Buddhism in North Karnataka - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Introduction

Discovery of an Ashoka

Ashoka

Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...

inscription at Maski

Maski

Maski is a village and an archaeological site in the Raichur district of the state of Karnataka, India. It lies on the bank of the Maski river which is a tributary of the Tungabhadra. The site came into prominence with the discovery of a minor rock edict of Emperor Ashoka by C. Beadon in 1915...

in Raichur District

Raichur district

Raichur District is an administrative district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located in the northeast part of the state and is bounded by Yadgir district in the north, Bijapur and Bagalkot district in the northwest, Koppal district in the west, Bellary district in the south, Anantapur...

a few decades ago and of a Buddhist settlement through a series of archeological excavations at Sannati

Sannati

Sannati is a small village, located on the banks of the river Bhima in Chitapur taluk of Gulbarga District of Northern Karnataka. It is famous for the Chandrala Parameshwari Temple and the recent excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India.-Excavation:...

have shed light on the historic significance of Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

in the development of Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

.

During 1954-95, 81 stone inscriptions, 2 stupas, 3 dibbas or mounds and a defence fort have been discovered at Sannati

Sannati

History

Buddhism

had in fact entered Karnataka before the time of the Emperor Ashoka,
and that it enjoyed its heyday between the 3rd century B.C. and the 3rd century A.D.

Mauryas

Buddhism

first emerged during Mauryas times when there was a missionary zeal.
Parts of Karnataka were subject to the rule of the Mauryas. Chandragupta Maurya’s son Bindusara (298-273 BC) and Bindusara’s son Ashoka

Ashoka

(269-232 BC) caused some of his edicts to be put up here. Ashoka’s grandson Samprati Chandragupta is believed to have come to Shravanabelagola

Shravanabelagola

Shravana Belgola is a city located in the Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is 158 km from Bangalore. The statue of Gommateshvara Bahubali at Śravaṇa Beḷgoḷa is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Jainism, one that reached a peak in architectural and sculptural...

where he spent his last years.

Eleven Ashokas edicts :

4 in Bellary District,

3 in Raichur District

Raichur district

and

3 others in Chitradurga District

Chitradurga district

Chitradurga district is an administrative district of Karnataka state in southern India. The city of Chitradurga is the district headquarters. Chitradurga gets its name from Chitrakaldurga, an umbrella-shaped lofty hill found there. Tradition dates Chitradurga District to the period of the...

bear witness to the Mauryas presence in Karnataka

Karnataka

Shatavahana

The Shatavahana may have been a Karnataka dynasty, as Dharwad

Dharwad

Dharwad, also known as Dharwar, is a city and a DISTRICT PLACE in India's Karnataka state.Dharwad is the administrative seat of the Dharwad District. The municipality of Hubli-Dharwad covers an area of 200.23 km²...

and Bellary Districts are called Shantavahani Hara (or Shantavahana region). Some of their kings were called rulers of Kunthala, the old name for Karnataka.

The Shatavahana were successors to the Mauryas and ruled in Banavasi

Banavasi

Banavasi is an ancient temple town in Uttara Kannada District bordering Shivamogga district in the South Indian state of Karnataka .-History:Banavasi is one of the oldest towns in the Karnataka state...

, as is evident from the Nasik inscription of Gautamiputra Satakarni and the copper plates from Hirehadagali.

At Sannati

Sannati

in Gulbarga District

Gulbarga District

Gulbarga district is one of the 30 districts of Karnataka state in southern India. Gulbarga city is the administrative headquarters of the district...

, as well as Vadgoan Madhavpur near Belgaum

Belgaum

Belgaum is a city and a municipal corporation in Belgaum district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the fourth largest city of the state of Karnataka, the first three being Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad....

and Brahmagiri in Chitradurga District

Chitradurga district

, there are remains of monuments of their period. The Uttara Kannada

Uttara Kannada

Uttara Kannada also known as North Canara or North Kanara, is a district in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belgaum District to the north, Dharwad District and Haveri District to the east, Shimoga District and Udupi District to the south and the...

area of Banavasi

Banavasi

has their inscription at Vasan in Dharwad District

Dharwad District

Dharwad District is an administrative district of the state of Karnataka in southern India. Dharwad is the cultural headquarters of North Karnataka....

, and there are remains of a brick temple.

Kadamba

Kadambas capital was also Banavasi

Banavasi

, known as Vaijayanti. They were tolerant towards Buddhism

Buddhism

as epigraphic evidence shows. Recent excavations of the site of Banavasi

Banavasi

have given the remains of a Buddhist stupa. The large apsidal structure is what remains and it was planned like a dharma chakra. Kadambas century was a prominent one for Buddhism in Karnataka.

Chinese traveller, Hieun Tsang, visited Banavasi

Banavasi

in the 7th century AD and saw 1000 sangharamas and three stupas. He Said By the side of the royal palace was a great sangharama with 300 priests, all men of distinction. This convent has a great vihara 100 in height.

It became difficult for Buddhism

Buddhism

to survive, lost its specific identity and got
merged with Shaivism. The Buddhist legacy in Karnataka survives in the teachings of Basaveshwara (Basavanna) in 12th century.

Buddhist temple in North Karnataka

Aihole
Aihole
Aihole is a temple complex in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It is a very popular tourist spot in north Karnataka. It lies to the east of Pattadakal, along the Malaprabha River, while Badami is to the west of both....

Aihole

Aihole is a temple complex in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It is a very popular tourist spot in north Karnataka. It lies to the east of Pattadakal, along the Malaprabha River, while Badami is to the west of both....

, is today an insignificant village in Bagalkot District

Bagalkot district

Bāgalkot district is an administrative district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The district headquarters is located in the town of Bagalkot. The district is located in northern Karnataka and borders Belgaum, Gadag, Koppal, Raichur and Bijapur...

of North Karnataka

North Karnataka

North Karnataka is an arid plateau from elevation in the Karnataka state of southwest India. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra...

. This place was a workshop for temple architects and sculptors patronized by early Chalukyas monarchs. Here are some of the earliest structural temples in stone in the country, dating from 450 AD, including one of the 4 Buddhist shrines in Karnataka

Karnataka

. Aihole’s hillock, Meguti, to the rock cut Buddhist shrine. It is the most important surviving Buddhist temple in Karnataka.

The Buddhist Chaitya at Aihole, is pre western Chalukyas and indicates the influence of
Mahayana. It was built around the 5th century and is 25 feet high.

Sannati
Sannati
Sannati is a small village, located on the banks of the river Bhima in Chitapur taluk of Gulbarga District of Northern Karnataka. It is famous for the Chandrala Parameshwari Temple and the recent excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India.-Excavation:...

Sannati, Chitapur

Chitapur

Chittapuru is a panchayat town in Gulbarga district in the state of karnataka, India. It is also the headquarters of the Chittapuru taluk.-Geography:...

Taluk, Gulbarga District

Gulbarga District

Gulbarga district is one of the 30 districts of Karnataka state in southern India. Gulbarga city is the administrative headquarters of the district...

, on both banks of the river Bhima, that many Buddhist stupas of the Shatvahana times have been found. Sannati, which date back to the 1st to 3rd century AD, the oldest among the Karnataka Buddhist sites
and monuments.

Sannati which resembles Amravati

Amravati

Amravati is a city in the state of Maharashtra, India and the seventh most populous metropolitan area in Maharashtra. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Amravati district...

and was the Buddhist centre of the Shatvahana period of pre Christian era and stands as a significant cluster of dozens of Buddhist relics, which include 2 stupas, 3 mounds, 1 fortification, 4 major rock edicts and more than 75 contemporary inscriptions. All scattered across a compact area of about 10 square kilometres.

Sculptures can be seen all along and the Buddhist ruins found there are in large numbers.
They include remnants of stupas, stone pottery for holy bones and ayaka stambha
which has symbolic representation of birth, parinishnishkramana, enlightenment, preaching and nirvana (salvation) of Buddha

Buddha

In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...

.

Inscriptions

Inscriptions in the Brahmi script contain names of those who gave grants to sangharama, stupas and viharas.

Badami
Badami
Badami , formerly known as Vatapi, is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD. It is famous for rock cut and other structural temples...

Badami

Badami , formerly known as Vatapi, is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD. It is famous for rock cut and other structural temples...

, the erstwhile capital city of the western Chalukyas in the 6th century. These rulers were also associated with Buddhism

Buddhism

and relics here have survived in the shape of a Buddhist cave. There is also a figure, identifiable as Padmapani, the Bodhisatva of the same period.

Chinese traveller, Hieun Tsang has stated that during the time of Pulakesin II 642 AD in Banavasi

Banavasi

or Konkanpura, there were 400 Sangharamas and 10000 followers of Buddhism.

Dambal
Dambal
Dambal is a village in the Gadag district of the state of Karnataka, India. It was an ancient center of Buddhism and remained so as late as the 12th century.Dambal is at an elevation of 590 metres and its population is 21,096.-History:...

Dambal, in Gadag District

Gadag District

Gadag District had a population of 971,952 of which 35.21% was urban as of 2001. Population increased 13.14% in the decade 1991-2001. The District is bounded on the north by Bagalkot District, on the east by Koppal District, on the southeast by Bellary District, on the southwest by Haveri...

, there was a Buddhist centre as During 12th century.

Inscription

A Dambala inscription of 1095 AD, begins with the customary invocation namo buddhyana and goes go to describe at length the greatness of Tara bhagavati.

Inscription of 1095 AD, a temple of the Buddhist deity Tara and a Buddhist vihara were built by 16 merchants during the reign of Lakshmidevi, queen of Vikramaditya VI.
Another temple of Tara, built at Dambal was by Sethi Sangarmaya of Lokkigundi (Lakkundi

Lakkundi

Lakkundi in Gadag District of Karnataka is a tiny village on the way to Hampi from Hubli. Lakkundi 11 km from Gadag in the east...

Kolivada

Kolivada, Hubbali taluk, Dharwad District

Dharwad District

Dharwad District is an administrative district of the state of Karnataka in southern India. Dharwad is the cultural headquarters of North Karnataka....

.

An icon of Tara has been discovered belonging to about the 13th century.

Inscription

Inscribed on the pedestal of this icon are the words siddham om namo bhagavatayai Aryatarayai, and followed by the usual statement of the Buddha’s teaching in brief.

Buddhist Tibetan settlement at Mundgod

The Tibetan settlement at Mundgod

Mundgod

Mundgod is a panchayat town in Uttara Kannada district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It lies en route to Hubli from Sirsi. It is a Main road town.-Tourist attractions of Mundgod region:* Tibetan colony Mundgod...

, is located 45 km from Hubli-Dharwad. and the settlement at Mundgod
Mundgod
Mundgod is a panchayat town in Uttara Kannada district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It lies en route to Hubli from Sirsi. It is a Main road town.-Tourist attractions of Mundgod region:* Tibetan colony Mundgod...

is the largest in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.It was founded in 1966. Now there are 9 camps with 2 monasteries and a nunnery.

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