Banavasi

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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Madhukeshwara temple, Banavasi

Uttarkannad district map

Banavasi (बनवासी) is an ancient temple town in Sirsi tahsil of Uttara Kannada in Karnataka, India. It is part of Konkan region. It is situated 21 km away from sub-district headquarter Sirsi. It has been mentioned as Vanavasa (वनवास) or Vanavasi (वनवासी) as a country in Mahabharata and Mahavansha.

Variants

• Vanavasa वनवास = Vanavasi वनवासी (AS, p.831)
• Vanavasa Mahavansa/Chapter 29
• Vanaväsa Mahavansa/Chapter 12
• Vanavasi (वनवासी) Mahabharata (II.28.47), (VI.10.57)
• Banavasi (बनवासी) (ಬನವಾಸಿ)
• Banawasi (बनवासी)
• Banwasi (बनवासी)
• Banauasei (Ptolemy)

Location

The location code or village code of Banavasi village is 603318. Banavasi village is located in Sirsi Tehsil of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, India. It is situated 21km away from sub-district headquarter Sirsi and 121km away from district headquarter Karwar . It is situated near the border of Shimoga district. Andagi (10 KM) , Sugavi (13 KM) are the nearby Villages to Banavasi. Banavasi is surrounded by Sirsi Taluk towards west , Siddapur Taluk towards west , Hanagal Taluk towards North , Mundgod Taluk towards North . Sirsi , Sagar , Shikapur , Shiggaon are the near by Cities to Banavasi.

History

A district, probably Northern Kanara, in South India. After the Third Council, Rakkhita Thera was sent there to convert the people, and he preached the Anamatagga Samyutta poised in mid air. It is said that sixty thousand persons embraced the faith, thirty seven thousand joined the Order, while fifty viharas were established in the country.

Mhv.xii.4, 30f.; Sp.i.63 66; Dpv.viii.6. The Vanavasi are mentioned in the Mahabharata (6. 366) and the Harivamsa (5232) as a people of S. India. The Sas (p.12) also mentions a county called Vanavasi, which, however, is the country round Prome in Lower Burma.

Banavasi in Sirsi Karnataka

Banavasi is an ancient temple town in Sirsi, Uttara Kannada in the South Indian state of Karnataka. Banavasi was the ancient capital of the Kannada empire Kadamba who ruled entire Karnataka state. They were the first native empire to give prominence to Kannada and Karnataka.

Banavasi is the oldest town in the Karnataka state. It has grown up around the Madhukeshwara Temple built in the 9th century and dedicated to Shiva. Coin of the Kadamba king who calls himself on the coin "sri dosharashi," thought to be Krishnavarma II (ruled c. 516-540). The reverse of the coin has the legend shashanka, which means "moon." The Kannada letters and another coin can be seen in the entry for Kadambas of Banavasi.

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

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.

Banavasi contains some of the oldest architectural monuments in southern India.

Although most of the ancient grandeur of the dynasty in Banavasi has been lost, an ancient temple for Madhukeshwara (Lord Shiva) is still largely intact, and has been declared a monument of historical importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Located in the western ghats of Northern Karnataka lies a sleepy hill town, that has successfully managed to stay in a bygone time, as the world around it developed at a breakneck speed. Named Banavasi, this town is believed to be the first capital of Karnataka, ruled by the Kadamba Dynasty in 4th century AD. Deep in the rain forests of Western Ghats, on the banks of River Varadha, Banavasi has ancient temples and is blessed by cascading waterfalls and lush green fields during monsoons.

In Mahavansa

Mahavansa/Chapter 29 mentions about The Obtaining of the Wherewithal to build the Great Thupa.....From various (foreign) countries also did many bhikkhus come hither. ...The great thera Candagutta came hither from the Vanavasa country with eighty thousand ascetics.

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Mahavansa/Chapter 12 mentions about The Converting of Different Countries. ....When the thera Moggaliputta had brought the (third) Buddhist council to an end and when, looking into the future, he had beheld the founding of the religion in adjacent countries, (then) in the month Kattika he sent forth theras, one here and one there.....To Vanaväsa he sent the thera named Rakkhita.

In Mahabharata

Vanavasi (वनवासी) is mentioned in Mahabharata (II.28.47), (VI.10.57)

Sabha Parva, Mahabharata/Book II Chapter 28 mentions Sahadeva's victory march towards south: kings and tribes defeated. Vanavasi (वनवासी) is mentioned in Mahabharata (II.28.47). .....The high-souled warrior (Sahadeva), having brought under subjection king Timingila, conquered a Ekapadas, the Purushas, the Kevalas, the Vanavasis. The son of Pandu also conquered the town of Sanjayanti and the country of the Pashandas (Pichchhanda) and the Karahatakas by means of his messengers alone, and made all of them pay tributes to him.

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Bhisma Parva, Mahabharata/Book VI Chapter 10 describes geography and provinces of Bharatavarsha. Vanavasi (वनवासी) is mentioned in the list of Provinces in south in Mahabharata (VI.10.57). .....There are other kingdoms, O bull of Bharata's race, in the south. They are the Dravidas, the Keralas, the Prachyas, the Mushikas, and the Vanavasis; the Unnatyakas, the Mahishakas, the Vikalpas, and also the Mushakas; (VI.10.57).

वनवास = वनवासी

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर ने लेख किया है .....वनवास अथवा वनवासी नामक (AS, p.831): एक प्रदेश का उल्लेख बौद्ध ग्रन्थ महावंश 12, 4 में हुआ है, जिसका अभिज्ञान वर्तमान मैसूर के उत्तरी भाग (उत्तर कनारा) से किया गया है। इस उल्लेख से जान पड़ता है कि मौर्य शासक अशोक के शासन काल में मोग्गलीपुत्र ने रक्षित नामक एक स्थविर को बौद्ध धर्म के प्रचारार्थ यहाँ भेजा था।

महाभारत में सम्भवत: इसी प्रदेश के निवासियों को वनवासी कहा गया है- 'तिमिंगलं च स नृपं वशेकृत्वा महामतिः, एकपादांश्च पुरुषान, केरलान् वनवासिनः।' महाभारत, सभापर्व 31, 69 वायुपुराण 45, 125 और हरिवंशपुराण 95 में भी इस प्रदेश का उल्लेख है। वनवासी या वनवास जनपद का उल्लेख शातकर्णी नरेशों (द्वितीय शती ई.) के अभिलेखों में भी है। यहाँ इन आंध्र राजाओं के अमात्य का मुख्य स्थान था। वनवास प्रदेश का वर्णन 'दशकुमारचरित' के 8वें उच्छ्वास में भी आया है। बृहत्संहिता (14,12) में वनवासी को दक्षिण में स्थित बताया गया है।