Dreams

Dream Analysis & Interpretation
What type of dream are you dealing with?
To interpret your dreams, you need to determine what type of dream you are dealing with. There are two categories that they fit into, those that are generated from within your physical body and mind and those that come from your spirit guides or tutors. They have different purposes and its necessary to recognize what these differences mean to you and how they interact in your waking and dreaming state.
Two main categories
The dreams that originate with the physical body are for your functioning and survival in the world of physical nature. They deal with your physical and psychological well being. These dreams are like your manager and janitor who try to keep body and mind tidy for your general well being.
Then, there are those dreams that have a mystical and special characteristic to them which are for your spiritual development and progress. They produce instant knowledge and information that is beyond your ability to garner through intellectual or logical means.
Why you get information when you sleep
When you are asleep, so is the physical component of your self. The five senses, smelling, tasting, feeling, seeing, and hearing, and your ego, the controlling master, are all temporarily suspended from activity. Sleeping allows the other sense that you have, the sixth sense, to take over for awhile with out much interference. This is when both the physical body and your spiritual essence can perform maintenance simultaneously to help unwrinkled parts of your life. It’s ironic that this is the state of being that psychics and mediums practice for years to achieve, and everyone enters it every time they fall asleep.
There are several components to each dream category:
Dreams from the physical body
Dreams from the spiritual realm
Food
Health
Psychological
Precognitive and future
New information or knowledge
The deceased or spirit guides visit you.

Dreams from the physical bodyFood: Did you ever notice that when you take a nap after you’ve eaten lunch that you can have some crazy images go through your mind. The same thing happens at night too, because food can trigger some wild and wacky dreams. If you enjoy these psychedelic excursions, then take note of what you had to eat before hand and repeat the process. On the other hand, if you’re not interested, then take note of what you ate and make certain to avoid eating whatever it was. Food is one of the generators of dreams, which are not worth interpreting.
Health Your subconscious knows a lot about you that you don’t, or maybe don’t care to know. Often times it will tell you something about your practices or lifestyle to tip you off about what its needs are. In dreams it tries to get the point across to you, sometimes politely, at other times not so.
Psychology: Stressful relationships and social situations can cause our mind to get out of kilter but our subconscious intervenes to straighten things out.

Dreams from the spiritual world Those special visits, instructions, lessons and guidance that we receive that are sometimes (but not always) interwoven with one of those mundane dreams your body generates. They are hidden and disguised because you are not supposed to know where the information is coming from. Like it’s a big secret. You are led to think that you dreamed up all those unique thoughts and ideas all by your little ol’ self. The bad news is that they occur much less frequently than the run of the mill physical dreams. The good news is that when you do experience them, you get the feeling that something special has occurred. Even if you can’t figure out what it means, there is a profound sense of purpose or message behind it. When experienced, they become landmarks in many people’s lives leaving them with a permanent and unforgettable impression of otherworldliness embedded deep within their subconscious mind.







Getting knowledge and information from your dreams
You have the unlimited knowledge of the universe available at all times. It’s just a dream away. Some of the very important discoveries in science were made through the help of a dream.
Information for scienceEdison is said to have invented the light bulb with the aid of a dream. In fact he used dreams quite a lot for his ideas.
Dmitry Mendeleyev provided the world of chemistry and physics the Periodic Table of Elements in 1869. The Table, for which he missed the Nobel Prize in chemistry by one vote, came to him in its completed form in a dream.
All knowledge pre-exists in the universeRemember that all knowledge already exists in the universe. Infinite quantities of knowledge and information have not yet been transmitted to the minds of humans. Who knows how many other important and mundane discoveries remain to be accessed. We tend to think of future inventions and discoveries, but in reality, these things already exist in the knowledge bank of the universe. It’s all a matter of transmission from there to here. You can access this information through your dreams. Solve your personal problems or invent something. Prior to falling asleep, program your mind to access the information in a dream. Be persistent and keep trying. You’ll get a response.
Medical Information for health problemsRick had been jogging for six months when suddenly he developed an itching on his feet that wouldn’t go away. The problem area was at the point where the hard callous on the bottom of his feet met the soft skin tissue on the side. He tried every remedy that was available at the pharmacy with out success. Then he had the following dream: A picture of his foot appeared, a hand began painting the itchy area with a cotton swab with an orange colored liquid. Then he heard the word merthiolate End of dream.
Later that afternoon, he recalled the dream and decided to try it out. Within an hour of its first application the itching was gone. He claims that after a few more applications, the itch never returned to bother him again.
Business information from a dreamHarold went to bed one night completely stressed out. He had a building contractor client that was looking for a parcel of newly developed lots that he could purchase. Harold hadn’t been able to find what his client wanted and was worried that he was about to loose him. The moment he awoke in the morning, and before he opened his eyes, he heard words in his mind. "Basin Hill Sanctuary". There was something peculiar about the way the words came to him. He began an investigation, which led him to a newly paved road named Basin Hill and on it a piece of land that was being cleared for streets. He found the only sign on the property that had hand painted words, "The Sanctuary" He was astonished at this discovery. The owner had developed the land and hadn’t yet advertised it. After some negotiations, his client bought the land from the owner.
You can obtain this information also.
In all three of these cases, the dreamer received help from outside of their subconscious mind’s scope of knowledge. Even though they didn’t specifically solicit the dream state for the help that they received, they were made the beneficiaries of freely available universal knowledge. Anyone can have the same access if they make the effort to get it. These individuals had experienced a connection to a higher and greater power and their lives benefited by the encounter. Again, the only requirement is that you actively seek out this information by programming your self to get it while you dream.


































Dream Interpretation - Instructions How to Interpret and Analyze Your Dreams
You can interpret your dreams!Your dreams are full of symbols and allegories. (Stories that are told that have a meaning other than the story itself.) When you venture into the realm of dream interpretation you must try to decode your dream, you need to dissect it into the separate fragments and examine each for its particular meaning. Each one contains a small nugget of the whole picture. Dreams are composed of a collage of little parts of your own life experience that are stored away in your brain symbolically.
Simply using a dictionary of dreams can be misleading, because these interpretations had a value to the composer of the list, which may have been a part of his or her personal experience. Someone else’s experiences don’t create the same symbols that your own mind has created. You need to develop your own set of interpretations for the symbols that are particular to your own life’s experiences.
Divide and conquer!That is one of the basic strategies that military commanders have known since antiquity. Splitting your opponent’s concentrated power into sizable chunks makes it that much easier to overcome him. Then he can be taken out piece by piece. This is the strategy to use in dream interpretation, Divide and analyze!
Here are some of the basic parts in most dreams:
You: You are directly involved or observing yourself.
Other actors: Each one is a separate actor.
The scene: There can be more than one.
The action: There can be more than one.
The object: There can be a theme or an object involved.
The end result: End results are not present in all dreams.
The technique: Take every part of the dream and separate it from the rest. Use a separate piece of paper to record your observations. With each part do the following: Recalling from your own memory; what feelings this part has for you, what memories does it evoke, who and what does it remind you of, what impression do you have for it. Add every notion you can come up with. Restrict your analysis strictly to each individual part, and not how it played a role in the dream.
After you have done this with all the parts, review what is going on in your life at the present time. Now you are ready to fit the puzzle together. Remember, you are the only one who has the information to make the final interpretation. It’s all stored in the memory bank of your brain

Health Dreams InterpretationWhat Are They Telling You?
A Health Dream is one way your body can signal you when something’s wrong or needs your attention. Pain is a tool to tell you something is wrong. There are other things that are signals that are indicators about your health, not feeling well, dizziness, weakness, etc. Dreams are another way that you can find out about your health. Your subconscious will sometimes get your attention through your dreams.
Below are a few simple examples of Health Dreams that will demonstrate this. Remember to use the ‘Divide and analyze’ technique to interpret all dreams.
Jackie’s first encounter with food while sleeping was a novelty. In a dream someone was feeding food to her and she was eating it. The whole thing seemed amusing to her. Some time later, she had another dream involving food. However, the second dream wasn’t so amusing. When the food arrived at her face, it was being forcibly being crammed down her throat so that she couldn’t breath. She woke up in a terror gasping for air, her heart pounding away. It took a while before she could return to sleep. Upon awakening, her first thought was about the dream. She felt as though a mean person was trying to punish her with the food. It was then that she assessed herself realistically; she had recently put on quite a bit of weight, she ate constantly and made light of the fact as though it was an accomplishment to be proud of. Now she realized that her body was protesting her abuse of it and that her recently acquired eating habit was not a laughing matter. This second dream woke her up and she began a weight loss program to lose the excess baggage.
Jackie didn’t recognize what the first dream was trying to tell her. When she didn’t respond accordingly, her subconscious turned up the heat to get its message across.
Lisa played worked out at the gym and played tennis regularly. She was in her thirties and in the best of health. In her Health Dream a neatly dressed man kept staring at her breasts, she felt self-conscious and turned away trying to ignore him. He appeared in front of her again still staring at her, and while still in the dream, she noticed that one of her breasts was larger than the other. Upon awakening she examined herself and discovered a lump on the right side. She consulted a physician and began treatment immediately.
Lisa’s subconscious mind gave her an early warning signal to check herself out. She had neglected to do this previously because of her excellent physical condition.
Your subconscious mind is aware of everything that is going on in your body. It tries to talk to you when you are awake, but if that doesn’t work, it can use your dreams as the communication link. You just need to analyze your dreams and look for the meanings.


Interpretation of a psychological dream
Life’s experiences sometimes rub us the wrong way. When something happens that contradicts our sense of ‘what ought be’ regarding our view of right or wrong, good and bad, it can make us pretty unhappy and affect our outlook on life. Unfulfilled wishes and desires are another have much the same effect.
Through our dreams, the subconscious mind tries to provide us with just the right dream at just the right time, to compensate for the many things that cause our peace of mind to get out of balance.
If we have fears, it tries to feed us those fears little by little in coded dreams to help us overcome them. Occasionally it uses the brute force of a nightmare to get its point across.
If we have unfulfilled desires it may provide us with a substitute to alleviate the sense of lacking.
Some of these dreams are pretty straight forward and at other times they are embedded in deeply symbolic presentations taken from our own memory bank of experiences. To solve the riddle of our dreams we need to sort out the feelings, meanings, and the memories of what all these symbols mean to us from our experience.
Here are a few simple examples:
Right and wrong
Art is a hard working and honest immigrant from Hungary who scrapping to make ends meet. He has a Hungarian friend named Hector who made a false claim for a faked injury on a train platform in NYC. Even though he had no witnesses to his fall, the city paid him a large amount of money to settle the claim. Art is dismayed and almost delirious with anger. How could his friend be rewarded for dishonesty while he worked so hard just to get by. He became discouraged and his outlook on life and sense of right and wrong suffered.
Several months later Art had a vivid dream. He witnessed his friend Hector being arrested for fraud, the police handcuffed him and a nearby judge ordered him deported back to Europe. End of dream.
Was his friend really arrested or deported? No. It only happened in Art’s dream. But as he told the story of the dream, there was a sense of relief in his voice that somehow justice was done. His subconscious delivered Art back to his old cheery self through a dream. It gave him a substitute for justice in a dream which he accepted.


Her fear overcome
The upper bridge in Margaret’s mouth became loose one day. It didn’t actually come out, it just loosened a bit. The thought of it falling out in front of other people petrified her. She didn’t have a lot of money and couldn’t get it repaired. She lived in constant fear of this happening and for months ate liquid foods hoping to prevent it from happening. Then she had a dream. In the dream the thing she feared most happened. The bridge fell out in front of a lot of people. Then she just took it and pushed it back in her mouth and it stayed there. End of dream.
She stopped worrying about her bridge falling out. That was approximately five years prior to the telling of the dream and it still hadn’t fallen out.
These are examples of how the subconscious mind helps to keep us in balance psychologically. Although the actual cause for the worry and concern was not really resolved for these two people, a dream provided them with a substitute for the real thing.
Other dreams may not be so straight forward and may require the use of the divide and analyze technique.












Future Dreams Interpretation Precognition
Two weeks before his assassination, Abraham Lincoln had a dream that there was a funeral at the White House. In the dream he asked a soldier who was in the casket and the reply was, "the president of United States". Later when he told his wife about the dream, she remarked that he would die in office.
Could he have prevented his death? It’s possible, had the dream told him how he would die. Then, instead of letting his lone personal bodyguard have the night off, he might have been more preoccupied with his own safety. However, it’s most certain that his death was deemed to happen, and that he was allowed to remain blind to his own fate by disregarding the message of his precognitive dream.
Mark Twain had a very real dream where he saw his brother in a casket. He didn’t know what to do about it and let it go. Less than a week later, his brother was killed in an explosion on a boat. Upon arriving at the town where it took place, he saw his brother laid out in a casket just like in his dream. Again, had the dream given him more specific details about his brother’s death, perhaps he could have warned him.
Unchangeable FutureIn both these cases, we have precognitive dreams of the unchangeable kind. They told the future, while not giving enough details for any one to change the predetermined outcome. Whatever happened, happened because it was already in the universal plan and this kind cannot be changed.
Changeable Future
Then there are the precognitive dreams of the changeable kind that allow someone to change the future. Immediately after the Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean, there were at least two dozen reports of people who canceled their trip because of precognitive dreams they had about the sinking. No one knows how many had the same warning and ignored it, going to a death they could have avoided. There is one businessman that had the same precognitive dream three times and chose to ignore the warning. He still intended to make the trip until a sudden turn in business forced him to cancel.
The Titanic gives a good example of the changeable future. Those that interpreted their dreams as a warning continued to live. They were given enough details so they could change their future. Those who ignored the warning perished. The businessman is an example of how an unchangeable future can’t be changed. For in spite of stubbornly ignoring three dream warnings, he was forced to cancel due to a sudden business problem. His unchangeable future plan required that he remain alive.


Even ordinary events sometimes have unchangeable future
Nancy had a dream where she heard herself saying, "I can’t find Jason" Upon awakening she somewhat puzzled by its meaning, since she knew only one person named Jason, a coworker. A week later, Jason was traveling in Canada for their firm and her boss asked her to locate him. Knowing his complete itinerary, she started calling everywhere, even calling his wife to see if she knew where he was. After a whole day without success, she was somewhat distressed and went to her boss saying, "I can’t find Jason". At that very moment she recalled the dream from a week earlier. This is an example of an unchangeable future. Insignificant as it may seem, it was an event that was meant to happen. Had she understood its meaning at the outset, she could have avoided using those words.
A changeable future event of the ordinary mundane kind
Sheryl had a dream about walls being cracked and broken. When she awoke she checked her house and everything was intact. Momentarily, the thought entered her mind about an apartment she was renting to some tenants. Then she just forgot about it. About a month later the tenants were about to move from the apartment she owned and in discussing the move got into a minor dispute with them. After they left she went to inspect the apartment and found that they had punched holes in the walls of three rooms for spite.
Here is a case of the changeable future. Had she taken the dream more seriously, she would have expanded her concern not just for her own house, but to the apartment she owned. Further, she could have had the foresight to avoid getting into a tiff with the tenants and avoided a spiteful response from them.
These examples should give you some insight in how to view dreams. By giving precognitive dreams more credence and looking further into them for more precise information you can benefit from this free information. Whenever you have a dream that seems significant but is unclear, you should be looking for further clarification.
You can get clarification by going back to the source. Prior to falling asleep, think about what type of information you need to clarify a previous dream. Instruct yourself to have a clarifying dream and when it comes, to awaken you. Be sure to have writing material handy. Remember! Don’t give up after only one try, keep trying and you’ll get something.






A Visit From the Deceased or Spirit Guides
Appearances from loved ones that have passed on occur fairly frequently. In our sleeping state we are closer to them than when in the waking state. The reason being that our five senses and our ego are at rest allowing our sixth sense or our higher self the freedom it needs to make these communications happen.
In the sleeping state, everyone gets a chance to be close to the veil that is the dividing line between the physical state and the spiritual one. Mediums continually practice focusing themselves so that they can attain this state in order to communicate with the deceased. This requires quite a bit of time and effort on their part. However, the sleeping person is already there nearby.
A symbol in a dream
Sometimes a deceased loved one can become a part of our dreams as one of the actors in the play of coded symbols. Then through the divide and analyze interpretation technique, we use the memories associated with them to understand the meaning behind that particular dream. Your subconscious uses these loved ones just like every other symbol in its composition of a dream.
A visitation is more than a dream
There is a noticeable difference between a dream and a visitation. In the latter, the spirit of the loved one appears spontaneously and unexpectedly as the unmistakable central focus. Its image may be much brighter than in an ordinary dream. It can simply be a face to face momentary meeting with a full or partial image and no more than that. Or, it can involve an issue that has some relevance between the person and the spirit. In either case, the visitation usually leaves the dreamer with a feeling of otherworldliness about the encounter when they awake.
A visit from a friend
When Sandra was a sophomore in high school she was part of a small group of close knit friends. Whenever something was happening, they always went as a group. One day several of the boys skipped school and went swimming in an old quarry. One of them drowned. She had a difficult time dealing with it and used to pray for him regularly. Quite some time after, he appeared to her in a vivid dream. He was his very gregarious self again, wearing new shiny clothes. He was standing on a platform against which there was a ladder. She felt happy and excited and began to climb the ladder, he said in a clear consoling voice, "Sandra, stop worrying about me, I’m fine." With that the dream ended. After this dream, she felt whole again and accepted his death. She felt that he had spoken to her from heaven.
They just drop in to say "Hi"
Spirits don’t only come to resolve issues, they may appear just because the opportunity presents itself like friends that drop in unexpectedly and unannounced. Don’t ever be frightened by their appearance, greet them just as though they were in the flesh.

Karnataka

Karnataka (Kannada: ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ, pronounced [kəɾˈnɑːʈəkɑː] (help·info)) is a state in the southern part of India. It was created on November 1, 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as the State of Mysore, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973.
Karnataka is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. The state covers an area of 191,791 km2 (74,051 sq mi) or 5.83% of the total geographical area of India. It is the eighth largest Indian state by area, the ninth largest by population and comprises 29 districts. Kannada is the official and most widely spoken language.
Though several etymologies have been suggested for the name Karnataka, the generally accepted one is that Karnataka is derived from the Kannada words karu and nādu, meaning elevated land. Karu nadu may also be read as Karu (black) and nadu (region), as a reference to the black cotton soil found in the Bayaluseeme region of Karnataka. The British used the word Carnatic (sometimes Karnatak) to describe both sides of peninsular India, south of the Krishna River.[3]
With an antiquity that dates to the paleolithic, Karnataka has also been home to some of the most powerful empires of ancient India. The philosophers and musical bards patronised by these empires launched socio-religious and literary movements which have endured to the present day. Karnataka has contributed significantly to both forms of Indian classical music, the Carnatic(Karnataka Music) and Hindustani traditions. Writers in the Kannada language have received the most number of Jnanpith awards in India. Bangalore is the capital city of the state and is at the forefront of the rapid economic and technological development that India is experiencing.
Contents[hide]
1 History
2 Geography
3 Sub-divisions
4 Demographics
5 Government and administration
6 Economy
7 Transport
8 Culture
9 Religion
10 Language
11 Education
12 Media
13 Sports
14 Flora and fauna
15 Tourism
16 Notes
17 References
18 External links
//

[edit] History
Main articles: History of Karnataka, Political history of medieval Karnataka, and Origin of Karnataka's name

Hoysala Empire sculptural articulation in Belur
The history of Karnataka can be traced back to a paleolithic hand-axe culture evidenced by discoveries of, among other things, hand axes and cleavers in the region. Evidence of neolithic and megalithic cultures have also been found in the state. Gold discovered in Harappa was found to be imported from mines in Karnataka, prompting scholars to hypothesize about contacts between ancient Karnataka and the Indus Valley Civilization in 3000 BCE.[4][5] Prior to the third century BCE, most of Karnataka was part of the Nanda Empire before coming under the Mauryan empire of Emperor Ashoka. Four centuries of Satavahana rule followed, allowing them to control large areas of Karnataka. The decline of Satavahana power led to the rise of the earliest native kingdoms, the Kadambas and the Western Gangas, marking the region's emergence as an independent political entity. The Kadamba Dynasty, founded by Mayurasharma, had its capital at Banavasi;[6][7] the Western Ganga Dynasty was formed with Talakad as its capital.[8][9]

Statue of Ugranarasimha at Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
These were also the first kingdoms to use Kannada in administration, as evidenced by the Halmidi inscription and a fifth-century copper coin discovered at Banavasi.[10][11] These dynasties were followed by imperial Kannada empires such as the Badami Chalukyas,[12][13] the Rashtrakuta Empire of Manyakheta[14][15] and the Western Chalukya Empire,[16][17] which ruled over large parts of the Deccan and had their capitals in what is now Karnataka. The Western Chalukyas patronised a unique style of architecture and Kannada literature which became a precursor to the Hoysala art of 12th century.[18][19]
At the turn of the first millennium, the Hoysalas gained power in the region. Literature flourished during this time, which led to the distinctive Kannada literary metres and the construction of temples and sculptures adhering to the Vesara style of architecture.[20][21][22][23] The expansion of the Hoysala Empire brought parts of modern Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu under its rule. In the early 14th century, Harihara and Bukka Raya established the Vijayanagara empire with its capital, Hosapattana (later named Vijayanagara), on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in the modern Bellary district. The empire rose as a bulwark against Muslim advances into South India, which it completely controlled for over two centuries.[24][25]
In 1565, Karnataka and the rest of South India experienced a major geopolitical shift when the Vijayanagara Empire fell to a confederation of Islamic sultanates in the Battle of Talikota.[26] The Bijapur Sultanate, which had risen after the demise of the Bahmani Sultanate of Bidar, soon took control of the Deccan; it was defeated by the Moghuls in the late 17th century.[27][28] The Bahamani and Bijapur rulers encouraged Urdu and Persian literature and Indo-Saracenic architecture, the Gol Gumbaz being one of the high points of this style.[29]

An inveterate enemy of the British, Tippu Sultan was one of the most powerful rulers in India before the advent of the British Raj
In the period that followed, parts of northern Karnataka were ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad, the British, and other powers. In the south, the Mysore Kingdom, former vassals of the Vijayanagara Empire, was briefly independent.[30] With the death of Krishnaraja Wodeyar II, Haidar Ali, the commander-in-chief of the Mysore army, gained control of the region. After his death, the kingdom was inherited by his son Tippu Sultan.[31] To contain European expansion in South India, Haidar Ali and later Tippu Sultan fought four significant Anglo-Mysore Wars, the last of which resulted in Tippu Sultan's death and the incorporation of Mysore into the British Raj in 1799.[32] The Kingdom of Mysore was restored to the Wodeyars and Mysore remained a princely state under the British Raj.
As the "doctrine of lapse" gave way to dissent and resistance from princely states across the country, Kittur Chennamma, Sangolli Rayanna and others spearheaded rebellions in Karnataka in 1830, nearly three decades before the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Other uprisings followed, such as the ones at Supa, Bagalkot, Shorapur, Nargund and Dandeli. These rebellions which coincided with the 1857 war of independence were led by Mundargi Bhimarao, Bhaskar Rao Bhave, the Halagali Bedas, Venkatappa Nayaka and others. By the late 19th century, the freedom movement had gained momentum; Karnad Sadashiva Rao, Aluru Venkata Raya, S. Nijalingappa, Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Nittoor Srinivasa Rau and others carried on the struggle into the early 20th century.[33]
After India's independence, the Maharaja, Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, allowed his kingdom's accession to India. In 1950, Mysore became an Indian state of the same name; the former Maharaja served as its Rajpramukh (head of state) until 1975. Following the long-standing demand of the Ekikarana Movement, Kodagu and Kannada speaking regions from the adjoining states of Madras, Hyderabad and Bombay were incorporated into the Mysore state, under the States Reorganization Act of 1956. The thus expanded state was renamed Karnataka, seventeen years later, in 1973.[34]

[edit] Geography
Main articles: Geography of Karnataka and Rainfall in Karnataka

Jog Falls are the highest plunge waterfalls in India, formed by Sharavathi River
The state has three principal geographical zones: the coastal region of Karavali, the hilly Malnad region comprising the Western Ghats and the Bayaluseeme region comprising the plains of the Deccan plateau. The bulk of the state is in the Bayaluseeme region, the northern part of which is the second largest arid region in India.[35] The highest point in Karnataka is the Mullayanagiri hills in Chikkamagaluru district which has an altitude of 1,929 metres (6,329 ft). Some of the important rivers in Karnataka are the Kaveri, the Tungabhadra, the Krishna and the Sharavathi.
Karnataka consists of four main types of geological formations[36] — the Archean complex made up of Dharwad schists and granitic gneisses, the Proterozoic non-fossiliferous sedimentary formations of the Kaladgi and Bhima series, the Deccan trappean and intertrappean deposits and the tertiary and recent laterites and alluvial deposits. Significantly, about 60% of the state is comprised of the Archean complex which consist of gneisses, granites and charnockite rocks. Laterite cappings that are found in many districts over the Deccan Traps were formed after the cessation of volcanic activity in the early tertiary period. Eleven groups of soil orders are found in Karnataka, viz. Entisols, Inceptisols, Mollisols, Spodosols, Alfisols, Ultisols, Oxisols, Aridisols, Vertisols, Andisols and Histosols.[36] Depending on the agricultural capability of the soil, the soil types are divided into six types, viz. Red, lateritic, black, alluvio-colluvial, forest and coastal soils.
Karnataka experiences four seasons. The winter in January and February is followed by summer between March and May, the monsoon season between June and September and the post-monsoon season from October till December. Meteorologically, Karnataka is divided into three zones — coastal, north interior and south interior. Of these, the coastal zone receives the heaviest rainfall with an average rainfall of about 3,638.5 mm (143 in) per annum, far in excess of the state average of 1,139 mm (45 in). Agumbe in the Shivamogga district receives the second highest annual rainfall in India.[37] The highest recorded temperature was 45.6 °C (114 °F) at Raichur and the lowest recorded temperature was 2.8 °C (37 °F) at Bidar.
About 38,724 km2 (14,951 sq mi) of Karnataka (i.e. 20% of the state's geographic area) is covered by forests. The forests are classified as reserved, protected, unclosed, village and private forests. The percentage of forested area is slightly less than the all-India average of about 23%, and significantly less than the 33% prescribed in the National Forest Policy.[38]

[edit] Sub-divisions
Main article: Districts of Karnataka

Districts of Karnataka
There are 29 districts in Karnataka—Bagalkote, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore Urban, Belgaum, Bellary, Bidar, Bijapur, Chamarajanagar, Chikkaballapur,[39] Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Dakshina Kannada, Davanagere, Dharwad, Gadag, Gulbarga, Hassan, Haveri, Kodagu, Kolar, Koppal, Mandya, Mysore, Raichur, Ramanagara,[39] Shimoga, Tumkur, Udupi and Uttara Kannada. Each district is governed by a district commissioner or district magistrate. The districts are further divided into sub-divisions, which are governed by sub-divisional magistrates; sub-divisions comprise blocks containing panchayats (village councils) and town municipalities.
As per the 2001 census, Karnataka's six largest cities sorted in order of decreasing population were, Bangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Mysore, Gulbarga, Belgaum and Mangalore. Bangalore is the only city with a population of more than one million. Bangalore Urban, Belgaum and Gulbarga are the most populous districts, each of them having a population of more than three million. Gadag, Chamarajanagar and Kodagu districts have a population of less than one million.[40]

[edit] Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Karnataka
According to the 2001 census of India, the total population of Karnataka is 52,850,562, of which 26,898,918 (50.89%) are male and 25,951,644 (49.11%) are female, or 1000 males for every 964 females. This represents a 17.25% increase over the population in 1991. The population density is 275.6 per km² and 33.98% of the people live in urban areas. The literacy rate is 66.6% with 76.1% of males and 56.9% of females being literate.[2] 83% of the population are Hindu, 11% are Muslim, 4% are Christian, 0.78% are Jains, 0.73% are Buddhist, and with the remainder belonging to other religions.[41]
Kannada is the official language of Karnataka and spoken as a native language by about 64.75% of the people. Other linguistic minorities in the state as of 1991 are Urdu (9.72%), Telugu (8.34%), Marathi (3.95%), Tamil (3.82%), Tulu (3.38%), Hindi (1.87%), Konkani (1.78%), Malayalam (1.69%) and Kodava Takk (0.25%).[42] The state has a birth rate of 2.2%, a death rate of 0.72%, an infant mortality rate of 5.5% and a maternal mortality rate of 0.195%. The total fertility rate is 2.2.[43]
In the field of super-specialty health care, Karnataka's private sector competes with the best in the world.[44] Karnataka has also established a modicum of public health services having a better record of health care and child care than most other states of India. In spite of these advances, some parts of the state still leave much to be desired when it comes to primary health care.[45]

[edit] Government and administration
Main articles: Government of Karnataka, Unification of Karnataka, and Taluks of Karnataka

Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore (seat of the Legislative Assembly)
Karnataka, like other Indian states, has a parliamentary system of government with two democratically elected state legislatures, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. The Legislative Assembly consists of 224 members who are elected for five-year terms.[46] The Legislative Council is a permanent body which consists of 75 members with one-third of its members retiring every two years.[46]
The government of Karnataka is headed by the Chief Minister who is chosen by the ruling party members of the Legislative Assembly. The Chief Minister along with the council of ministers, drives the legislative agenda and exercises most of the executive powers.[47] However, the constitutional and formal head of the state is the Governor who is appointed for a five year term by the President of India on the advice of the union government.[48] The citizens of Karnataka also elect 28 members to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament.[49] The members in the state assembly elect 12 members to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.

The emblem of Karnataka state
For administrative purposes, Karnataka has been divided into four revenue divisions, 49 sub-divisions, 29 districts, 175 taluks and 745 hoblies/revenue circles.[50] The administration in each district is headed by a Deputy Commissioner who belongs to the Indian Administrative Service and is assisted by a number of officers belonging to Karnataka state services. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, an officer belonging to the Indian Police Service and assisted by the officers of the Karnataka Police Service, is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues in each district. The Deputy Conservator of Forests, an officer belonging to the Indian Forest Service, also serves the government. Sectoral development in the districts is looked after by the district head of each development department such as Public Works Department, Health, Education, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, etc. The judiciary in the state consists of the Karnataka High Court (Attara Kacheri) in Bangalore, district and session courts in each district and lower courts and judges at the taluk level.
Politics in Karnataka has been dominated by three political parties, the Indian National Congress, the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party.[51] Politicians from Karnataka have played prominent roles in federal government of India with some of them having held the high positions of Prime Minister and Vice President. Border disputes involving Karnataka's claim on the Kasaragod[52] and Sholapur[53] districts and Maharashtra's claim on Belgaum are ongoing since the states reorganisation.[54] The official emblem of Karnataka has a Ganda Berunda in the centre. Surmounting this are four lions facing the four directions, taken from the Lion Capital of Asoka at Sarnath. The emblem also carries two Sharabhas with the head of an elephant and the body of a lion.

[edit] Economy
Main articles: Economy of Karnataka, Software industry in Karnataka, and Banking in Karnataka

GSDP Growth of the Karnatakan Economy over the previous years
Karnataka, which had an estimated GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) of about Rs. 2152.82 billion ($ 51.25 billion) in the 2007-2008 fiscal year, is one of the more economically progressive states in India.[55]
The state registered a GSDP growth rate of 7% for the year 2007-2008.[56] Karnataka's contribution to India's GDP in the year 2004-05 was 5.2%.[57] Karnataka was the fastest growing state over the past decade in terms of GDP and per capita GDP. With GDP growth of 56.2% and per capita GDP growth of 43.9%, Karnataka now has the sixth highest per-capita GDP of all states.[58] Till September 2006 Karnataka received a Foreign Direct Investment of Rs. 78.097 billion ($ 1.7255 billion) for the fiscal year 2006-07, placing it third among the states of India.[59] At the end of 2004, the unemployment rate in Karnataka was 4.94% compared to the national rate of 5.99%.[60] For the fiscal year 2006-07, the inflation rate in Karnataka was 4.4%, compared to the national average of 4.7%.[61] As of 2004-05, Karnataka had an estimated poverty ratio of 17%, less than the national ratio of 27.5%.[62]
Nearly 56% of the workforce in Karnataka is engaged in agriculture and related activities.[63] A total of 12.31 million hectares of land, or 64.6% of the state's total area, is cultivated.[64] Much of the agricultural output is dependent on the southwest monsoon as only 26.5% of the sown area is irrigated.[64]
Karnataka is the manufacturing hub for some of the largest public sector industries in India, including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, National Aerospace Laboratories, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Indian Telephone Industries, Bharat Earth Movers Limited and Hindustan Machine Tools, which are based in Bangalore. Many of India's premier science and technology research centers, such as Indian Space Research Organization, Central Power Research Institute ,Bharat Electronics Limited and the Central Food Technological Research Institute, are also headquartered in Karnataka. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited is an oil refinery located in Mangalore.
Since the 1980s, Karnataka has emerged as the pan-Indian leader in the field of IT (information technology). As of 2007, there were nearly 2,000 firms operating out of Karnataka. Many of them, including two of India's biggest software firms, Infosys and Wipro are also headquartered in the state.[65] Exports from these firms exceeded Rs. 50,000 crores ($12.5 billion) in 2006-07, accounting for nearly 38% of all IT exports from India.[65] All this has earned the state capital, Bangalore, the sobriquet Silicon Valley of India.[66]

Contribution to economy by sector
Karnataka also leads the nation in biotechnology. It is home to India's largest biocluster, with 158 of the country's 320 biotechnology firms being based here.[67] The state also accounts for 75% of India's floriculture, an upcoming industry which supplies flowers and ornamental plants worldwide.[68]
Seven of India's leading banks, Canara Bank, Syndicate Bank, Corporation Bank, Vijaya Bank, Karnataka Bank, Vysya Bank and the State Bank of Mysore originated in this state.[69] The coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada have a branch for every 500 persons -- the best distribution of banks in India.[70] As of March 2002, Karnataka had 4767 branches of different banks with each branch serving 11,000 persons, which is lower than the national average of 16,000.[71]

[edit] Transport
Main articles: Transportation in Karnataka and List of National Highways in Karnataka

Kingfisher Airlines which is based in Bangalore.
Air transport in Karnataka, as in the rest of the country, is still a fledgling but fast expanding sector. Karnataka has airports at Bangalore, Mangalore, Hubli, Belgaum, Hampi and Bellary with international operations from Bangalore and Mangalore airports. Airports at Mysore, Gulbarga, Bijapur, Hassan and Shimoga are expected to be operational by the end of 2007.[72] Major airlines such as Kingfisher Airlines and Air Deccan are based in Bangalore.
Karnataka has a railway network with a total length of approximately 3,089 kilometres (1,919 mi). Until the creation of the South Western Zone headquartered at Hubli in 2003, the railway network in the state was in the Southern and Western railway zones. Several parts of the state now come under the South Western Zone, with the remainder under the Southern Railways. Coastal Karnataka is covered under the Konkan railway network which was considered India's biggest railway project of the century.[73] Bangalore is extensively connected with inter-state destinations while other important cities and towns in the state are not so well-connected.[74][75]
Karnataka has 11 ports, including the New Mangalore Port, a major port and ten other minor ports.[76] The New Mangalore port was incorporated as the ninth major port in India on 4th May 1974. This port handled 32.04 million tonnes of traffic in the fiscal year 2006-07 with 17.92 million tonnes of imports and 14.12 million tonnes of exports. The port also handled 1015 vessels including 18 cruise vessels during the year 2006-07. The inland water transport within the state is not well developed.
The total lengths of National Highways and state highways in Karnataka are 3,973 kilometres (2,469 mi) and 9,829 kilometres (6,107 mi), respectively. The KSRTC, the state public transport corporation, transports an average of 2.2 million passengers daily and employs about 25,000 people.[77] In the late nineties, KSRTC was split into three corporations, viz., The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, The North-West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation and The North-East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation with their headquarters in Bangalore, Hubli and Gulbarga respectively.[77]

[edit] Culture
Main articles: Art and culture of Karnataka, Carnatic Music, Cuisine of Karnataka, and Kannadigas

A Yakshagana artist
The diverse linguistic and religious ethnicities that are native to Karnataka combined with their long histories have contributed immensely to the varied cultural heritage of the state. Apart from Kannadigas, Karnataka is home to Tuluvas, Kodavas and Konkanis. Minor populations of Tibetan Buddhists and tribes like the Soligas, Yeravas, Todas and Siddhis also live in Karnataka. The traditional folk arts cover the entire gamut of music, dance, drama, storytelling by itinerant troupes, etc. Yakshagana of coastal Karnataka, a classical folk play, is one of the major theatrical forms of Karnataka. Contemporary theatre culture in Karnataka remains vibrant with organizations like Ninasam, Ranga Shankara, Rangayana and Prabhat Kalavidaru continuing to build on the foundations laid by Gubbi Veeranna, T. P. Kailasam, B. V. Karanth, K V Subbanna, Prasanna and others.[78] Veeragase, Kamsale and Dollu Kunitha are popular dance forms. The Mysore style of Bharatanatya nurtured and popularised by the likes of the legendary Jatti Tayamma continues to hold sway in Karnataka and Bangalore also enjoys an eminent place as one of the foremost centers of Bharatanatya.[79]
Karnataka also has a special place in the world of Indian classical music with both Karnataka[80](Carnatic) and Hindustani styles finding place in the state and Karnataka has produced a number of stalwarts in both styles. While referring to music the word 'Karnataka', the original name given to the South Indian classical music[1] does not mean the state of Karnataka. The Haridasa movement of the sixteenth century contributed seminally to the development of Karnataka (Carnatic) music as a performing art form. Purandara Dasa, one of the most revered Haridasas, is known as the Karnataka Sangeeta Pitamaha ('Father of Karnataka a.k.a.Carnatic music').[81] Celebrated Hindustani musicians like Gangubai Hangal, Mallikarjun Mansur, Bhimsen Joshi, Basavaraja Rajaguru, Sawai Gandharva and several others hail from Karnataka and some of them have been recipients of the Kalidas Samman, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awards.

Dharwad pedha
Gamaka is another classical music genre based on Carnatic music that is practiced in Karnataka. Kannada Bhavageete is a genre of popular music that draws inspiration from the expressionist poetry of modern poets. The Mysore school of painting has produced painters like Sundarayya, Tanjavur Kondayya, B. Venkatappa and Keshavayya.[82] Chitrakala Parishat is an organisation in Karnataka dedicated to promoting painting, mainly in the Mysore painting style.
Saree is the traditional dress of women in Karnataka. Women in Kodagu have a distinct style of wearing the saree, different from the rest of Karnataka.[83] Dhoti, known as Panche in Karnataka is the traditional attire of men. Shirt, Trousers and Salwar kameez are widely worn in Urban areas. Mysore peta is the traditional headgear of southern Karnataka, while the pagadi (similar to the Rajasthani turban) is preferred in the northern areas of the state.
Rice and Ragi form the staple food in South Karnataka, whereas Sorghum is staple to North Karnataka. Apart from this, coastal Karnataka and Kodagu have a distinctive cuisine of their own. Bisi bele bath, Jolada rotti, Ragi mudde, Uppittu, Masala Dose and Maddur Vade are some of the popular food items in Karnataka. Among sweets, Mysore Pak and Dharwad pedha are popular.

[edit] Religion
Main articles: Religion in Karnataka, Haridasa, and Virashaiva

The Gomateswara (982-983) monolith at Shravanabelagola, one of the foremost centers of Jain pilgrimage today
The three most important schools of Hindu philosophy, Advaita, Vishistadvaita and Dvaita blossomed in Karnataka.[84] While Madhvacharya was born in Karnataka, Adi Shankaracharya chose Sringeri in Karnataka to establish the first of his four mathas. Ramanujacharya, who fled persecution by the Cholas in modern Tamil Nadu, spent many years in Melkote.[85] In the twelfth century, Veerashaivism emerged in northern Karnataka as a protest against the rigidity of the prevailing social and caste system. Leading figures of this movement were Basava, Akka Mahadevi and Allama Prabhu, who established the Anubhava Mantapa where the philosophy of Shakti Vishishtadvaita was expounded. This was the basis of the Lingayat faith which today counts millions among its followers.[86] The Jain philosophy and literature have contributed immensely to the religious and cultural landscape of Karnataka.
Islam, which had an early presence on the west coast of India as early as the tenth century, gained a foothold in Karnataka with the rise of the Bahamani and Bijapur sultanates that ruled parts of Karnataka.[87] Christianity reached Karnataka in the sixteenth century with the arrival of the Portuguese and St. Francis Xavier in 1545.[88] Buddhism was popular in Karnataka during the first millennium in places such as Gulbarga and Banavasi. A chance discovery of edicts and several Mauryan relics at Sannati in Gulbarga district in 1986 has proven that the Krishna River basin was once home to both Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism.
Mysore Dasara is celebrated as the Nada habba (state festival) and this is marked by major festivities at Mysore.[89] Ugadi (Kannada New Year), Makara Sankranti (the harvest festival), Ganesh Chaturthi, Nagapanchami, Basava Jayanthi, Deepavali, and Ramzan are the other major festivals of Karnataka.

[edit] Language
Main articles: Kannada language, Tulu, Kodava Takk, Konkani language, and Kannada literature

Halmidi inscription (450 CE) is the earliest attested inscription in Kannada language
The Kannada language is the official language of the state and is the native language of approximately 65% of Karnataka's population.[90] Kannada played a crucial role in the creation of Karnataka since linguistic demographics was a major criterion chosen to create the state in 1956. Tulu, Kodava Takk and Konkani are other major native languages that share a long history in the state. Urdu is spoken widely by the Muslim population. Less widely spoken languages include Beary bashe and certain dialects such as Sankethi. Kannada features a rich and ancient body of literature covering topics as diverse as Jainism, Vachanas, and Haridasa Sahitya. Evidence from edicts during the time of Ashoka the Great suggest that the Kannada script and its literature were influenced by Buddhist literature. The Halmidi inscription, the earliest attested full-length inscription in the Kannada language and script, is dated to 450 CE while the earliest available literary work, the Kavirajamarga, has been dated to 850 CE. References made in the Kavirajamarga, however, prove that Kannada literature flourished in the Chattana, Beddande and Melvadu metres during earlier centuries.[91]

Rashtrakavi Kuvempu, a doyen of 20th century Kannada literature
Kuvempu, the renowned Kannada poet and writer who wrote Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate, the state anthem of Karnataka[92] was the first recipient of the "Karnataka Ratna" award, the highest civilian award bestowed by the Government of Karnataka. Contemporary Kannada literature is well recognized in the arena of Indian literature, with seven Kannada writers winning India's highest literary honour, the Jnanpith award, which is the highest for any language in India.[93] Tulu is spoken mainly in the coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada. Tulu Mahabharato, written by Arunabja in Tulu script, is the oldest surviving Tulu text.[94] The Tulu language now uses the Kannada script due to the gradual decline of the Tulu script, which was in use until a few centuries ago. The Kodavas who mainly reside in the Kodagu district, speak Kodava Takk. Two regional variations of the language exist, the northern Mendale Takka and the southern Kiggaati Takka.[95] Konkani is mostly spoken in the Uttara Kannada district and in some parts of the Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts. Both Kodava Takk and Konkani use the Kannada script for writing. English is the medium of education in many schools and widely used for business communication in technology-related companies and BPOs.
All of the state's languages are patronised and promoted by governmental and quasi-governmental bodies. The Kannada Sahitya Parishat and the Kannada Sahitya Akademi are responsible for the promotion of Kannada while the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Akademi,[96] The Tulu Sahitya Akademi and the Kodava Sahitya Akademi promote their respective languages.

[edit] Education
Main article: Education in Karnataka

Indian Institute of Science, one of the premier institutes of India located in Bangalore
As per the 2001 census, Karnataka had a literacy rate of 67.04%, with 76.29% of males and 57.45% of females in the state being literate.[97] The state is home to some of the premier educational and research institutions of India such as the Indian Institute of Science, the Indian Institute of Management, the National Institute of Technology Karnataka and the National Law School of India University.
As of March 2006, Karnataka had 54,529 primary schools with 252,875 teachers and 8.495 million students,[98] and 9498 secondary schools with 92,287 teachers and 1.384 million students.[98] There are three kinds of schools in the state, viz., government-run, private aided (financial aid is provided by the government) and private unaided (no financial aid is provided). The primary languages of instruction in most schools are Kannada and English. The syllabus taught in the schools is either of the CBSE, the ICSE or the state syllabus (SSLC) defined by the Department of Public Instruction of the Government of Karnataka. In order to maximize attendance in schools, the Karnataka Government has launched a mid-day meal scheme in government and aided schools in which free lunch is provided to the students.[99] Statewide board examinations are conducted at the end of the period of secondary education and students who qualify are allowed to pursue a two-year pre-university course; after which students become eligible to pursue under-graduate degrees.
There are 481 degree colleges affiliated with one of the universities in the state, viz. Bangalore University, Gulbarga University, Karnatak University, Kuvempu University, Mangalore University and Mysore University.[100] In 1998, the engineering colleges in the state were brought under the newly-formed Visvesvaraya Technological University headquartered at Belgaum, whereas the medical colleges are run under the jurisdiction of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences. Some of these baccalaureate colleges are accredited with the status of a deemed university. There are 123 engineering, 35 medical and 40 dental colleges in the state.[101] Udupi, Sringeri, Gokarna and Melkote are well-known places of Sanskrit and Vedic learning.

[edit] Media
Main article: Media in Karnataka
The era of Kannada newspapers started in the year 1843 when Hermann Mögling, a missionary from Basel Mission, published the first Kannada newspaper called Mangalooru Samachara in Mangalore. The first Kannada periodical, Mysuru Vrittanta Bodhini was started by Bhashyam Bhashyacharya in Mysore. Shortly after Indian independence in 1948, K. N. Guruswamy founded The Printers (Mysore) Private Limited and began publishing two newspapers, the Deccan Herald and Prajavani. Presently the Times of India and Vijaya Karnataka are the largest-selling English and Kannada newspapers respectively.[102][103] A vast number of weekly, biweekly and monthly magazines are under publication in both Kannada and English. Udayavani, Kannadaprabha, Samyukta Karnataka, Vaartha Bharathi, Sanjevani, Eesanje, Karavali Ale are also some popular dailies published from Karnataka.
Doordarshan is the broadcaster of the Government of India and its channel DD Chandana is dedicated to Kannada. Prominent Kannada channels include ETV Kannada, Zee Kannada, Udaya TV, U2, TV 9, Asianet Suvarna and Kasturi TV.[104]
Karnataka occupies a special place in the history of Indian radio. In 1935, Aakashvani, the first private radio station in India, was started by Prof. M.V. Gopalaswamy at Mysore.[105] The popular radio station was taken over by the local municipality and later by All India Radio (AIR) and moved to Bangalore in 1955. Later in 1957, AIR adopted the original name of the radio station, Aakashavani as its own. Some of the popular programs aired by AIR Bangalore included Nisarga Sampada and Sasya Sanjeevini which were programs that taught science through songs, plays and stories. These two programs became so popular that they were translated and broadcasted in 18 different languages and the entire series was recorded on cassettes by the Government of Karnataka and distributed to thousands of schools across the state.[105] Karnataka has witnessed a growth in FM radio channels mainly in the city of Bangalore which has around 10 such channels and these have become hugely popular.[106][107]

[edit] Sports
Main article: Sports in Karnataka

Anil Kumble, the captain of current Indian Test team, is the highest wicket-taker for India in international cricket
Karnataka's smallest district, Kodagu, is a major contributor to Indian field hockey, producing numerous players who have represented India at the international level.[108] The annual Kodava Hockey Festival is the largest hockey tournament in the world.[109] Bangalore has hosted a WTA tennis event and, in 1997, it hosted the fourth National Games of India.[110] The Sports Authority of India, the premier sports institute in the country, and the Nike Tennis Academy are also situated in Bangalore. Karnataka has been referred to as the cradle of Indian swimming because of its high standards in comparison to other states.[111]
One of the most popular sports in Karnataka is cricket. The state cricket team has won the Ranji Trophy six times, second only to Mumbai in terms of success.[112] Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore regularly hosts international matches and is also the home of the National Cricket Academy, which was opened in 2000 to nurture potential international players. Many cricketers have represented India and in one international match held in the 1990s; players from Karnataka composed the majority of the national team.[113][114] Sports like kho kho, kabaddi, chinni daandu and goli (marbles) are played mostly in Karnataka's rural areas.
Notable sportsmen from Karnataka include Prakash Padukone who won the All England Badminton Championships in 1980 and Pankaj Advani who has won three world titles in cue sports by the age of 20 including the amateur World Snooker Championship in 2003 and the World Billiards Championship in 2005.[115][116]

[edit] Flora and fauna
Main article: Wildlife of Karnataka

The state bird, Indian Roller
Karnataka has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. It has a recorded forest area of 38,720 km2 (14,950 sq mi) which constitutes 20.19% of the total geographical area of the state. These forests support 25% of the elephant and 10% of the tiger population of India. Many regions of Karnataka are as yet unexplored, so new species of flora and fauna are found periodically. The Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot, includes the western region of Karnataka. Two sub-clusters in the Western Ghats, viz. Talacauvery and Kudremukh, both in Karnataka, are on the tentative list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO.[117] The Bandipur and Nagarahole National Parks, which fall outside these subclusters, were included in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in 1986, a UNESCO designation.[118] The Indian roller and the Indian elephant are recognized as the state bird and animal while sandalwood and the lotus are recognized as the state tree and flower respectively. Karnataka has five national parks: Anshi, Bandipur, Bannerghatta, Kudremukh and Nagarhole.[119] It also has 25 wildlife sanctuaries of which seven are bird sanctuaries[119].
Wild animals that are found in Karnataka include the elephant, the tiger, the leopard, the gaur, the sambar deer, the chital or spotted deer, the muntjac, the bonnet macaque, the slender loris, the common palm civet, the small Indian civet, the sloth bear, the dhole, the striped hyena and the golden jackal. Some of the birds found here are the Great Hornbill, the Malabar Pied Hornbill, the Ceylon frogmouth, herons, ducks, kites, eagles, falcons, quails, partridges, lapwings, sandpipers, pigeons, doves, parakeets, cuckoos, owls, nightjars, swifts, kingfishers, bee-eaters and munias.[119] Some species of trees found in Karnataka are Callophyllum tomentosa, Callophyllum wightianum, Garcina cambogia, Garcina morealla, Alstonia scholaris, Flacourtia montana, Artocarpus hirsutus, Artocarpus lacoocha, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Grewia tilaefolia, Santalum album, Shorea talura, Emblica officinalis, Vitex altissima and Wrightia tinctoria. Wildlife in Karnataka is threatened by poaching, habitat destruction, human-wildlife conflict and pollution.[119]

[edit] Tourism
Main article: Karnataka tourism

Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur, has the second largest dome in the world

Mysore Palace at Mysore is one of the most visited monuments in India

Jog Falls One of the Highest Falls in the world located in Shimoga dist of Karnataka State

Shiva Statue on Murudeshwara hill; One of the tallest Lord Shiva statues in The world
.[120] Karnataka has the second highest number of nationally protected monuments in India, second only to Uttar Pradesh,[121] in addition to 752 monuments protected by the State Directorate of Archaeology and Museums. Another 25,000 monuments are yet to receive protection.[122] name="mp">R. Krishna Kumar. "Mysore Palace beats Taj Mahal in popularity". Online Edition of The Hindu, dated 2007-08-17. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
The districts of the Western ghats and the southern districts of the state have popular eco-tourism locations including Kudremukh, Madikeri and Agumbe. Karnataka has 25 wildlife sanctuaries and five national parks. Popular among them are Bandipur National Park, Bannerghatta National Park and Nagarhole National Park. The ruins of the Vijayanagara Empire at Hampi and the monuments of Pattadakal are on the list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. The cave temples at Badami and the rock-cut temples at Aihole representing the Badami Chalukyan style of architecture are also popular tourist destinations. The Hoysala temples at Belur and Halebidu, which were built with Chloritic schist (soap stone) are proposed UNESCO World Heritage sites.[123] The Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Rauza are famous examples of the Deccan Sultanate style of architecture. The monolith of Gomateshwara at Shravanabelagola is the tallest sculpted monolith in the world, attracting tens of thousands of pilgrims during the Mahamastakabhisheka festival.[124]
The waterfalls of Karnataka and Kudremukh National Park are listed as must-see places and among the "1001 Natural Wonders of the World".[125] Jog Falls is India's tallest single-tiered waterfall with Unchalli Falls, Magod Falls, Abbey Falls and Shivanasamudra Falls among other popular waterfalls. Several popular beaches dot the coastline including Murudeshwara, Gokarna and Karwar. In addition, Karnataka is home to
several places of religious importance. Several Hindu temples including the famous Udupi Krishna Temple, the Marikamba Temple at Sirsi , the Sri Manjunatha Temple at Dharmasthala, Sri Subramanya Temple at Kukke and Sharadamba Temple at Sringeri attract pilgrims from all over India. Most of the holy sites of Lingayats, like Kudalasangama and Basavana Bagewadi, are found in northern parts of the state. Shravanabelagola, Mudabidri and Karkala are famous for Jain history and monuments. The Jaina faith had a stronghold in Karnataka in the early medieval period with Shravanabelagola as its most important center.
Recently Karnataka has emerged as a hot spot for health care tourism. Karnataka has the highest number of approved health systems and alternative therapies in India. Along with some ISO certified government-owned hospitals, private institutions which provide international-quality services have caused the health care industry to grow by 30% during 2004-05. Hospitals in Karnataka treat around 8,000 health tourists every year.