Banavasi is an ancient temple town located near Sirsi in

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. Banavasi was the ancient capital of the

Kadamba dynasty The Kadamba dynasty were an ancient royal family from modern Karnataka, India, that ruled northern Karnataka and the Konkan from Banavasi in present-day Uttara Kannada, Uttara Kannada district in India. The kingdom was founded by Mayurash ...

that ruled all of modern-day Karnataka state. They were the first native empire to bring Kannada and Karnataka to prominence. It is away from its nearest large city Sirsi through SH 77.

History

Banavasi is one of the oldest town in the

state. It has grown up around the Madhukeshwara Temple built in the 5th century and dedicated to

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

the supreme God in

Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...

, a major branch of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

5th-century copper coin was discovered here with an inscription in the

Kannada script The Kannada script ( IAST: ''Kannaḍa lipi''; obsolete: Kanarese or Canarese script in English) is an abugida of the Brahmic family, used to write Kannada, one of the Dravidian languages of South India especially in the state of Karnataka. I ...

, one of the oldest such coins ever discovered. Adikavi Pampa, the first poet of Kannada, wrote his epics in Banavasi. The town once was the capital of the Kadamba rulers, an ancient royal dynasty of Karnataka. They established themselves there in A.D. 345 and ruled South India for at least two centuries.

References

External links

Banavasi.in (Official Website)

5th century copper coin discovered at Banavasi

Bouncing off to Banavasi

The Kadamba Kula: A History of Ancient and Mediaeval Karnataka

A study of regional organization at Banavasi
{{Authority control Kadambas Former capital cities in India Tourist attractions in Uttara Kannada district

History

See also

References

External links