Karakala

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Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

Karakala (कारकल) is a town and taluk in the Udupi district of Karnataka, India.

Variants

Location

Karkala is located at 13.2°N 74.98°E. It has an average elevation of 81 metres (265 feet). Located about 60 km from Mangalore, it lies near the Western Ghats. Karkala has a number of natural and historical landmarks. It is located at the bottom of Western Ghats covered with greenery year-round. It is a major junction for religious tourists due to its strategic location along the way to Hebri, Sringeri, Kalasa, Horanadu, Udupi, Kollur and Dharmasthala.

Origin

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 Kannada. Some assert that the original name was 'Kari Kola' meaning 'elephant lake' in Kannada which is the existing 'Anekere'. Tulu-speaking people call the town Karla, Kannadigas call it Karkala, and the Roman Catholics call it Karkol. Its alternative name, Jain Tirtha, 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.

Jat clans

History

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 then finally to Karkala (ಕಾರ್ಕಳ).

Ancient legends: 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 King Bhairava between 13th and 16th centuries. They 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 right from the time of the Hoysalas. During the Vijayanagara period this family reached new heights of glory. Their kingdom extended over a wider area comprising Sringeri, Koppa, Balehonnur and Mudigere in Chikamagalur and most of the Karkala taluk. They were rich and maintained a large army. Despite engaging in wars, peace prevailed in the kingdom and this led to increased cultural activity and development.

The first important King was Veera Bhairava, who constructed basadis at Karkala and endowed land and money to numerous temples and basadis. Ramanatha and Veerapandya were his two sons. Ramanatha died during his father's time. In his memory, a scenic lake called Ramasamudra was created, which still survives.

King Veera Pandya, at the insistence of his Guru Lalitakeerti, the pontiff of Karkala Jaina Math, installed a large statue of Bahubali on the rocky hill of Karkala. The date of the installation has been ascertained as 13 February 1432. Veera Pandya also installed the Brahmadeva Pillar in front of the statue in 1436.

Abinava Pandya ascended the throne next and it was he who installed a carving of manastambha in front of the Neminatha Basadis in Hiriyangadi in 1457 AD. An intricately carved 54-foot-high (16 m) pillar stands in front of the Basadis. The Neminatha Basadis was renovated in 1946. An oriental school with free boarding and lodging facilities is being run here by the Bhujabali Brahmacharya Ashrama.

Abhinava Pandya's successor was Pandya VI. He built the Kere Basadis in the middle of a lake called Anekere in 1545 AD. It is in this lake that the king's elephants used to bath. The Basadis and the lake still exist.

The next important king was Immadi Bhairava (Bhairava II). He constructed the Chaturmukha Basadis on top of a small rocky hill in 1586 AD. The Basadis has four identical entrances from the four quarters leading to the Garbagriha and hence is popularly known as Chaturmukha Basadis. It is referred to as Tribhuvana Tilaka Jina Chaityalaya and Ratnaraya Dhama in some inscriptions. The Chaturmukha Basadi is built in the form of a square mandapa or hall with a lofty doorway and pillared portico on each of its four sides and a pillared verandah. The roof is flat and is made of massive granite slabs. It has life size statues of three theerthankaras on each side and small images of 24 Tirthankara. It took 30 years to construct this temple. In all, there are 108 pillars inside and outside the temple.

This place also came under the rule of Tippu Sultan, known as the Tiger of Mysore. In addition to his role as ruler, he was a scholar, soldier, and poet. It was under him that some of the untold and disappearing landmarks of Karkala (ಕಾರ್ಕಲ್) were made. One of the most imminent of the time was the Kotay kani moat made in front of the Karkal Kotay castle, which was used during his war against the East India Company. In this war against East India Company, few of Indian Kingdom of Mysore's elite soldiers with huge contribution and service towards the land and kingdom were granted Title and Land in the township of Karkalla. One such title is Karkala Patayath(K.P). Second such marvel of the same regime is to discover the usage of a Gavi (or cave) route to travel to various surrounding location unseen through the mountains located near Shivati Kere (Lord Shivas lake).

There are 18 Basadisof antiquity, including Mahaveera Basadi, Chandranathaswamy Basadi, Adinathaswamy Basadi, Ananthanatha Basadi, Guru BasadiBasadi, and Padmavathi BasadiBasadi. 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.[1]

Religion

Jainism is widely practised in Karkala, and is a pilgrimage destination for Jains due to its historical importance in the Jain religion. The single stone 41.5 feet (13 m) statue Gommateshwara (Lord Bahubali) is located about 1 km from the center of the town and is the second tallest in Karnataka. There are about 18 Jain Basadis in Karkala, including the Chaturmukha Basadi, Hiriyangaddi Neminatha Basadi, and Anekere Padmavathi Basadi, all of which are listed in Archaeological Survey of India. This statue of Lord Bahubali was installed at Karkala on 13 February 1432 on the instructions of the pontiff of Karkala, Lalitakeerti. There are several other temples, mosques, and churches in and around Karkala. St. Lawrence minor basilica is situated on the outskirts of Karkala whereas Christ king church in the town.

There are good number of Gouda Saraswath Brahmins who are settled in this area and have been contributing a large way to the local economy in terms of trade, agriculture and industries.

The other statues of Bahubali in the state are at Shravanabelagola installed by Chavundaraya, which is 57 feet tall, at Venur installed by Timmaraja, which is 35 feet (11 m) tall, and at Dharmasthala installed by Dr. Veerendra Heggade, which is 39 feet (12 m) tall.

कारकल

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[2] ने लेख किया है ...कारकल (मैसूर) (AS, p.172) - मूडबद्री से 10 मील दूर यह जैनों का तीर्थ है. चौरासा पर्वत पर ऋषभ तथा अन्य तीर्थंकरों का मंदिर है जिसमें 10 हाथ ऊँची प्रतिमाएं हैं. दक्षिण की और पहाड़ पर बाहुबली की मूर्ति है जो 42 फुट ऊंची है. इस मूर्ति का निर्माण 1432 ई. में कारकल के महाराज वीर पांड्य ने करवाया था. यह मूर्ति पहाड़ी पर कहीं और से लाकर प्रतिस्थापित की गई थी. कन्नड़ काव्य 'कारकल गोम्मटेश्वर चरित्र' में वर्णन है कि इस मूर्ति को लाने के लिए 20 पहियों की गाड़ी बनवाई गई थी और इसे पहाड़ी पर पहुंचाने में एकमास लगा था. (देखें: कारस्कर)

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References