![Halasi 10](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Halasi_10.jpg)
The Kadambas of Halasi was a
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
n dynasty during the
Late Classical period on the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, which originated in the region of
Halasi
Halasi (Kannada: ಹಲಸಿ, also Halsi or Halshi, in earlier times also called Halasige or Palasige) is a town in Khanapur Taluk, Belgaum District in Karnataka, India. It is 14 km from Khanapur and about 25 km from Kittur. As kno ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
; who were known for their own style of temple building. The
Kadamba dynasty was founded by
Mayurasharma
Mayurasharma or Mayuravarma (reigned 345–365 C.E.), a native of Talagunda (in modern Shimoga district), was the founder of the Kadamba Kingdom of Banavasi, the earliest native kingdom to rule over what is today the modern state of Karnataka, ...
in about 4th century AD. It was believed that Mayura was the first king of the dynasty and was the ruler during the time of
Pallava
The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as fe ...
King Vishnugopa of Kanchipuram. After losing to North Indian Emperor Samudragupta, Vishnugopa’s army had weakened. Mayura seized the opportunity, formed his own army and drove away the Pallavas from
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
territory. On reaching ''
Chandravalli
Chandravalli is an archaeological site located in the Chitradurga district of the state of Karnataka, India. The region is a valley formed by three hills, Chitradurga, Kirabanakallu and Jolagudda.Amalananda Ghosh (1990), p97 It is a semi-arid r ...
'' (near
Chitradurga
Chitradurga is a city and the headquarters of Chitradurga district, which is located on the valley of the Vedavati river in the central part of the Indian state of Karnataka. Chitradurga is a place with historical significance which is locate ...
), Mayura took shelter in a cave and founded his own dynasty.
Banavasi
Banavasi is an ancient temple town located near Sirsi in Karnataka. Banavasi was the ancient capital of the Kannada empire Kadamba that ruled all of modern-day Karnataka state. They were the first native empire to bring Kannada and Karnataka t ...
, near
Sirsi, was their first capital and their rule extended to Gomantak or present day
Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
.
Halasi
Halasi (Kannada: ಹಲಸಿ, also Halsi or Halshi, in earlier times also called Halasige or Palasige) is a town in Khanapur Taluk, Belgaum District in Karnataka, India. It is 14 km from Khanapur and about 25 km from Kittur. As kno ...
(Halsi or Halshi) is one of the ancient towns in
Belgaum district. It was Second capital of early
Kadambas and a minor capital (during 980 AD - 1250 AD) under later Kadambas. where there are ''Bhoo Varaha Narasimha temple, Suvarneshwara temple, Kapileshwar temple, Hatakeshwara temple, Kalmeshwara temple, Gokarneshwara temple and a
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
basadi'' built by the
Kadamba rulers.
Halasi was a centre of confluence of
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...
,
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
and
Shaivism
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...
during early Kadambas. It was headquarters of ''Halasige-12,000'' province including parts of
Belgaum District,
Dharwad District
Dharwad is an administrative district of the state of Karnataka in southern India.The administrative headquarters of the district is the city of Dharwad, also known as Dharwar. Dharwad is located 425 km northwest of Bangalore and 421&nbs ...
and
Haveri District
Haveri is a district in the state of Karnataka, India. As of 2011, it had a population of 1,597,668, out of which 20.78% were urban residents. The district headquarters is Haveri.
Name of the place Haveri is derived from two Kannada words "Hav ...
.
Kadambas ruled Goa, Halasi as Capital.
Halasi Inscriptions
Full scale excavations at
Halasi
Halasi (Kannada: ಹಲಸಿ, also Halsi or Halshi, in earlier times also called Halasige or Palasige) is a town in Khanapur Taluk, Belgaum District in Karnataka, India. It is 14 km from Khanapur and about 25 km from Kittur. As kno ...
and ''Gudnapur'' are bound to yield the brick temples of this early period. That would, show the contribution of the
Kadambas of Banavasi to the
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
a
architecture of Karnataka. The existence of Jaina temples during the period of the Banavasi Kadambas is amply evidenced by their epigraphs.
All the inscriptions mention gifts for worship and repair to Jaina temples. However, many of them refer to a Jaina temple at
Halasi
Halasi (Kannada: ಹಲಸಿ, also Halsi or Halshi, in earlier times also called Halasige or Palasige) is a town in Khanapur Taluk, Belgaum District in Karnataka, India. It is 14 km from Khanapur and about 25 km from Kittur. As kno ...
. The
Jaina
JAINA is an acronym for the Federation of Jain Associations in North America, an umbrella organizations to preserve, practice, and promote Jainism in USA and Canada. It was founded in 1981 and formalized in 1983. Among Jain organization it is ...
temple now standing at Halasi can be dated from no earlier than the 11th century A.D. As to the basadis referred to in the inscriptions, perhaps they might have been built of perishable wood.
The earliest references to a grant by a Kadamba king to a Jaina saint is found in the Halasi copper plate of
Kakusthavarma
Kakusthavarma () or Kakusthavarman was a ruler of the Kadamba dynasty in South India. He succeeded his brother Raghu as king. Under Kakusthavarma's rule the Kadamba kingdom attained the height of its power and influence, and the Kadambas enjoye ...
. It mentions that the granted village
Khatagrama belonged to arhanta. However, a reference to a Jain temple (Chaityalaya) is found in the
Devagiri
Daulatabad Fort, also known as Devagiri Fort or Deogiri Fort, is a historic fortified citadel located in Daulatabad village near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It was the capital of the Yadava dynasty (9th century–14th century CE), for a br ...
copper plate of ''Mrigesavarma''. The inscription states that Mrigesavarma gave a grant for the sammarjana, upalepana, archana and bhagnasamskara of the Chaityalaya located at ''Brihatparalur''. Further he also donated for the enclosure of the Chaityalaya one nivartana of land. This clearly shows that the above Chaityalaya was big enough to have an enclosure also. In the
Devagiri
Daulatabad Fort, also known as Devagiri Fort or Deogiri Fort, is a historic fortified citadel located in Daulatabad village near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It was the capital of the Yadava dynasty (9th century–14th century CE), for a br ...
inscription of ''Vijaya Siva Mrigesavarma'' a reference is made to arhat sale where an image of
Jinendra was kept. Mrigesavarma's Halasi inscription of 8th regnal year states that the king built a Jinalaya in memory of his father in ''Palasika'' and granted lands to saints of ''Yapaniya, nirgrantha and kurchaka sangha''. Ravivarma's eleventh regnal year inscription found at Halasi refers to a grant for the abhisheka of Jinendra. Obviously this refers to a Jaina temple. Another inscription of the same king refers to the worship of Jinendra for which four nivartanas of land was granted .
The Halasi inscription of Ravivarma refers to interesting information. It states that the income from the gifted village should be used for eight-day festival in Kartikamasa in the Jinalaya at ''Palasikanagara''. It states at the end wherever Jinendra worship takes place properly, that place will prosper without any fear from enemies and the prowess of the king will improve. The Devagiri plates of prince Devavarma refers to gifts for the worship in the Chaityalaya and for the repairs of the Chaityalaya.
The famous ''Gudnapur inscription of Ravivarman'' is more explicit on this point. According to this inscription King Ravivarma built a temple, Kamajinalaya for Manmatha, very near the palace (rajavesma) and arranged for its worship by granting lands. At the same time he also gave grants to Kamajinalaya at Hakinipalli and Padmavati temple at ''Kalliligrama''.
According to ''Dr.
B.R. Gopal'' who has edited this inscription has suggested that this Kamajinalaya is a temple for
Bahubali
Bahubali (), a much revered figure among Jains, was the son of Rishabadeva (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin. He is said to have meditated motionless for a year in a standing posture (''kayotsarg ...
, as Bahubali is described as Manmatha. If this is so, the tradition of erecting gommata sculptures dates from the period of Kadambas and to sixth century A.D.
''Dr. A. Sundara'' has discovered a sculpture of Rati and Manmatha at the same place. Whether this was the sculpture worshipped in the Kamajinalya is uncertain. What is more important is the tradition of building Jaina temples for Manmatha and Padmavati.
According to A. Sundara's field work at
Halasi
Halasi (Kannada: ಹಲಸಿ, also Halsi or Halshi, in earlier times also called Halasige or Palasige) is a town in Khanapur Taluk, Belgaum District in Karnataka, India. It is 14 km from Khanapur and about 25 km from Kittur. As kno ...
throws very important light on this point. Very close to the ''Kallesvara temple at Halasi'', he discovered an ancient site dates from the
megalithic
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
and early historic periods. A large number of brick walls of the ancient period have been noticed by him in and around and he thinks that this represents the Jaina temple built during the Kadamba period.
In the Mrigesavarman of Kadambas of
Palasika (AD 475-490) inscription mention about
Yapaniya
Jainism is an Indian religion which is traditionally believed to be propagated by twenty-four spiritual teachers known as ''tirthankara''. Broadly, Jainism is divided into two major schools of thought, Digambara and Svetambara. These are furth ...
.
{{Middle kingdoms of India
See also
*
Kadamba of Hangal
The Kadambas of Hangal was a South Indian dynasty during the Late Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Hangal in Karnataka. Chatta Deva who reigned from 980-1031 CE founded the dynasty. He helped Weste ...
*
Kadamba architecture
Kadamba architecture was a style of temple architecture founded by Mayurasharma in the 4th century AD in Karnataka, India. Kadambas created ''new style of architecture which was the basis of the Hoysalas style'' of architecture,
developed origi ...
*
Kadambas of Goa
The Kadambas of Goa were a dynasty during the Late Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, who ruled Goa from the 10th to the 14th century CE. They took over the territories of the Shilaharas and ruled them at first from Chandor, later ...
*
Jainism in North Karnataka
Jainism in North Karnataka flourished under the Chalukyas, Kadamba, Rashtrakutas, and Vijayanagara empire. Imbued with religious feeling, patronage was extended towards the building of Jain temple and it garnered high repute among the people, ...
*
Kadambas of Bayalnadu (Vainadu)
References
Kadambas
Empires and kingdoms of India
Hindu dynasties
Dynasties of India
Former countries in South Asia