Banavasi

History

Banavasi is one of the oldest towns in the Karnataka state. It has grown up around the Madhukeshwara Temple built in the 5th century and dedicated to Shiva the supreme God in Shaivism, a major branch of Hinduism.

5th-century copper coin was discovered here with an inscription in the Kannada script, one of the oldest such coins ever discovered.

Ādikavi Pampa, the first poet of Kannada, wrote his epics in Banavasi.

The town once was the capital of the Kadamba rulers, an ancient royal dynasty of Karnataka. They established themselves there in A.D. 345 and ruled South India for at least two centuries.