Karnataka is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, and renamed Karnataka in 1973. The state is bordered by the Lakshadweep Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Telangana to the northeast, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. With 61,130,704 inhabitants at the 2011 census, Karnataka is the eighth-largest state by population, comprising 31 districts. With 15,257,000 residents, the state capital Bengaluru is the largest city of Karnataka.
The economy of Karnataka is amongst the most productive in the country with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of ₹25.01 trillion (US$290 billion) and a per capita GSDP of ₹332,926 (US$3,900) for the financial year 2023–24.[10][11] The state experience a GSDP growth of 10.2% for the same fiscal year.[10] After Bangalore Urban, Dakshina Kannada, Hubli–Dharwad, and Belagavi districts contribute the highest revenue to the state respectively. The capital of the state, Bengaluru, is known as the Silicon Valley of India, for its immense contributions to the country's information technology sector. A total of 1,973 companies in the state were found to have been involved in the IT sector as of 2007.
Karnataka is the only southern state to have land borders with all of the other four southern Indian sister states. The state covers an area of 191,791 km2 (74,051 sq mi), or 5.83 per cent of the total geographical area of India.[17] It is the sixth-largest Indian state by area.[17] Kannada, one of the classical languages of India, is the most widely spoken and official language of the state. Other minority languages spoken include Urdu, Konkani, Marathi, Tulu, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kodava and Beary. Karnataka also contains some of the only villages in India where Sanskrit is primarily spoken.
Though several etymologies have been suggested for the name Karnataka, the generally accepted one is that Karnataka is derived from the Kannada words karu and nādu, meaning "elevated land". Karu Nadu may also be read as karu, meaning "black" and nadu, meaning "region", as a reference to the black cotton soil found in the Bayalu Seeme region of the state. The British used the word Carnatic, sometimes Karnatak, to describe both sides of peninsular India, south of the Krishna.[21] With an antiquity that dates to the paleolithic, Karnataka has been home to some of the most powerful empires of ancient and medieval India. The philosophers and musical bards patronised by these empires launched socio-religious and literary movements which have endured to the present day. Karnataka has contributed significantly to both forms of Indian classical music, the Carnatic and Hindustani traditions.
Capital: Bengaluru [Bangalore]
Area: 191,791 km2 (74,051 sq mi)
Population: 61,130,704 (2011)
Official Languages: Kannada
Average Elevation: 460 m (1,510 ft)
Lowest Elevation: −1 m (−3 ft) (Arabian Sea)
Highest Elevation: 1,925 m (6,316 ft) (Mullayyana Giri)
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Pattadakal was early medieval era seat of coronation of the Chalukyan Kings of South Indian Hindu kingdoms. The is located in Karnataka, and contain the surviving collection of temples and artwork from the 7th-9th centuries CE, sponsored particularly the Chalukya and Rashtrakuta dynasties. These temples are historic significance as they display a fusion of architectural styles found in northern and southerns parts of the Indian subcontinent. The site, temples and its religious importance is mentioned in more ancient Hindu texts, as Kisuvolal (valley of red soil), Pattada-Kisuvolal or as Raktapura (city of red color), but the evidence of earlier temples has not survived. Elsewhere the location is also referred to as Petirgal, Pattasilapura or Hammirapura. The Pattadakal monuments consist of nine Hindu temples and one Jain temple built near the left bank of the Malaprabha river where it turns northward towards the Himalayas, considered auspicious in ancient India. The temples are the relatively younger group of monuments, the older ones are found in Aihole and Badami less than 50 kilometer distance. The temples are important not only for their architecture and layout, but for their carvings and artist inscriptions which provide evidence of Hindu and Jaina theology, arts, culture and society between the 7th and 9th century. While the temples and artwork show signs of systematic defacement and damage, much has survived. One Hindu temple in the group of monument remains active. The Pattadakal group is one of many clusters of historic temples in Pattadakal area. The Pattadakal temples show two major style types. The south Indian dravida vimana type is displayed in the Virupaksha, Mallikarjuna and Sangameswara temples. The north Indian rekhanagara prasada type is displayed by the Kadasiddeswara, Jambulinga, Galaganatha, Kasivisweswara and Papanatha temples. But some temples experiment a fusion of the two styles. The Sangameswara temple is the best example of dravida vimana type. The Virupaksha temple of 8th century is the best example of the fruits of creative fusion in terms of the plan, style and integration of arts..
Shravanabelagola Bahubali, Hassan, Karnataka, India
Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur, Karnataka, India
Barachukki Waterfalls, Chamrajnagar, Karnataka, India
Gateway to Bidar fort, Karnataka, India
Murdeshwar temple, Karnataka, India
