The oldest capital of the Kannada country, on the Varada, from the Kadamba kings of the fourth century.
The Madhukeshwara temple is the centre. Someshvara IV, the last Chalukya of Kalyani, made it his refuge and was beaten by Ballala II about 1190 (Wikipedia). By 1200 it is a temple town and market in forest and rice country, held for the Hoysala through an officer we cannot name, with the Hangal Kadamba chief beside him.
Who holds it
- Name
- A Hoysala governor (not named); the Banavasi-12,000 country is the Kadamba chief's old title
- Title
- lord or governor
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
A Hoysala governor (not named); the Banavasi-12,000 country is the Kadamba chief's old title
What the town holds
By Ballala II's war of about 1190.
Allies and rivals
The Hangal Kadamba chief; the Yadava claim from the north.
How things stand that morning
Hoysala since about 1190. Quiet town in a contested province.
Communities
Brahmin temple-families; Jain households; forest-edge peoples
Fairs and markets
The Madhukeshwara festival; its month is not pinned in our sources
Walls and castle
Old earthworks and a moat of the Kadamba city (state in 1200 not known)
Trade and crafts
Rice, areca, pepper from the forest slopes, timber; the Kadamba heritage shrines
Places of note
- Madhukeshwara temple: the Kadamba-period Shiva temple
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The temple and the history are firm; the 1200 governor is not named.
Primary sources for Hoysala kingdom
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Epigraphia Carnatica: inscriptions of the Mysore country, Various (Hoysala chancery and temple scribes), edited by B. Lewis Rice and R. Narasimhachar (inscriptions of the 4th to 19th centuries; the series ran from 1886 to 1905, revised from 1972). The Hoysala kingdom of Veera Ballala II (reigning 1173 to 1220) is documented almost wholly by the inscriptions in this series, arranged by district and taluk with full English translations. Read online
- Inscriptions of the Silaharas, Various (Silahara chanceries), edited by V. V. Mirashi (inscriptions of the 9th to 13th centuries; edited 1977). Collects the records of the three Silahara houses: North Konkan (Thana), South Konkan, and Kolhapur.
- Sanskrit and Old Canarese Inscriptions relating to the Yadava Kings of Devagiri, Various (Yadava chancery), edited by J. F. Fleet (inscriptions of the 12th and 13th centuries; edited 1876). The first collected edition of the Yadava (Seuna) records, with texts and translations, from the Indian Antiquary. Read online
- South Indian Inscriptions (Archaeological Survey of India), Various (Chola, Pandya and other chanceries and temple scribes), edited by E. Hultzsch, V. Venkayya, H. Krishna Sastri and successors (inscriptions of the 7th to 17th centuries; the series ran from 1890). The temple inscriptions printed here are the primary record of the Tamil country in 1200. Read online
Sources and studies
- Hoysala Empire, Wikipedia (read for this sheet)
- Veera Ballala II, Wikipedia (read for this sheet)
- Kadambas of Hangal, Wikipedia (read for this sheet)
- OMNIA board notes for the place (a lead, checked against the other sources)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.