ANCIENT HISTORY

OF

BANAVASI
Prof. B. H. Sreedhar
 entrance to termple complex Madhukeshwara &Parvati temple

dhwja sthambha &deepa sthambha Madhukeshwara temple entrance &Nandi

Madhukeshwara Linga carvings on the wall of the temple

inside view of Parvati temple wall carvings: Mahishasuramardhini

back of Madhukeshwra &Parvati Temple

famous stone cot
ANCIENT HISTODY
OF
BANAVASI

Prof. B. H. SREEDHAR

:Publisher:
RAJASHEKHAR HEBBAR
714A 'Sahitya Mandira"
T.S.S. Colony, Vidyagiri, P.O. New Market Yard
SIRSI - 581 402
Mob.: 8762150109
iv
 Ancient history of Banavasi
Around 280 A.C. chutus ruled this area with
Banavasi as their capital. After that Mayoora Sharma of
kadamba dynasty ruled as emperor. Kadamba's ruled
upto 655 A.C. After that Chalukyas, Rastrakootas,
Chalukyas, Yadavasevunas ruledas emperors. From 855
A.C.to 967 A.C. Kadamba dynasty again ruled Banavasi
and surrounding area as governors. Kadamba
Mahamandaleshwaras from the capital Hanugal, ruled
parts of theDharwad district, Shimoga district, Banavasi,
Uttara Kannada and later Haivas of downghat from 967
A.C. to 1347 A.C. After this Vijayanagara kings ruled,
from 1763 A.C. Hyder &Tippu ruled this area till 1800
A.C. kannadigas pridely remember their ancient
benevolent king Mayoora Sharma & their kadamba
dynasty who ruled Kunthala &Banavasi with pomp &
splendor.
It is well known that the benevolent emperors of
the kadamba dynasty during 200 A.C. ruled the kingdom
-1
called Kunthala ((-Konkan) which includedthe districts
Chitradurga, Chikkamagalur, Hassan, Shimoga, South
Canara, North Canara, Dharwad, Belgaum, Goa,
Ratnagiri, Colaba, Poona & Bombay.
Kaumudi, Baindivi, Jayanthi, Vanavasi, are the
times. Banavasi
other names to Banavasi since ancient
called
was called as 'Banavase' and the 'Kunthala' was
in old kannada as Banavase' nadu.
Varada river from sahyadri flows by both the sides
of Banavasi. The area of fort of Banavasi
is4miles
13 furlongs circumferance and situated at 15 miles
(25kms) from Sirsi town.
Banavasi has a vast paddy fields surrounded by
the forests of Malenad, which is famous for peacocks.
Mayoora is the first kannada emperor who ruled
Banavasi during 280to 330 A.C.
Banavasi was ideally ruled by kadamba dyansty
till 610 A.C. in the first phase. Mayoora, Raghu,
Kakutstha, Shanti & Ravi varma were famous kings of
thisperiod.
The beauty of the nature of Banavasi was
wholeheartedly praised by the famous poet called Pampa
(of 10th century). The models of Kadamba sculpture
can be seen in the west of South India built after
Shalivahana's (Shathavahana) times. Advaita philosophy
was prominent in those days. So Shivalinga temples,
-2
were prominent (base of Shivalinga is the part of
Brahma, middle part is of Vishnu & the top part is of
Shiva). So Pranaveshwar of Talagunda, Madhukeshwar
of Banavasi, Kaitabheswar of Kubatur (near Anvatti),
Gokarneshwar and Manjunatheshwara were famous
pilgrimages.
The famous nairutya karnataka style of sculpture
(11th Century) started during Hoysala dynasty was
popularly known as 'Jakkana Shilpa'. It is very close to
Nagara Shilpa' and different from dravida vesara. The
development of this style was during (shalivahana)
Kadamba age. The prior part of hoysala sculpture was
built during the rule of kadamba and chalukya emperors.
The features of kadamba sculpture - as it is found
in Durga temple of Aihole are :
1) Aspidal cave of Boudha system, cave with
Dagaba' type central turn,
2) Two rows of pillars in the middle,
3) Verandah & central hall are found because of
them,
4) Verandah is behind sanctum and situated in half
circle,
5) The tower of the sanctum is having circular
outline on which horizontal steps are constructed- this
tower is known as 'Kadamba Vimana' - this is the

-3
improvised version of 'nagar boudha prasthana' of
northern India. The wall of the sanctum was later
converted from half circle to rectangle. The pradakshina
path earlier was around the temple, later restricted around
the sanctum. In Madhukeshwara temple of Banavasi,
inner path was not open topradakshina, only outer path
was open. Now inner path is also open.
Central temple of Banavasi is known as
Madhukeshwara Temple (1lth Century) which is the
Kuladaiva of Kadambas. It is said that the
Madhusoodhana Avatar of Vishnu is manifested here,
Suggesting the ancient statues ofthe temple. This temple
was worshiped by dynasty of Kadamba, Chalutya,
Rashtrakoota & Ganga, Chalukya, Hoysala, Yadava,
Kadamba, Vijayanagar and Sudhapura Kings (1763
A.C.). Eventhough the rule of Hoysala-yadava was of
a little period, as they were great lovers ofart &sculpture
preserved the bahya mudra in all the temples of south
west (nairutya) Karnataka. Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana
(1111-1141A.C.)when he built Tarakeshwara Temple
(1131A.C.) at Hanugal, he partially renovated the
Madhukeshwara Temple. 'Kadamba simha mudra'
became the improved version of hoysala simha mudra'
inwhich the features of kadamba sculpture remained.
Scholars opine that 'Nagarshilpa' was after
Vindhya. So it is better to call 'kadamba shilpa' as
upanagara. This nagara shilpa is of the western part of
4
Southern India. Nagas are Tamils, Dravids, Kandamilas
end their sculpure is of 'dravida shilpa prashthana' type.
Temples of Pattadakallu are the models for the
method of construction of Chalukya period. There is
the jcon of bull (Nandi mantap) before sanctum, there
are paths in east & west direction. They are related to
the walls around. The roof of the sanctum is held by 18
strong pillars, which reminds the north Indian style of
construction.

Sculptors adopted palava's technique ofminiature

towers in decorating the pillars of ancient Kadambas.
But they didnot leave constructing 'Kadamba Vimanas!.
Jain temple (Basadi) at Halasagi was built by
Mrigeshvarma in ancient Kadamba style
(V.Century).where as pranaveshwara temple of
Talagunda was built in modern Kadamba style. George
Morris opines that the root ofthis style is of Shalivahana
(Andhra bhratya). The round pillars of Madhukeshwara
temple are of modern Kadamba style being converted
to Hoysala style. Modern Kadamba's were
contemporaries of Hoysalas (103 1-1315 A.C.).
Hoysala's capital was earlier ruled by ancient Kadamba
emperors. But Hoysalas did not rule from the ancient
Kadamba's capital Banavasi.
Madhukeshwara Temple
Madhukeshwara temple is of Talagundeshwara
period, sculpture ofthe sanctum senctorum is of pallava's
Badami
of God to about
beautiful
Sonda sb is of and kneea the27 Dhundiraja
of Arasappa theseries
senctorum
of this (ECXIIbreadth
one
unique statue
& of breadth on
icons mention right
Laxmi
Nextfind
of gifted is Height
of icons! a
withKing cot
inches, the of
period Temple is
the and will
of
a
Thisand meetdeityBelow
of of Nirutti.
number
sanctumof meetcarvings.
Nayaka
is The
statue inches,templewe
like-museum There 90
Madhukeshwara
inches.
tourists, main tempel
the first is will leg. dikpalaka
A.C.).
of are we attractive cot we the a right 31
is there
Raghunatha
(1628A.C.)
the 90 is small Basavalingeshwar
the clockwise the is
forward there is
(1555-1598
sculpture of is which his statue
Around
Linga
looks height
length for
under
Narasimha a Astha attractive
ofsculptures.
of attractions
Narasimha
Laxmi is
Narasimha Narasimha
Madhukeshwara
It movefull Madhukeshwara
of
priest the move
thrust
there
by
inside Godesses. with(Sudhapura)The Sudhapura near
Chalukyas. & Next
we
cot Ifwecot
Stone main252-262).
inches
mainspecial. Laxmi
is Ganapati
of
period, stone
If Laxmi Laxmi
conch inches. walls
and the 60 the of of
period, inside sculpture is of the period of Badami
Chalukyas. Around the sanctum senctorum of
Madhukeshwara Linga there are number of icons of God
and Godesses. It looks like-museum of icons!

Stone cot
If we move clockwise we first meet with a beautiful
stone cot with full of attractive carvings. King of Sonda
(Sudhapura) Raghunatha Nayaka gifted this to
Madhukeshwara (1628A.C.) There is a mention about
themain priest of Madhukeshwara Temple (ECXII sb
252-262). The length of the cot is 90 inches, breadth is
60inches & the height is 90 inches. This cot is one of
the main attractions for the tourists, and is unique and
special.
Laxmi Narasimha
If we move forward we will meet the statue of
Laxmi Narasimha which is the main deity of Arasappa
of Sudhapura (155S-1598 A.C.). Below the right knee
of Laxmi Narasimha there is a statue of Laxmi & a
conch is thrust under his right leg. The Height of the
LaxmiNarasimha statue is 31 inches, and breadth 27
inches.
Next there is a small temple of Dhundiraja
Ganapati near by Astha dikpalaka Nirutti. Next on the
walls of Basavalingeshwara tempel we will find series
of attractive sculptures.
-6
Sooryanarayana
Next we see the elegant statue of
Arya-Dravida's 33 crore deities have Sooryanarayana.
originated from
Soorya. Height of this statue is 41 inches and breadth
22 inches.
Kodali Rama
Next is the statue ofParashurama, a great brahmin
who threw his axe and acquired the space arround
Banavasi. His mother is Renuka and her temple is
situated at Chandragutti (20 kms from Banavasi).
Chandragutti has barriers with 7 rounds of protection
around the fort, which is a pleasure to watch and also a
tourist's attraction. Parashurama killed the tamasa
kshatriyas and brought back the acquired space around.
Height of the statue is 18 inches &breadth 1linches.
Mahanaga
If we prOceed further we witness the Mahanaga
dedicated to Madhukeshwara temple. It is the gift of
queen Malhabhoji Shivaskanda Nagasri, her name is
written near the statue. This is the oldest Naga statue of
Karnataka, which is very artistic. Ifwe place the English
number 8horizontally one after another guessing the
Naga knitting will be easy. The artistry is perfect. Hoods
are of five, height is 53 inches and breadth 35 inches.
Chennakeshava
This is in the model of Beluru Chennakeshava.
Here we can see the sophistication of hoysala
-7
civilization. The height of the statue is 45 inches and
breadth 20 inches.

Parvati Temple
There is atemple for Parvatincar Madhukeshwara
Temple. Parvati is the symbol of 'Shaktyaradhana'
contemporary to "Lingaradhana' is of Austro-Asiatic
time. Parvatiis named as Adishakti, Adimaye. Height
of the statue is 42 inches and breadth 26 inches.
Sharada
If we stand before 'Mukhamantapa' of
Madhukeshwara to our left there is a beautiful statue of
Sharada, height is 36inches and breadth 14 inches.
Naga
Below Sharadamba's seat there is a Naga statue
with hoods (faces). Height ofthe Naga statue is 36 inches
and breadth 14 inches. For a period Kunthala was known
as Nagarakhanda, Kadambas were known as Nagas.
Kadamba's capital of Nagarakhanda was Bandanike
(Bandhavapura)near Shiralkoppa.
Shilamantapa (Kalyana Mantapa)
If we stand before Madhukeshwara to our left there
is the Shilamantapa. This beautiful art piece is the gift
of Sadashivaraya -1 of Sudhapura to Madhukeshwara
Temple. This is known as "Thrilokya mantapa' with
height 117 inches, breadth 69 inches ,and represents 3
lokas.

-8
Adimadhava
Ifwe enter inside infront of sanctum sanctorum
there is Adimadhava statue on the right side.
Adimadhava is Madhukaitabha sanhari. Height of this
heautiful Adimadhavastatue is 68inches & breadth 45
inches.
Madhukeshwar Linga (exudes honey)
Linga is the symbol of formlessness. Honey is the
symbol of universal friendship. Height of the Linga is
64 inches & breadth 59 inches, looking gorgeous, is one
of the main attractions for the tourists. According to
sthala purana Kaitabhasura's elder brother is
Madhukasura. Both of them are the symbols of pride,
When they surrendered to Ishwara, both of them
achieved salvation.
Kartikeya
Kartikeya represents the teenage stage of 'Eesha'
power. If we move in clockwise direction in the temple
of Madhukeshwara we can see splendid statue of
Kartikeya who is sitting on a peacock. Kertikeya is the
commander of Gods. Commanders of Karnataka were
inspired by this Kartikeya. Mayoora Sharma became
Mayoora Varma by the inspiration of Kartikeya. Height
of this statues is 19inches & breadth 16 inches.
Nritya Mantapa
Let us go to the Nritya Mantapa' (Dancing place).
AStory tells that Mamakara raja's daughter Maye danced
-9
here infront of the saint Allama, but she could not divert
him from asceticism. Allama's period is 1160 A.C.
Chennabasava Puranakara said to have tested Allama's
devotion at Nrityamantapa of Madhukeshwara temple.
Allama denied Maye. Literature, music & dance are the
services offered to the God in Temples. Atemple with a
dancing place (mantapa) is rare. We may presume the
above story as a Devadasi failed to impress Allama. The
fact that Allama visited this temple is more important.
Allama is Basavanna's spiritual teacher (Guru). The
height of the nrityamantapa is 100 inches, length 146
inches, circumference of each pillar is 62 inches. Art
carvings on these 4 pillars are attractive, special and
different from other pillars.
Basava (Nandi)
When we enter the Sri Madhukeshwara temple we
see the statue of Basava. His height is 86 inches, breadth
37 inches and length 84 inches. It is a pleasant looking
memorable statue.
The speciality of Nandi is that he sees
Madhukeshwara from his left eye and Parvati from his
rigth eye.
While we enter the temple we witness a stone pillar
called 'Dhwaja Sthambha' which is of 40 Feet height.
There is another stone pillar called 'Deepa sthambha'
which is of 35 feet height.
Before we enter the main entrance of the temple,
-10
 see two young beautiful stone elephants which
of the each of these clephants is
resembletwins. Heightof
and breadth 16 inches.
31 inches
Names of,Statues of
of Gods & Godess' sorrounding
the wall of Madhukeshwara temple:
1) 2Elephants 16) Rameshwara
2) Brahma 17) Varuna
3) Below dhwajasthambha 18) Venkataramana
Bhairava, Dattatreya, 19) Srirama
Hanumantha 20) Umamaheshwara
4) Indra 21) Basavalingeshwara
5) Agni 22) Vayu
6)
6 Vithobha 23) Sooryanarayayana
7) Vishweshwara 24) Parashurama
8) Varadeshwara 25) Adishesha
9) Havali Madhukeshwara 26) Keshava
10) Amrateshwara 27) Kubera
11) Yana 28) Durge
12) Kedareshwara 29) Chandeshwara
13) Chintamani Ganapati 30) SakshiGanapati
14) Niruti 31) Eeshanya Saraswati
15) Dhundiraja Ganapati 33) Veerabhadra
34) Sadashiveshwara.
Kadambeshwara
On the right of the Sri Madhukeshwara temple
there is Kadambeshwara. He is the symbol of political
power of Kadambas who ruled from 280 to 1347 A.C.
The height of this Kadambeshwar Linga is 80 inches,
breadth 71 inches & circumference 71 inches.
-11
Ardha Ganapati :
There is Ardha Ganapati statue in which the left
part of the body of Ganapati is not existing.According
to kshetra 'Mahima' right part of Ganapati is in Kashi
Earlier Banavasi was ruled by sahadeva (one of the
Pandavas). Earlier Banavasi was called as Sanjayantipura.
Shithikanteshwara & the chairiot
In between Madhukeshwara temple &
Kadambeshwara temple there is Shithikanteshwara
temple. Tower is damaged. There are series of steps
around the tower which is a speciality. There is
Madhukeshwara's chariot donated by Ramachandra
Nayaka of Sudhapura.
The Chariot is having a speciality, the central 2
wheels will become a jack if an accident takes place
such as breaking of the axle, then the wheels with a
piece of axle becomes a support to the chariot.
The diameter of 4 wheels of the chariot is 10 feet
& has two wheels of 8 feet height. Thus the Chairiot is
of 20 feet length and breadth, 24 feet height, and has
six wheels.
There are Tirumaleshwara temple and
Chandranatha Basadi (Jain Temple) near Sri
Madhukeshwara temple.
Thus when we leave Banavasi, we carry pleasant
memories of the ancient times with us.

-12
 famous stone cot Yama

Varuna Vayu

Sooryanarayana Indra

Eeshanya Aivade Naga

Aadi Madhukeshwara temple Varada river