Religion in Karnataka
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[edit] Religion
- See also: Haridasa and Virashaiva
Karnataka played a very important role in shaping present day Indian religion and philosophy. Udupi, Sringeri, Gokarna and Melkote are well known places of Sanskrit learning and Vedic learning. Shravanabelagola, Mudabidri, Karkala are famous for Jain history and monuments.
The great saint Madhvacharya (1238-1317 AD), proponent of dvaita philosophy and Raghavendra Swami were born here. Adi Sankara, proponent of advaita found enlightenment in Sringeri which became the first of four mathas he established in India. Fearing persecution from the Tamil CholasRamanujacharya fled Tamil Nadu and came to Karnataka during the rule of the Hoysala dynasty and preached his philosophy from Melkote.[1] In the 12th century AD, Virashaivism spread from northern Karnataka across the Deccan. Many of its founders, such as Basavanna, Akka Mahadevi came from the region. It was here the Jain religion got a warm welcome and enjoyed a glorious growth during the medieval period. It is also here where the current day Dzogchen Monastery and the Dhondeling Tibetan Refugee camps are setup and the Tibetans are very well absorbed in the Kannadiga culture.
[edit] Temples
- See also: Badami Chalukya Architecture, Hoysala architecture, and Vijayanagar Architecture
The Empires and Kingdoms that came to rule from Karnataka were prolific builders. The Badami Chalukyas spawned the Vesara style of architecture and experimented with several myriad styles with frequent intermixing of Nagara and Dravida concepts. This period is the beginning of Hindu rock cut architecture, both in stand alone and cave temple idioms, numerous examples of which exist in Pattadakal, Aihole and Badami - (Badami Cave temple). Their successors, the Rashtrakuta created master piece temples further favoring Dravidian concepts. Most of their temples in Karnataka are scattered over northern Karnataka districts. The Ganga Dynasty of Talakad built many Jaina monuments including the monolithic statue of Gomateshwara at Shravanabelagola. The Western Chalukyas used the In-between style, implying a bridge between Chalukya - Rashtrakuta and Hoysala styles, with the best temples of their style located in the central districts of Gadag district, Koppal district and Haveri district. It was during the reign of the Hoysalas that the temple architecture reached its epoch and gained recognition as an independent style called (Henry Ferguson, Percy Brown) owing to its many unique features. Later the Vijayanagar Empire would incorporate all these various styles and create a unique blend called Vijayanagar style, the best examples of which are in the vast open air theater of monuments at Hampi.
[edit] Lingayatism
[edit] Islam
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[edit] Christianity
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[edit] Jainism
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[edit] Others
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[edit] References
- ^ Fearing persecution by the Cholas who were staunch Shaiva, Ramanujacharya came to Karnataka in 1098 and lived there till 1122 C.E. He first lived in Tondanur and then moved to Melkote where the Cheluvanarayana temple and a well organised Matha were built. Hoysala Vishnuvardhana became his devotee and converted from Jainism to Hinduism. This helped popularise his Vishva adviata philosophy in the region, A Concise History of Karnataka, Dr. S.U. Kamath, A History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, by Prof. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri
