Monuments of Karnataka are the witness of its rich culture
and tradition. It is the land which experienced some of the great ancient
dynasties of India and hosts numerous spots of its long history for tourists.
Apart from the dense forests, beautiful beaches and hills this state consists a
number of ancient sculptured temple monuments and heritage monuments. Karnataka
is the state which ranks second highest for its nationally protected monuments.
The State Directorate of Archaeology and Museums protects its 752 monuments
whereas a lot of monuments are in the queue to receive protection. 
The monuments of Karnataka depict the saga of its vast history and can be
traced back from the Indus Valley Civilization in ancient Karnataka. Evidence
of such monuments are present in large amount in the province. It also has
several monuments of third century BC when most of this province was the part
of Nanda Empire and later shifted under the Mauryan Empire of Ashoka`s period.
Karnataka experienced several monuments in Satvahana dynasty that ruled for
four centuries. The decline of this dynasty gave way for the native kingdoms of
the state. These native kingdoms such as Kadambas and Western Gangas emerged as
an independent power and helped to develop monuments in a separate
architectural style. The contribution of the Kadambas in the monuments of
Karnataka is precious.
This style has the most common features is the Shikara or Kadamba Shikara which
is pyramid shaped with a Kalasha at its peak and is similar to the Chalukyan
style and the Pallava style. The famous Madhukeshwara or Lord Shiva temple
still exists in Banavasi city, built by the Kadambas in 10th century. The
wonderful carvings of the temple attracts tourist to that place.The Ganga
dynasty contributed the religious monuments to the state. The famous
Gomateshwara temple, Jain Basadi`s of Shravanabelagola, Kambadahalli and lots
of Hindu temples to the districts of south Karnataka are the witness to their
rich contributions.
In the later period, the other dynasties like Badami Chalukyas, Western
Chalukya Empire and Rashtrakuta Empire of Manyakheta emerged as separate powers
which ruled over the major portions of the Deccan. The Western Chalukya rulers
developed a unique style of architecture that became popular and was accepted
by the Hoysala art of 12th century. The Hoysala dynasty constructed several
religious monuments during their reign to the province in the first millenium.
Their architectures were of the Vesara style of architecture. Then in the
period of Harihara and Bukka Raya dynasty in the early 14th century, they
established the Vijayanagara Empire and constructed many famous monuments.
The monuments of Karnataka experienced a major shift with the decline of
Vijaynagara Empire in 1565. Islamic sultanates took control of the Deccan and
constructed monuments in Islamic styles. Later this dynasty was defeated by the
Mughals in the late 17th century. These rulers encouraged the Islamic style of
building arts. The most famous monument of this period of this style is the Gol
Gumbaz. Several monuments were also constructed by the Nizam of Hyderabad in
the northern parts of Karnataka, by the Mysore Kingdom in the southern parts,
and later by the Britishers during their colonial rule.
Several monuments of Karnataka fall under the list of UNESCO`s World Heritage
Sites. They are the famous Pattadakal monuments and Vijaynagara Empire at
Hampi. The religious monuments famous as the cave temples and the rock temples
present at Badami and at Aihole respectively represent the popular Badami
Chalukyan style of architecture. UNESCO has also proposed to protect the
monuments of the religious Hoysala temples at Belur and Halebidu as the World
Heritage sites. These are the popular tourist destination of Karnataka and
people come to this place for a glimpse of these historical heritage.
