Buddhism in North Karnataka

Jain Bunt) Buddhism in Northern Karnataka has seen major development after the discovery of an Ashoka inscription at Maski in Raichur District a few decades ago and of a Buddhist settlement through a series of archaeological excavations at Sannati which have shed light on the historic significance of Karnataka.

The Satavahana may have been a Karnataka dynasty, as Dharwad and Bellary Districts are called Shantavahani Hara (or Shantavahana region).

The Satavahana were successors to the Mauryas and ruled in Banavasi, as is evident from the Nasik inscription of Gautamiputra Satakarni and the copper plates from Hirehadagali.

The Uttara Kannada area of Banavasi has their inscription at Vasan in Dharwad District, and there are remains of a brick temple.

Here are some of the earliest structural temples in stone in the country, dating from 450 AD, including one of the 4 Buddhist shrines in Karnataka.

Sannati,[4][5][6] Chitapur Taluk, Gulbarga District, on both banks of the river Bhima, that many Buddhist stupas of the Shatvahana times have been found.

Sannati, which date back to the 1st to 3rd century AD, the oldest among the Karnataka Buddhist sites and monuments.

Sannati which resembles Amravati and was the Buddhist centre of the Shatvahana period of pre Christian era and stands as a significant cluster of dozens of Buddhist relics, which include 2 stupas, 3 mounds, 1 fortification, 4 major rock edicts and more than 75 contemporary inscriptions.

They include remnants of stupas, stone pottery for holy bones and ayaka stambha which has symbolic representation of birth, parinishnishkramana, enlightenment, preaching and nirvana (salvation) of Buddha.

The Chinese traveller Xuanzang (Hieun Tsang) has stated that during the time of Pulakeshin II in 642 AD in Banavasi or Konkanpura, there were 400 Sangharamas and 10000 followers of Buddhism.

A Dambala inscription of 1095 AD, begins with the customary invocation namo buddhyana and goes go to describe at length the greatness of Tara bhagavati.

Inscribed on the pedestal of this icon are the words "siddham om namo bhagavatayai Aryatarayai", and followed by the usual statement of the Buddha's teaching in brief.