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Kanakachalapathi Temple, Kanakagiri
The Kanakachalapathi temple is a 16th-century Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. It is located in the town of Kanakagiri, in the Gangavathi taluk of Koppal district in the Karnataka state, India. Kanakagiri, known in ancient times as "Swarnagiri" (''lit'', "Hill of Gold") is about 3 km from the district headquarters Koppal city, 380 km north of Bangalore city and 200 km east of Belagavi city. Kanakagiri is known to get its present name from Kanaka Muni, a Hindu saint who performed penance there. The historically important Koppal city, known in ancient inscriptions as ''Kopana'' is also of archeological significance due to the discovery of two inscriptions from the rule of Emperor Ashoka (3rd ceneutry B.C.E.) at the nearby villages Palkigundu and Gavimatha. After the end of the Maurya Empire rule over the region when Koppal had been a southern viceroyalty, Koppal passed into the hands of notable dynasties of the Deccan: the Satavahana dynasty, the Western ...
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States And Territories Of India
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-independence The Indian subcontinent has been ruled by many different ethnic groups throughout its history, each instituting their own policies of administrative division in the region. The British Raj mostly retained the administrative structure of the preceding Mughal Empire. India was divided into provinces (also called Presidencies), directly governed by the British, and princely states, which were nominally controlled by a local prince or raja loyal to the British Empire, which held '' de facto'' sovereignty ( suzerainty) over the princely states. 1947–1950 Between 1947 and 1950 the territories of the princely states were politically integrated into the Indian union. Most were merged into existing provinces; others were organi ...
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Deccan
The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges. A rocky terrain marked by boulders, its elevation ranges between , with an average of about .Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (2014), ''Deccan plateau India''Encyclopaedia Britannica/ref> It is sloping generally eastward. Thus, its principal rivers—the Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri (Cauvery)—flow eastward from the Western Ghats to the Bay of Bengal. The plateau is drier than the coastal region of southern India and is arid in places. It produced some of the major dynasties in Indian history, including the Pallavas, Satavahana, Vakataka, Chalukya, and Rashtrakuta dynasties, also the Western Chalukya Empire, the Kadambas, the Yadava dynasty, the Kakatiya Empire, the Musunuri Nayakas regime, the Vijaya ...
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Gopura
A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the South Indian architecture of the Southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, and Telangana, and Sri Lanka. In other areas of India they are much more modest, while in Southern Indian temples they are very often by far the highest part of the temple. Ancient and early medieval temples feature smaller ''gopuram'', while in later temples they are a prominent feature of Hindu Dravidian style; in many cases the temple compound was expanded and new larger gopuram built along the new boundary. They are topped by the ''kalasam'', a bulbous stone finial. They function as gateways through the walls that surround the temple complex. Another towering structure located towards the center of the temple is the Vimanam. Bo ...
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Yali (Hindu Mythology)
Yali ( ta, யாளி, IAST: Yāḷi), also called Vyala, is a Hindu mythological creature, portrayed with the head and the body of a lion, the trunk and the tusks of an elephant, and sometimes bearing equine features. The creature is represented in many South Indian temples, often sculpted onto the pillars. There also exist variations of the creature, with it possessing the appendages of other beasts. It has sometimes been described as a ''leogryph'' (part-lion and part-griffin), with some bird-like features, with the trunk referred to as a proboscis. Iconography Descriptions of, and references to, yalis are ancient, but they became prominent in South Indian sculptures in the 16th century. Yalis were described to be more powerful than the lion, the tiger, or the elephant. In its iconography, the yali has a cat-like graceful body, but the head of a lion with the tusks of an elephant ( gaja), and the tail of a serpent. Sometimes, they have been shown standing on the back o ...
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Mantapa
A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture. Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, one or more mandapas very often lie between the sanctuary and the temple entrance, on the same axis. In a large temple other mandapas may be placed to the sides, or detached within the temple compound. Temple architecture In the Hindu temple the ''mandapa'' is a porch-like structure through the (''gopuram'') (ornate gateway) and leading to the temple. It is used for religious dancing and music and is part of the basic temple compound. The prayer hall was generally built in front of the temple's '' sanctum sanctorum'' (''garbhagriha''). A large temple would have many ''mandapa''. If a temple has more than one ''mandapa'', each one is allocated for a different function and given a name to reflect its use. For example, a ''mandapa ...
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Nayak (title)
The Nayak is a historic Indian title conferred on Sardars, who were governors of feudal states in the Middle Ages. Today it is also a surname. Nayaks are mostly Hindu and few Sikhs, who follow Hinduism and Sikhism respectively. As a surname Today, the surname ''Nayak'' is used by various castes and ethnic groups across India. Mostly they belong from forward class and mainly follows Sikhism and Hinduism. * Nayak, or Naik is a title used by Koli caste of Maharashtra. The Princely State of Jawhar was founded by a Koli Nayak Jayaba Mukne around 1300. The Maval region was known as Koli country of fifty two valleys in Maratha Empire. Each valley was controlled by a Koli Nayak and the Sirnayak, or head chief, lived at Junnar, and presided over the gotarni, or caste council. the Fort of Sinhagad was built and ruled by Koli chief Nag Nayak who resisted the Mughal Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq for eight months. the Kolis of Maharashtra revolted against Mughal ruler Aurangzeb under ...
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Archaeological Survey Of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham who also became its first Director-General. History ASI was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham who also became its first Director-General. The first systematic research into the subcontinent's history was conducted by the Asiatic Society, which was founded by the British Indologist William Jones on 15 January 1784. Based in Calcutta, the society promoted the study of ancient Sanskrit and Persian texts and published an annual journal titled ''Asiatic Researches''. Notable among its early members was Charles Wilkins who published the first English translation of the '' Bhagavad Gita'' in 1785 with the patronage of the then Governor-General of Bengal, Warren Hastings. However, the most important of the society's ac ...
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Vijayanagara Architecture
Vijayanagara architecture of 1336–1565 CE was a notable building idiom that developed during the rule of the imperial Hindu Vijayanagara Empire. The empire ruled South India, from their regal capital at Vijayanagara, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in modern Karnataka, India. The empire built temples, monuments, palaces and other structures across South India, with a largest concentration in its capital. The monuments in and around Hampi, in the Vijayanagara principality, are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition to building new temples, the empire added new structures and made modifications to hundreds of temples across South India. Some structures at Vijayanagara are from the pre-Vijayanagara period. The Mahakuta hill temples are from the Western Chalukya era. The region around Hampi had been a popular place of worship for centuries before the Vijayanagara period with earliest records dating from 689 CE when it was known as Pampa Tirtha after the local ...
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Dravidian Architecture
Dravidian architecture, or the South Indian temple style, is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged from South India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century. It is seen in Hindu temples, and the most distinctive difference from north Indian styles is the use of a shorter and more pyramidal tower over the garbhagriha or sanctuary called a vimana, where the north has taller towers, usually bending inwards as they rise, called shikharas. However, for modern visitors to larger temples the dominating feature is the high gopura or gatehouse at the edge of the compound; large temples have several, dwarfing the vimana; these are a much more recent development. There are numerous other distinct features such as the ''dwarapalakas'' – twin guardians at the main entrance and the inner sanctum of the temple and ''goshtams'' – deities carved in niches on the outer side walls of the garbhagriha. Mentioned as one of three styles of temple building in ...
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Amoghavarsha I
Amoghavarsha I (also known as Amoghavarsha Nrupathunga I) (r.814–878 CE) was the greatest emperor of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and one of the most notable rulers of Ancient India. His reign of 64 years is one of the longest precisely dated monarchical reigns on record. Many Kannada and Sanskrit scholars prospered during his rule, including the great Indian mathematician Mahaviracharya who wrote ''Ganita-sara-samgraha'', Jinasena, Virasena, Shakatayan and Sri Vijaya (a Kannada language theorist). Amoghavarsha I was an accomplished poet and scholar. He wrote (or co-authored) the ''Kavirajamarga'', the earliest extant literary work in Kannada,Sastri (1955), p. 355. and ''Prashnottara Ratnamalika'', a religious work in Sanskrit. During his rule he held titles such as ''Nrupathunga'', ''Atishadhavala'', ''Veeranarayana'', ''Rattamarthanda'' and ''Srivallabha''. He moved the Rashtrakuta regal capital from Mayurkhandi in the Bidar district to Manyakheta in the Kalaburagi ...
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Kavirajamarga
''Kavirajamarga'' ( kn, ಕವಿರಾಜಮಾರ್ಗ) (850 C.E.) is the earliest available work on rhetoric, poetics and grammar in the Kannada language.Kamath (2001), p 90Narasimhacharya (1988), p 2 It was inspired by or written in part by the famous Rashtrakuta King Amoghavarsha I, and some historians claim it is based partly on the Sanskrit text '' Kavyadarsha''. Some historians believe ''Kavirajamarga'' may have been co-authored by a poet in the king's court, the Kannada language theorist Sri Vijaya.Sastri (1955), pp 355-356 The name literally means "Royal Path for Poets" and was written as a guide book for poets and scholars (''Kavishiksha''). From references made in this writing to earlier Kannada poetry and literature it is clear that a considerable body of work in prose and poetry must have existed in the preceding centuries.Sastri (1955), p 355 Biography The pre-coronation name of Amoghavarsha I was Sharva. He was born in Sribhavan in 800 to Rashtrakuta King Govin ...
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Chalukya Dynasty
The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty, known as the "Badami Chalukyas", ruled from Vatapi (modern Badami) from the middle of the 6th century. The Badami Chalukyas began to assert their independence at the decline of the Kadamba kingdom of Banavasi and rapidly rose to prominence during the reign of Pulakeshin II. After the death of Pulakeshin II, the Eastern Chalukyas became an independent kingdom in the eastern Deccan. They ruled from Vengi until about the 11th century. In the western Deccan, the rise of the Rashtrakutas in the middle of the 8th century eclipsed the Chalukyas of Badami before being revived by their descendants, the Western Chalukyas, in the late 10th century. These Western Chalukyas ruled from Kalyani (modern Basavakalyan) until the end of t ...
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