Religion in Karnataka

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Karnataka has played a very important role in shaping present day Indian religion and philosophy. The three most important schools of Vaishnava Hindu philosophy, Advaita,Vishistadvaita and Dvaita blossomed in Karnataka. While Madhvacharya was born in Karnataka, Adi Shankaracharya chose Sringeri in Karnataka to establish the first of his four mathas. Ramanujacharya who fled persecution by the Cholas in modern Tamil Nadu spent many years in Melkote.[1] Udupi, Sringeri, Gokarna and Melkote are well known places of Sanskrit and Vedic learning. In the 12th century, Veerashaivism emerged in northern Karnataka as a protest against the rigidity of the prevailing social and caste system. Leading figures of the movement such as Basava, Akka Mahadevi and Allama Prabhu established the Anubhava Mantapa where the philosophy of Shakti Vishishtadvaita was expounded. This was to form the basis of the Lingayat faith and today counts millions among its followers.[2]

The Jaina faith had a stronghold in Karnataka in the early medieval period with Shravanabelagola as its most important centre.[3] Rishabhadeva is said to have spent his final days in Karnataka. Both Jain philosophy and literature have contributed immensely to the religious and cultural landscape of Karnataka. The Jain influence on literature and philosophy is particularly evident in the literatures of Kannada.[4] Shravanabelagola, Mudabidri, Karkala are famous for Jain history and monuments. Islam, which had an early presence in the west coast of India as early as the 10th century gained a foothold in Karnataka with the arrival of the Bahamani Sultans and Bijapur Sultanate who ruled parts of Karnataka.[5] Christianity reached Karnataka in the 16th century with the arrival of the Portuguese and St. Francis Xavier in 1545.[6] Today, both Islam and Christianity have a sizeable following in Karnataka and have contributed richly to the cultural cosmopolitanism of the state. Buddhism was once popular in Karnataka during the first millennium in places such as Gulbarga and Banavasi. A chance discovery of edicts and several Mauryan relics at Sannati in the Gulbarga district in 1986 has proven that the Krishna river basin was once home to both Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism.[7] In recent times, Buddhism thrives here and calls Dzogchen monastery and the Dhondeling Tibetan refugee camps as home.

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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 Temples). 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

Main article: Lingayatism

[edit] Islam

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[edit] Christianity

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St. Mary's Basilica is the only basilica in Karnataka and the oldest church in Bangalore.

[edit] Jainism

Main article: Jainism in Karnataka

[edit] Others

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[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Fearing persecution by the Cholas who were staunch Shaiva, Ramanujacharya came to Karnataka in 1098 and lived there until 1122. He first lived in Tondanur and then moved to Melkote where the Cheluvanarayana temple and a well organised Matha were built. He was patronized by Hoysala Vishnuvardhana, (Kamath 2001), p150-152
  2. ^ Kamath (2001), p152-154
  3. ^ At least 30% of the population may have been of Jain faith during the time of the Rashtrakutas and Western Gangas (Altekar in Kamath 2001, p92)
  4. ^ The earliest cultivators of Kannada literature (Narasimhacrhaya 1988, p17
  5. ^ Sastri (1955), p396
  6. ^ Sastri (1955), p398
  7. ^ Kamat, Jyotsna Dr.. Buddhist System of Education. Education in Karnataka through the ages. Kamat's Potpourri. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.

[edit] References