temples in the town of Lakshmeshwara in the Gadag district of Karnataka.
