You may have a lot of questions about the art and architecture of Karnataka. There may be queries about the various heritage touring circuits. You might like to understand what went into designing, planning and constructing monuments over a thousand year ago. You may still wish to know how art and architecture progressed during the ancient and medieval times in Karnataka. This book attempts to answer a lot of these questions, for example: 1.What is the name of the first established Village in South India and where is it located? 2.Where did the earliest gold miners live in Karnataka? 3.Which was the first Agrahara established in Karnataka? 4.Which is the first existing temple dedicated to Siva in Karnataka? 5.Which is the first existing temple dedicated to Krishna in Karnataka? 6.What roles did temples have other than being the places of worship? 7.Which is the first temple dedicated to Rama in Karnataka? 8.What was Karnataka referred to as in the Puranic times? 9.Which is the first existing temple dedicated to Shakti in Karnataka? 10.How old is the Kannada language?

Research on the Ayurvedic materia medica, in particular its drugs of plant origin, is a venture bristling with pitfalls despite the apparent confidence displayed in the lists of botanical identifications of medicinal plants in numerous publications on the subject. This self-assurance is unwarranted in quite a few cases, as this study will demonstrate.The majority of these lists of botanical equivalents of Sanskrit plant names are not based on own research; instead, they usually reflect a consensus reached somehow among Indian ayurvedic scholars. The course of events that resulted in this agreement remains uninvestigated. Setting aside the role of leading authorities and trend-setting publications, one of the factors involved may be the significance of a seemingly trustworthy and scientifically-looking pharmacopoeia for the Indian ayurvedici in their competition with western medicine. In this respect the developments referred to are understandable.From a strictly scientific point of view caution is required. When trying to take stock of the situation, one's attention is arrested by the prevalence of North-Indian influences and opinions in the secondary literature on the Indian materia medica. The concurrence mentioned is a North-Indian product that may be looked upon as an artefact since regional differences in the identifications tend to be disregarded. Though exceptions do occur, most often books by authors hailing from northern India fail to pay attention to the plants employed under the same Sanskrit names in southern India and areas such as, for instance, Gujarat and Orissa.

The Freedom Movement in North Karnataka was more intensified widespread and radical than in the other areas of Karnataka. The sudden emergence of the associations and organizations is one of the achievements of anti partition movement, which was turned as Swadeshi movement in India general and in Bengal particular. Most of such the Samitis or national volunteer movements were quite open bodies engaged in a variety of activities. Physical and moral training of members, social work during famines, epidemics, religious festivals, preaching the Swadeshi message through multifarious forms, organizing crafts, school arbitration courts and village societies, implementing the techniques of passive resistance to the foreign rule

The kiratas janapadas, kingdoms, principalities, urban culture, subjugation by the contemporary rulers, dynastic rule in northern India and Nepal, based on a large number of rare sources have received extensive and deep attention in a subtle and penetrating way. The author has brought to light several valuable facets relating. The work is based on interdisciplinary research. The author has critically examined the relevance of historical, anthropological and linguistic data. The work is of immense academic value not only for historians but also for anthropologists and linguists.

One of the most fascinating episode in the religious history of Southern India is the rise of the Virasaiva movement. These heroic followers of Siva-also called Lingayatas-are characterized by a unique combination of intense devotion and social reformation. The movement arose in the twelfth century under the charismatic leadership of Basava. Men and women from every backgroud, highcaste as well as untouchable, joined the experimental community of the Virasaivas. They has their own sacred literature in the form of short poems in the vernacular language of the region: Kannada.