Karkala - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Karkala

Encyclopedia

Karkala is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...

/Konkani

Konkani language

KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...

: ಕಾರ್ಕಳ [kaːrkəɭɐ]) is a town and the headquarters of Karkala taluk

Karkala taluk

Karkala taluk is a taluk om the Udupi District of the Indian state of Karnataka. The headquarters is the town of Karkala....

in the Udupi district

Udupi district

Udupi district , ಉಡುಪಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ) in the Karnataka state of India was created in August 1997. The three northern taluks, Udupi, Kundapur and Karkal, were separated from Dakshina Kannada District to form Udupi district. Udupi district is surrounded by Uttara Kannada district in north, Dakshina Kannada...

of Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Located about 380 km from Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

, it lies near the Western Ghats

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...

.

The town was called Pandya Nagari (ಪಾಂಡ್ಯ ನಗರಿ) during the period of Jain rule, and later became known as Karikallu (ಕರಿಕಲ್ಲು), then Karkal (ಕಾರ್ಕಲ್) and finally to Karkala.

Karkala has a number of natural and historical landmarks.

Etymology

Black granite is abundant in the area, and is in wide use in the local architecture. The name of the town is derived from kari-kal, meaning black stone in Tulu.Some assert that the original name was 'Kari Kola' meaning 'elephant lake' which is the existing 'Anekere'. Tulu-speaking people call the town Karla. Muslims, and Kannadigas call it Karkala, and the Roman Catholics call it Karkol. Its alternative name, Jain Thirtha, is the result of 300 years of Jain rule. It was called Karkal by the English; later, it was called Karkala in Kannada. Karkala is on the top of a granite bed that is about 300–500 ft thick.

History

The Alupas were the first to rule Karkala. Their rule was followed by the Santaras, who were the feudatories of Alupas for many years. Karkala, or ancient Pandya Nagari, attained political and cultural importance from the time of the Kalasa-Karkala kingdom that was established by Bhairarasa Odeyas between 13th and 16th centuries. The Bhairarasas appear to be the descendants of the Santara chiefs, who ruled the western ghats region around the 11th century AD.

The royal family of Karkala rose to prominence during the time of the Hoysalas. During the Vijayanagara period, they expanded their kingdom to cover Sringeri, Koppa

Koppa

Koppa is an archaic letter-like numeral character of the Cyrillic writing system. Its form are derived from the Greek letter Koppa ....

, Balehonnur

Balehonnur

Balehonnur is a small city in the Chikkamagaluru district of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located on the bank of the Bhadra River and is a green, picturesque place, with an average rainfall of 80 inches a year and is dominated by coffee estates, arecanut, paddy fields, pepper, vanilla...

, and Mudigere

Mudigere

Mudigere is a panchayat town in Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is 35 km from the district headquarters. Several pilgrimage sites such as Dharmasthala , Horanadu, Kalasa, Sringeri are near to the town...

in Chikamagalur and most of the Karkala taluk.

The king Veera Bhairava constructed basadis at Karkala and endowed land and money on numerous temples and basadis. Ramanatha and Veerapandya were his two sons. Ramanatha predeceased his father, and in his memory, a lake called Ramasamudra was created, which still survives. Later, King Veera Pandya installed a large statue of Bahubali

Bahubali

According to Jainism, Bahubali, called Gomateshwara , was the second of the hundred sons of the first Tirthankara, Rishabha, and king of Podanpur. The Adipurana, a 10th century Kannada text by Jain poet Adikavi Pampa According to Jainism, Bahubali, called Gomateshwara , was the second of the...

on the rocky hill of Karkala. The date of the installation has been ascertained as February 13, 1432. Veera Pandya also installed the Brahmadeva Pillar in front of the statue in 1436. His successor, Abinava Pandya, installed an intricate 54 feet (16.5 m) carving of manastambha in front of the Neminatha Basadi in Hiriyangadi in 1457 AD. Later, Pandya VI built the Kere Basadi in the middle of a lake called Anekere in 1545 AD.

There are 18 basadis of antiquity, including Mahaveera Basadi, Chandranathaswamy Basadi, Adinathaswamy Basadi, Ananthanatha Basadi, Guru Basadi, and Padmavathi Basadi. However, the rulers of Karkala were tolerant towards other religions. Therefore, temples of other religions exist, including the temples of Anantashayana and Venkataramana, Mahamaya Mukhyaprana, and Adi Shakti. The St Lawrence Church was built in 1845 in a village called Nitte (Attur hamlet) where people of all religions congregate every year in January for the feast of St Lawrence.

Religion

Karkala is a town of historical importance and a pilgrim centre for Jains. The single stone 42-foot (13 m) statue Gomateshwara (Lord Bahubali

Bahubali

) is located about 1 km from the center of the town and is the second tallest in Karnataka . There are about 18 Jain basadi

Basadi

Basadi is a Jain shrine or temple.The word is generally used in South India, including Maharashtra. Its historical use in North is preserved in the names of the Vimala Vasahi and Luna Vasahi temples of Mount Abu...

s here. This statue of Lord Bahubali was installed at Karkala on February 13, 1432 on the instructions of the pontiff of Karkala, Lalitakeerti. There are several other temples, mosques and churches in and around Karkala. Several jain temples were constructed namely Chaturmukha Thirthankara Basadi, Hiriyangaddi Neminatha Basadi, and Anekere Padmavathi Basadi. All of these sites mentioned are listed in Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India.

The other statues of Bahubali

Bahubali

in the state

Karnataka

are at Shravanabelagola

Shravanabelagola

Shravana Belgola is a city located in the Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is 158 km from Bangalore. The statue of Gommateshvara Bahubali at Śravaṇa Beḷgoḷa is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Jainism, one that reached a peak in architectural and sculptural...

installed by Chamundaraya, which is 57 feet tall, at Venur

Venur

Venur or Venoor is a small village on the banks of the Phalguni river in the South Kanara of Karnataka, India. It was once the seat of Jainism and the capital....

installed by Timmaraja, which is 35 feet (11 m) tall, and at Dharmasthala

Dharmasthala

Dharmasthala is a temple village on the banks of the Nethravathi River in the Belthangadi taluk of the Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka....

installed by D. Veerendra Heggade

Veerendra Heggade

Dharma Adhikari Veerendra Heggade is a philanthropist and the hereditary administrator of the Dharmasthala Temple. He succeeded to the post of dharmadhikari at the age of 20, on October 24, 1968 becoming the 21st Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala Temple dedicated to the Hindu God...

, which is 39 feet (12 m) tall.

Mahamasthakabhishekam

Every twelve years, hundreds of thousands of Jain devotees congregate to perform the Mahamastakabhisheka

Mahamastakabhisheka

The Mahamasthakabhisheka is an important Jain festival held once every twelve years in the town of Shravanabelagola in Karnataka, India. The festival is held in veneration of an immense 18 meter high statue of the siddha Bahubali...

, a ceremony where the Gommateshwara statue is bathed and anointed with milk, water, and saffron

Saffron

Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel...

paste and sprinkled with sandalwood

Sandalwood

Sandalwood is the name of a class of fragrant woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods they retain their fragrance for decades. As well as using the harvested and cut wood in-situ, essential oils are also extracted...

powder, turmeric, and vermilion. The last Mahamastakabhisheka was held in February 2002, and the next will be in 2014. An annual Rathotsava is held in February.

Landmarks

Karkala is a piligrimage location for Jains and it attracts tourists. There are several Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

temples, Jain basadi

Basadi

s, mosques, churches and lakes in Karkala.

Padutirupathi Karkala

Padutirupathi is a temple dating back to the 14th century when the Jain Bhairarasa Odeyars ruled Karkala and surrounding place. It still serves as a gathering place for the people of Karkala today.

St. Lawrence Shrine

St. Lawrence Shrine, or Attur church, was built in the 18th century by Christians who fled Portuguese rule in India. It is a Catholic church dedicated to St. Lawrence, and serves the Christian population of India.

Geography

Karkal is located at 13.2°N 74.98°E. It has an average elevation of 81 metres (265 feet).

Meteorological Details

City area	23.06 km².
Number of properties	9526 habitats
Length of roads	77.5 km
Total water supply	2 MLD
Type of land	Wet
Water supply source	Mundli River
Summer temperature	38C
Winter temperature	24C
Annual rainfall	4372.7mm
Agriculture crops	Paddy, coconut, arecanut, jackfruit
Latitude	13.2000
Longitude	74.9833
Altitude (feet)	265
Lat (DMS)	13°11'60 N
Long (DMS)	74°58'60 E
Altitude (meters)	80

Demographics

India census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Karkal town had a population of 25,118. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Karkal has an average literacy rate of 82%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85%, and female literacy is 79%. In Karkal, 9% of the population is under six years of age. According to recent statistics by town municipality, 25,635 people currently reside in this town, while as per the recent statistics Karkala taluk has a population of 2.10 Lacs (previous 2001 census is 2,04,571).

Language and people

Karkala is a multicultural and multilingual city that follows four religions, namely Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

, Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

and Jainism

Jainism

Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...

. Tulu

Tulu language

The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...

, Kannada

Kannada language

Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...

, Urdu, and Konkani

Konkani language

are the most prevalent local languages, though Hindi and English are also well understood. There are also Tuluva communities, Urdu and Bearys speaking Muslims, Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

-speaking Maharashtrian Brahmins (chitpavans) and a few Maratha Kshatriyas. The Protestant Christians Tulu or Konkani.

Tradition

Hulivesha

Hulivesha "Tiger Masque" is a folk dance unique to the Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka. Hulivēṣa is performed during Navratri to honour the goddess Sharada - an aspect of Saraswati whose favoured animal is the tiger...

(Tiger dance) is a unique form of folk dance in Dakshina Kannada. It is considered as the favored carrier of Goddess Sharada (the deity in whose honor Dussera is celebrated), and is performed during the Dussera celebration. It is also performed during other festivals like Krishna Janmasthami. Bhuta Kola or spirit worship is practised, usually at night. Kambala, or buffalo racing, is also conducted in paddy fields. Korikatta (Cockfighting) is another favourite sport for village people. Nagaradhane, or snake worship, is also practised, according to the popular belief that the Naga Devatha go underground and guard the species above. Konkani speaking GSBs have their own tradition of celebrating Rathotsava and Deepotsava like the Kannada speaking Brahmins.

The Christians in Karkala celebrate a special feast called Saanth Maari, also known as Attur Church festival, for three days. Thousands of people from all over India attend.

The Muslims offer prayers five times a day at the Masjids and eid prayers at Eidgah on Eid ul fitr and Eid ul adha occasions and Jains have their Jain Milans yearly.

Administration

The Karkala Town Municipal Council (Karkala Purasabhe in Kannada; ಕಾರ್ಕಳ ಪುರಸಬೆ) is the municipal corporation. Also, Karkala comes under Udupi-Chikkamaglur LokaSabha Constituency.

Transportation

State and national highways are the main mode of transportation in Karkala. The closest airports and railroads are in Bajpe

Bajpe

Bajpe is a census town in located close to Mangalore city in Dakshina Kannada district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is around 18 km from the heart of the city of Mangalore. The Mangalore International Airport is located at Bajpe and is popularly known as the Bajpe...

in Mangalore

Mangalore

Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...

and Indrali in Udupi,

Roads connected

Karkala is connected to 3 major state roads and one major highway.

National Highway 13 (Karkala-Mudabidri-Mangalore)
State Highway-66 (Karkala-Nitte-Padubidri)which is also connected to National Highway 17 (India)
National Highway 17 (India)
National Highway 17, commonly referred to as NH 17, now renamed as NH 66, is a busy National Highway in India that runs roughly north-south along the western coast of India, parallel to western ghats. It connects Panvel, near Mumbai to Kochi, passing through the states of Maharashtra, Goa,...
State Highway-37 (Karkala-Bailur-Manipal-Udupi) and
State Highway-25 (Karkala-Hebri-Agumbe,Thirthalli).

Commerce

In this semi-urban township Industries are limited to cashew, rice, and coconut-oil only. There is one dynamite factory at Varanga village.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Etymology

History

Religion

Mahamasthakabhishekam

Landmarks

Padutirupathi Karkala

St. Lawrence Shrine

Geography

Meteorological Details

Demographics

Language and people

Tradition

Administration

Transportation

Roads connected

Commerce

See also

External links