Gadag is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in the state of Karnataka, India. It was formed in 1997, when it was split from

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 ...

. As of 2011, it had a population of 1064570 (of which 35.21 percent was urban). The overall population increased by 13.14 percent from 1991 to 2001. Gadag district borders Bagalkot district on the north, Koppal district on the east,

Vijayanagara district Vijayanagara district is a district in the Indian state of Karnataka, located in the Kalyana Karnataka region. This district was carved out of Bellary district officially on 2 October 2021 to become the 31st district of the state with Hosape ...

on the southeast, Haveri district on the southwest,

on the west and Belgaum District on the northwest. It is famous for the many monuments (primarily Jain and Hindu temples) from the

Western Chalukya Empire The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the Deccan Plateau, western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannada people, Kannadiga dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalya ...

. It has seven talukas:

Gadag Gadag-Betageri is a city municipal council in Gadag district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Gadag District. The original city of Gadag and its sister city Betageri (or ''Betgeri'') have a combined cit ...

, Gajendragad, Ron, Shirhatti,

Nargund Naragunda is a town in Gadag district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Geography Nargund is located at . It has an average elevation of 605 metres (1984 feet). Etymology The name "Nargund" comes from "Nari Gundu", which means "Hill ...

, Lakshmeshwar and

Mundargi Mundaragi is a municipal town in Gadag district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Mundargi is close to two district headquarters, being from Gadag and from Koppal. It is 99 kilometers from Gajendragad. Mundargi is also the taluka headquarte ...

Historical sites

;

The town has 11th- and 12th-century monuments. The temple of Veera Narayana and the Trikuteshwara complex are sites of religious and historic importance. One of the two main Jain temples is dedicated to Mahavira. ''Trikuteshwara temple complex'': The Trikuteshwara temple was built by the early

Chalukyas 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 dynas ...

between the sixth and the eighth centuries, exemplifying Chalukya architecture. The temple is dedicated to

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...

. ''Veeranarayana Temple'': The temple, believed to have been built during the 11th century, attracts many devotees. ; Lakshmeshwara Lakshmeshwara is in Shirahatti taluka and is known for its Hindu & Jain temples and mosques. The Someshwara temple complex has a number of temples to

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

in its fort-like compound. ; Sudi Chalukya monuments include the Jodi Gopura and twin towered Mallikarjuna temple and large Ganesha and Nandi statues. ;

Lakkundi Lakkundi, also referred to as Lokkugundi, was a major city prior to the 14th-century, and is now a village in Gadag District of Karnataka, India. By 10th-century, it was already a major economic and commerce center with mint operations for South ...

About from Gadag, Lakkundi was the residence of the Chalukyan kings. It is known for its 101

stepwell Stepwells (also known as vavs or baori) are wells or ponds with a long corridor of steps that descend to the water level. Stepwells played a significant role in defining subterranean architecture in western India from 7th to 19th century. So ...

s (known as ''kalyani'' or ''pushkarni'') and its Hindu & Jain temples. A sculpture gallery is maintained by the

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 Alexand ...

. ;

Dambal Dambala 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 . Demographics India census, Dambala had a population ...

Dambal is known for its 12th-century Chalukya

Doddabasappa Temple Doddabasappa Temple () is a 12th-century Western Chalukyan architectural innovation in Dambal, Karnataka state, India. Dambal is about southeast of Gadag city and southwest of Ittagi in Koppal district.Cousens (1926), p. 114 The sanctum cont ...

. ; Gajendragad This is the biggest city after Gadag in Gadag district. Gajendragad is known for its hill fort and Kalakaleshwara temple, Nagavi, the famous Yellammadevi temple and a hill-view choultry under construction. It is 55 km from Gadag and is a politically rich village. ;

Harti Harti ( so, Harti, ar, هرتي), meaning "strong man", is a Somali clan family that is part of the Darod clan. The major sub-clans include the Majeerteen, Dhulbahante, Warsangali, Tinle, Maganlabe and Dishiishe, while other minor sub-clans ...

Harti has a number of Hindu temples. The Shri Basaveshwara Temple has an annual festival featuring a procession. Other temples, such as the Parvati Parameshwara temple (Uma Maheshwara Temple), have stone carvings from the Chalukya period. ; Kotumachagi About from Gadag, the agricultural village is also known for its Someswar and Durgadevi temples. Chamarasa, author of the ''

Prabhulingaleele ''Prabhulingaleele'' is an epic poem written by Indian Virashaiva poet Chamarasa in the shatpadi metre. The book narrates the life story of the saint and poet Allama Prabhu. This poem and its subject influenced the 20th-century philosopher Ramana ...

, was born nearby. ; Naregal Home to the largest

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 ...

temple built by the Rastrakuta dynasty ;

Hombal Hombal is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India.Village code= 627800 Hombal, Gadag, Karnataka It is located in the Gadag taluk of Gadag district. Education Hombal has several co-educational schools for both genders. Most are g ...

About from Gadag, the village is known for old temples. ;Belavanniki Belavanniki is about 33 km from Gadag. The village is known for the statue of Veerabhadra which is considered to be best sculpture of its kind in recent times. Earlier, the village was part of Belavalanaadu-300 or Belvola-300 therefore from that its name was derived. It is also the Birthplace of well known social activist

S. R. Hiremath S.R.Hiremath (Sangaih Rachayya Hiremath), born 5 November 1944, Belavanaki, Ron, Karnataka, is an Indian environmental and anti-corruption activist based in the state of Karnataka. He has support of BJP and Congress president He is the founde ...

. ; Ron Ron's historic monuments include Anantsayee Gudi, Isvara Gudi, Isvara Temple, Kala Gudi, Lokanatha Temple, Mallikarjuna Gudi, Parsvanath Jain temple and the Somlingesvara temple. ; Kurtakoti About from Gadag, the agricultural village is known for the Shri Ugra Narsimha, Dattatreya, Virupakhshalinga and Rama temples. Statues of Rama, Lakshmana and Sita were installed by

Brahma Chaitanya Brahmachaitanya or Gondavalekar Maharaj (19 February 1845 – 22 December 1913) was an Indian Hindu saints, Hindu saint and spiritual master. Brahmachaitanya was a devotee of the Hindu deity Rama and signed his name "Brahmachaitanya Ramdasi". He ...

. Writer and critic Kirtinath Kurtakoti hailed from the area. ;

Nargund is an over 1000 year old hilltop fort from the times of the

Rashtrakuta dynasty Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing thei ...

. In 1674, Maratha ruler Chatrapati

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adil ...

built a citadel here. It is also known for its role in the 1857 revolt when Bhaskar Rao Bhave, the ruler of Nargund revolted against the British, and the 1980s' Peasant movement during Gundu Rao's Chief Ministership of Karnataka and also as the birthplace of senior leader of Jana Sangh Jagannathrao Joshi. ;Doni Tanda Rayar temple

About from Gadag, and known for

wind power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically ...

generation ;Beladhadi About from Gadag, and known for its Shri Rama Temple and statues of Sri Rama, Lakshmana and Sita ;Antur Bentur About from Gadag, the agricultural village is known for the Shri Jagadguru Budimahaswamigala Sanstan math Antur Bentur – Hosalli. The

matha A ''matha'' (; sa, मठ, ), also written as ''math'', ''muth'', ''mutth'', ''mutt'', or ''mut'', is a Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a monastery in Hinduism.

is cared for by both Muslims and Hindus.

Gadag inscription

* The 'Gadag inscription' of

Vikramaditya VI Vikramaditya VI (r. 1076 – 1126 CE) became the Western Chalukya King after deposing his elder brother Someshvara II, a political move he made by gaining the support of Chalukya vassals during the Chola invasion of Chalukya territory.Sen ...

, records that ''Taila took the head of Panchala by the terror of the pride of his arm in battle''. * The inscription reveals that the battle was fought on the bank of the Godavari & ocean river and a certain Keshava (son of Madhava), fought in the battle and ''won Taila’s admiration''. * At the command of Sattiga (Satyashraya) in 1006 A.D., a Lenka Keta fell fighting at the battle of Unukallu, probably against the Cholas. An inscription', dated in ''Saka 930 (1008 A.D.)'' of the reign of ''Satyashraya'' refers to the siege of the agrahara Kaldugu in the Belvola 300 by ''Desinga'' and the destruction of the forces because of the treachery of king ''Perggade''. * The inscription of Ballala recounts his victory as "And by force, he, the strong one, defeated with cavalry only, and deprived of his sovereignty, the general Brahmana whose army was strengthened by an array of elephants and who acquired 60 tusked elephants with a single tuskless elephant, when, on account of an insult, he was tearing the royal fortune from the family of the Kalachuris of Kalyani."

Demographics

According to the 2011 census the district has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 1,064,570. This ranks it 426th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate from 2001 to 2011 was 9.61 percent. The district has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species d ...

of 978

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

for every 1000 males and a

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 75.18 percent. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 16.36% and 5.79% of the population respectively. Hindus are in majority in the district with 85.27% of the population. Muslims are second with 13.50% of the population. There is still a sizeable population of Jains in the district, around 6,000, which are the third largest religion.

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 ...

is the main language of the district and is spoken by 85.32% of the population.

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Lambadi Lambadi, Gor Boli, Banjara, Labanki or Banjari is a language spoken by the once nomadic Banjara people across India,Ancient Pastoral Nomadic Community of India Ancient Warrior Community/Raajputs Medieval Traders/Grain Carriers Modern Grain Tra ...

is spoken by 3.06% of the population.

Magadi Bird Sanctuary

The Magadi Bird Sanctuary, created at the Magadi reservoir, is from Gadag on the Gadag-Bangalore Road, from Shirhatti and from Lakshmeshwar. It is known for migratory species such as the

bar-headed goose The bar-headed goose (''Anser indicus'') is a goose that breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and winters in South Asia, as far south as peninsular India. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest. It ...

, which feed on fish and agricultural crops.

Cooperative movement

The first

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

in India was founded over 100 years ago in

Kanaginahal Kanaginahal is a village in the Gadag district of Karnataka State in India. The first co-operative society of India was registered in 1905 at Kanaginahal village. Sri Narayana Temple Gadag is famous for the Sri Narayana Temple built during the ...

, and K. H. Patil aided in its modernisation.

Wind-power generation

The district generates wind power at Kappatagudda, Binkadakatti, Beladhadi, Mallasanudra, Mulgund and Gajendragad.

Notable people

Kumara Vyasa Narayanappa ( kn, ನಾರಾಯಣಪ್ಪ), known by his pen name Kumara Vyasa ( kn, ಕುಮಾರವ್ಯಾಸ), was an influential and classical Vaishnava poet of early 15th century in the Kannada language. His pen name is a tribute ...

– 15th century Kannada poet, known for his epic ''Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari'', was born in Koliwada * Chamarasa – 15th century Kannada poet, known for his epic ''Prabhulingaleele'' * Panchakshara Gawai * Bhimsen Joshi – Hindustani singer, was born in Ron * Puttaraj Gawai * Sunil Joshi (cricketer) * Jagannathrao Joshi * Chennaveera Kanavi *

Aluru Venkata Rao Aluru Venkata Rao (also sometimes referred as Aluru Venkata Raya) (12 July 1880 – 25 February 1964) was an Indian historian, writer and journalist. He is revered as Karnataka Kulapurohita (''High priest of the Kannada family'') in the Karn ...

* Fakkirappa Annappa Mulgund - Freedom Fighter and Noted Gandhian

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gadag district Districts of Karnataka 1997 establishments in Karnataka Belgaum division kn:ಗದಗ