Religion The religion of the Kadamba dynasty has been a subject of considerable discussion among historians and epigraphists. Based on the available inscriptions, copper plates, and literary references, scholars have proposed differing interpretations regarding whether the Kadambas followed
Jainism or
Hinduism. No single record explicitly identifies the family's sectarian affiliation, and most historians interpret their faith based on the religious character of their inscriptions and grants. Some scholars such as Vilas Sangave and Hampa N suggest that the Kadambas were Jain Brahmins, (In Jain philosophy, a pratimādhārī shravaka—a layperson with vows-is considered a Brahmin), referring to early figures like the poet Pampa, who was also a Jain Brahmin (Pandit). They also note that the dynasty originated in regions such as Banavasi, Balligavi, and Talagunda, which were strong centres of Jain activity from early historical times. Other modern historians, including Kamath and Sathyan, identify the Kadambas as Vedics. Legends associated with the dynasty provide additional perspectives. One popular account states that Mayurasharma, the founder of the Kadamba dynasty, was born to the sister of a
Jain monk under a
Kadamba tree and was blessed by the monk. Another version, favored by Vedic sources,
Mayurasharma as a Brahmin by birth though his successors may have assumed the surname
Varma to indicate their change to
Kshatriya (warrior) status. He became Kshatriya after a dispute in Kanchi with pallavas and went on to establish the Kadamba kingdom and According to Adiga Inscriptions narrate various land grants to Brahmins that specify their lineage (
gotra) as well as Vedic specialization. According to Vilas Sangave and Hampa. N also note the Kadambas’ close political and cultural association with the Western Ganga dynasty and kadmabas had marital connections with gangas, who were originally Jains. Inscriptions from Belagavi district mentions that two Jain scholars from the region who went to pursue higher studies at Banavasi region, suggesting the presence of a Jain educational institution-possibly an early Jain Mahavihara-in the region. The Talagunda inscriptio mentions word "bamana" and there are numerous records that record grants made to brahmins but which brahmins they have made grants is still debatable. Numerous inscriptions demonstrate the dynasty’s sustained patronage of Jainism. The copper plate grant of
Kakusthavarma begins with the invocation
"Jayati Bhagavan Jinendra" (“Victory to Lord Jina”), a distinctly Jain formula. Archaeological surveys have recorded at least seven Jain inscriptions at Halasi, confirming that Jainism enjoyed royal support. King Mrigesavarma, son of
Santivarma, is recorded to have donated an entire village for
Jain religious observances. His inscription mentions a Jain monk of the Yapaniya order, and the construction of a Jain temple at
Palasika (modern
Halasi). Later rulers, including
Ravivarma and
Harivarma, also continued to patronize Jain institutions and scholars. This showing their strong jain leanings. and many records of King Mrigeshavarma indicate describe donations to Jain temples and that King Ravivarma held a Jain scholar in high esteem. Names of such noted Jain preceptors as
Pujyapada, Niravadya Pandita and Kumaradatta find mention in their inscriptions. Jainas occupied commanding posts of importance in their armies. Inscriptions from the region indicate the presence of
Hindu sects such as Goravas, Kapalikas, Pasupatas, and Kalamukhas. Prominent centers of learning were established at Balligavi and Talagunda, while Vedic education was provided in institutions known as
Agrahara and
Ghatika. Although the Kadambas primarily issued Jain and Hindu grants, they were tolerant of other faiths and also made donations to Buddhist institutions. According to Kamath, the royal capital Banavasi had long been a place of
Buddhist learning also along with Jain learning center. In the seventh century, the Chinese embassy
Xuanzang described Banavasi as a place of one hundred
Sangharamas where ten thousand scholars of both the
Mahayana and
Hinayana Buddhism lived. Grants by a Kadamba king to Sri Nagatta of villages of
Somapatti,
Konginagara,
Mariyasa,
Karpennala,
Kunda-Tapuka,
Velaki,
Vegura,
Kona-Tapuka,
Ekkatthahara and
Sahala is mentioned in Malavalli inscription.
Society Both the sects of Jainism, the
Digambara and the
Śvetāmbara followed a strict qualification process for persons worthy of initiation.
Jinasena's classic
Adipurana counts purity of ancestry, physical health and soundness of mind as the main attributes that made a person worthy of such initiation. Both Jinasena and
Ravisena (author of
Padmapurana) discuss the existence of a
varna (distinction or caste) based society and the responsibilities of each
varna. Majumdar notes that the Buddhist and Jain literature of the period accounts for the four
varna by placing the Kshatriya above the Brahmin. While the Brahminical literature points to a tradition that permitted a Brahmin man to marry a woman of Kshatriya caste, a Brahmin woman was not allowed to marry a non-Brahmin man. Just the contrary seems to be the case with Buddhist and Jain literature which deem the marriage of a Brahmin man to Kshatriya woman as unacceptable but that of a Kshatriya man to a Brahmin woman as acceptable. Thus a caste system was in play with all the three main religions of the times. However, Majumdar does point out the highly assimilate nature of the Hindu society where all the early invaders into India, such as the
Kushans, the
Greeks, the
Sakas and the
Parthians were all absorbed into the Hindu society without a trace of their earlier practices. A unique feature of medieval Indian society was the commemoration of the deceased hero by the erection of memorial stones ("
hero stone"). These stones, the inscriptions and relief sculptures on them were meant to deify the fallen hero. According to Upendra Singh, The largest concentration of such stones, numbering about 2650 and dated to between the fifth and thirteenth centuries, are found in the modern Karnataka region of India. While most were dedicated to men, a few interesting ones are dedicated to women and pets. The Siddhenahalli, the Kembalu and the Shikaripura hero stones extol the qualities of women who died fighting cattle rustlers or enemies. The Gollarahatti and the
Atakur inscription are in memory of a dog that died fighting wild boar, and the Tambur inscription of a Kadamba king of the Goa branch describes his death from sorrow of losing his pet parrot to a cat, and the Kuppatur stone was in memory of a bonded servant who was given the honorific "slayer of the enemy" (
ripu-mari) for bravely fighting and killing a man-eater Tiger with his club before succumbing to his injuries. According to Altekar, the practice of
sati appears to have been adopted well after the
Vedic period, because there was no sanction for the practice in the funeral hymns of the
Rig Veda. According to him, even in the
Atharva Veda, there is only a passing reference of widow being required to lie by the side of her husband's corpse on the funeral pyre, then alight from it before it was lit, for the chanting of hymns to commence that blessed her with future wealth and children. This was an indication that window remarriage was in vogue. Altekar points out that even the authors of the
Dharmasutras (400 BCE – )and the
Smritis (), such as Manu and
Yagnavalkya, do not make any mention of any ritual resembling
sati in their description of the duties of women and widows in society, but rather prescribed the path of worldly renunciation as worthy. It is from about that the practice of
sati begins to appear in the literature of
Vatsyayana,
Bhasa (
Dutagatotkacha and
Urubhanga),
Kalidasa (
Kumarasambhava) and
Shudraka (
Mirchchhakatika), with a real case in when deceased general
Goparaja's wife immolated herself on her husband's pyre. Then around 606, the mother of King
Harshavardhana decided to predecease her terminally ill husband. This however did not find immediate support with noted poets such as Bana () and other
tantra writers who considered
sati inhuman and immoral. However around , the tide began to turn in northern India, especially in Kashmir, but found a later stronghold in Rajasthan. The belief in
sati began to appeal, especially to the warrior classes, and the theory that performing
sati cleansed the deceased husband of earthly sins and assured the couple a place in heaven caught on. Occasionally concubines, mothers, sisters, sisters-in-law and even ministers, servants and nurses joined in the act. What was once a Kshatriya only practice came to be adopted by the Brahmins and even some Jains from around . In the modern Karnataka region (Kadamba territory), there are only eleven cases between and forty-one cases between , mostly in the warrior communities indicating an overall lack of appeal. Physical education was very popular with men. The book
Agnipurana encouraged men to avoid
calisthenics with either partially digested food in their body or on a full stomach. Bathing with cold water after exercises was considered unhealthy. Medieval sculptures depict youth in physical combat training, doing gymnastics such as lifting the weight of the body with both hands, and doing muscular exercises such as bending a crowbar. The terms
malla and
jatti occur often in literature indicating wrestling was a popular sport with the royalty and the commoners. Wrestlers of both genders existed, the woman fighters meant purely for the entertainment to a male audience. Several kings had titles such as
ahavamalla ("warrior-wrestler"),
tribhuvanamalla ("wrestler of the three worlds"). The book
Akhyanakamanikosa refers to two types of combative sports, the
mushtiyuddha ("fist-fight") and
mallayuddha (or
mallakalaga, "wrestling fight"). Wrestlers were distinguished based on their body weight, age, skill, proficiency and stamina. Those who exemplified themselves were recognized and maintained on specific diets. Much of the information we get about activities such as archery and hunting is from classics such as the
Agni Purana (post 7th century) and others. The
Agni Purana says "one who has made the vision of both of his mental and physical eyes steady can conquer even the god of death". An archers proficiency, which depended as much on his footwork as on his fingers and keen eyesight, was proven if he could hit bullseye by just looking down at the target's reflection (
Chhaya-Lakshya in
Adipurana of , or
Matsya-vedha in
Manasollasa of ). Additional information is available in medieval sculptures which depict various archery scenes including one where a lady is taking aim from a chariot. Hunting was a favorite pastime of royalty in forest preserves. It served as entertainment, physical exercise and a test of endurance (
mrigiyavinoda and
mrigiyavilasa). The medieval sculptors spared no effort in depicting hunting scenes. The
Manasollasa describes twenty one types of hunt including ambushing deer at waterholes with the hunting party dressed in green and concealed in the hollows of trees. It mentions a special breed of hunting dogs chosen from places such as the modern
Jalandhar, Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh,
Vidarbha which were preferred for their stamina in chasing and cornering the prey. According to the
Vikramankadevacharita queens and courtesans accompanied the king on horseback.
Architecture (built by the
Hoysalas in the 12th century) and the Hemakuta group of temples in
Hampi built in the 14th century. In addition to temples, according to the art historian K.V. Soudara Rajan, the Kadambas created three rock-cut Vedic cave temples cut out of
laterite at Arvalem in
Goa. Like their temples, the caves too have an
Ardhamantapa ("half mantapa") with plain pillars and a sanctum which contain images of
Surya (the sun god), Shiva and
Skanda. the single shrined (
ekakuta) Tarakeshvara temple (modeled after the
Mahadeva Temple, Itagi) built prior to with an open
mantapa (and an ornate domical ceiling), a closed
mantapa, a linked gateway and a
Nandi mantapa (hall with the sculpture of the Nandi the bull); the Madhukeshwara temple at Banavasi which shows several Later Chalukyas style additions over a pre-existing Early Chalukya surroundings; and the 12th century, three shrined (
Trikutachala) Kadambeshvara temple with open and closed
mantapa at Rattihalli. File:Profile of vimana (shrine and tower) in the Tarakeshwara temple at Hangal.JPG|Tarakeshwara temple at Hangal, built by the Kadambas of Hangal File:Madhukeshwara Temple.JPG|Madhukeshwara temple at Banavasi, built by the later Kadambas of Banavasi File:Mahadev Temple at Tambdi Surla.jpg|The Mahadeva temple at Tambdi Surla, Goa, built by the Kadambas of Goa
Language According to the epigraphist D. C. Sircar, inscriptions have played a vital role in the re-construction of history of literature in India as well as the political history of the kingdoms during the early centuries of the first millennium. Some inscriptions mention names of noted contemporary and earlier poets (Aihole inscription of Ravikirti which mentions the Sanskrit poets Kalidasa and Bharavi). The development of versification and the
Kavya style ("epic") of poetry appears first in inscriptions before making their appearance in literature. Further some
Kavya poets were the authors of inscriptions too (Trivikramabhatta composed the Bagumra copper plates and the Sanskrit classic
Nalachampu). In the early centuries of the first millennium, inscriptions in the Deccan were predominantly in the Prakrit language. Then came a slow change with records appearing in bilingual Sanskrit-Prakrit languages around the middle of the fourth century, where the genealogy information is in Sanskrit while the functional portion was in Prakrit. From around the fifth century, Prakrit fell out of use entirely and was replaced by the Dravidian languages. In the Kannada speaking regions in particular, the trend was to inscribe in Sanskrit entirely or in Sanskrit-Kannada. The credit of the development of Kannada as a language of inscriptions between the fourth and sixth centuries goes to the Kadambas, the Gangas and the Badami Chalukyas. Among the early ones are the Halmidi stone inscription and the Tagare copper plates which are ascribed to the Kadambas. While the main content of the inscriptions were in Sanskrit, the boundary specifications of the land grant were in Kannada. In subsequent two centuries, not only do inscriptions become more numerous and longer in size, these inscriptions show a significant increase in the usage of Kannada, though the invocatory, the implicatory and the panegyric verses are in Sanskrit. Settar points out that there are inscriptions where the implicatory verses have been translated verbatim into Kannada also. In fact Kannada composed in verse meters start making their appearance in inscriptions even before being committed to literature. Inscriptions in Sanskrit and Kannada are the main sources of the Kadamba history. The Talagunda, Gudnapur, Birur, Shimoga, Muttur, Hebbatta,
Chandravalli,
Halasi and
Halmidi inscription are some of the important inscriptions that throw light on this ancient ruling family of Karnataka. Inscriptions of the Kadambas in Sanskrit and Kannada ascribed to Kadamba branches have been published by epigraphists Sircar, Desai, Gai and Rao of the Archaeological Survey of India. The Kadambas minted coins, some of which have Kannada legends which provide additional numismatic evidence of their history. The Kadambas (along with their contemporary Ganga dynasty of Talakad) were the first rulers to use Kannada as an additional official administrative language, as evidenced by the Halmidi inscription of . The historian Kamath claims Kannada was the common language of the region during this time. While most of their inscriptions are in Sanskrit, three important Kannada inscriptions from the rule of the early Kadambas of Banavasi have been discovered. Recent reports claim that the discovery of a 5th-century Kadamba copper coin in Banavasi with
Kannada script inscription
Srimanaragi indicating that a mint may have existed in Banavsi that produced coins with Kannada legends at that time. The discovery of the Talagunda Lion balustrade inscription at the Praneshvara temple during excavations in 2013, and its publication by the
ASI in 2016, has shed more light on the politics of language during the early Kadamba era. The bilingual inscription dated to 370 CE written in Sanskrit and Kannada is now thought to be the oldest inscription in the Kannada language. ==In modern times==