This book is a revised version of my doctoral thesis, "The Cult of Vishņu in Karnataka", submitted to the Karnatak University, Dharwad. History of religious systems in Karnataka has not drawn as much attention of the scholars as it deserves. In the present work, an attempt has been made to cover the history of one of the prominent religious systems of Karnataka, viz. Vaishnavism, upto the beginning of the 14th Century A.D., principally on epigraphical and sculptural data. The iconographic aspects of the Vaishnava sculptural themes are also considered here.
The work has assumed its present form owing to the help, support and encouragement I have lavishly drawn from several individuals and institutions; and acknowledging this I deem a matter of pleasure.
The research was carried out under the guidance and supervision of Prof. A.Sundara, formerly the Chairman of the Department of Ancient Indian History and Epigraphy, and now Director of the Karnatak University Post Graduate Centre, Bijapur. He has made invaluable suggestions in shaping this work. I owe him a deep debt of gratitude.
I have benefited greatly by the encouragement from my revered teachers, Professors Dr. S.H.Ritti, Dr. B.K.Gururaja Rao and Dr. S.L.Shantakumari. My colleagues in the Department, Prof. H.R.Raghunath Bhat and Mr. H.S.Kamble, have always been friendly in their gesture. Dr. S. Nagaraju, Professor of History at the Central University, Hyderabad, Dr. K.Krishnamurti and Dr. B.Narasimhaiah, both Superintending Archaeologists in the Archaeological Survey of India, and Dr. Carol Radcliffe Bolon, U.S.A., have made very useful constructive comments on the work. I am grateful to all these persons.
In the early stages, the research was financially supported by a Junior Research Fellowship of the UGC, for granting which I place on record my thanks to the authorities of the University Grants Commission. I also thank the authorities of the Karnatak University for permitting me to publish this work.
My sincere thanks are due to the authorities, librarians and the staff of the libraries affiliated to the Karnatak University, Dharwad; Kannada Research Institute, K.U., Dharwad; Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune; Office of the Director, Epigraphy, Archacological Survey of India, Mysore; Directorate of Archaeology and Museums in Karnataka, Mysore; and Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi, for their help and cooperation during my research.
I must express my gratefulness to my friends for their constant goading and encouragement: Sri L.S.Rao and Dr. S.V.P. Halakatti, both Dy. Superintending Archaeologists in Archaeological Survey of India; Dr. Muralidhar Mudhol, Delhi; Dr. K.G.Bhatsoori and Mr. Balasubramanya of Kannada University, Hampi; Dr. L.N.Swamy, Mysore; Mr. N.V.Joshi, Curator, Madikeri; Mr. T.S. Gangadhara, Mysore; Dr. R.M.Shadaksharaiah, Director, KRI, Dharwad; Mr. Girji, Dharwad; Mr. Shivashankar, Additional Director, Archaeology and Museums, Mysore, and all the staff members of the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums in Karnataka, Mysore.
I am grateful to Mr. Raghavendra Kulkarni and Mr. Naidu, Mysore, for providing me with certain photographs and to Mr. C.R.Kadkol and Mr. Girish Kulkarni for helping me with typing work.
To my parents and brothers, who stood by me in hard times, and to my wife Uma and sons Vikram, 14, and Vivek, 6 who prepared the index, I find no words to adequately express my gratitude.
Dr. C.S.Patil, Dy. Director of Archaeology and Museums, Mysore, and his better half Smt. Vinoda Patil, evinced keen interest in speedy publication of this work and made my stay most comfortable in Mysore. Words are really inadequate to express my gratitude to them.
I must also thank Kum. Hemalatha H.S. of DTP Comptek Computer Systems, Mysore, for neat composing and Mr. S.Umesh and his staff the CFTRI, Mysore, for quality printing.
My sincere and special thanks are due to Dr. D.V.Devaraj, Director, Archaeology and Museums in Karnataka Mysore, not only for the keen interest he showed in taking up this work for publication on behalf of his Department but also for illuminating this book with an apt foreword.
Of the many facets of Karnataka's glorious past, the history of religious systems is a rich but less explored area for serious research. It is perhaps for this reason that the works dealing with the history of Karnataka, when it comes to religious aspects, often restrict themselves to mentioning the patronage extended to various religions by multitudes of royal dynasties, and hardly choose to dwell upon such aspects as the nature and form of particular religious systems, the changes emerging from time to time, the undercurrents effecting such changes and the like. None can deny that understanding these latter aspects in an historical perspective is of signal importance in our incessant pursuit to get at a total history of any region.
The present book by Dr. Shrinivas V.Padigar is a significant contribution towards minimising this long felt lacuna in Karnataka's history. He has chosen to examine the development of Vaishnavism in its various aspects in Karnataka upto the beginning of 14th Century.
In this work, Dr. S.V. Padigar has subjected the sumptuous epigraphical and sculptural wealth of Karnataka to an in-depth analytical investigation for reconstructing the nature and form of Vaishnavism in several distinct phases. He first makes a critical survey of the studies relating to Vaishnavism, and provides a brief account of historical, theological and philosophical aspects of Vaishnava subsects as a background. Then he proceeds to inquire into the archaeological and, to same extent, literary data with an emphasis on identifying the factors that have contributed to theological changes in the beliefs of Vishņu-Văsudēva worshippers in the region of Karnataka. He has also dealt with the iconographic aspects of Vaishnava sculptural themes, with appropriate illustrations, to show the evolution towards standard iconic forms. His conclusions, which are summarised in the last chapter, are indeed interesting and revealing. After going through this book, it will not be surprising if one feels the need for similar studies in respect of the other religious systems in Karnataka.
The Directorate of Archaeology and Museums in Karnataka is happy to bring out this book in print. I am sure that the world of scholars and the general readers alike will welcome this publication.
The Directorate is grateful to the DTP Comptek Computer Systems, Mysore, for their neat composing work and to the authorities of the CFTRI, Mysore, particularly Mr. S.Umesh and his colleagues, for the beautiful printing work.
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