Barkur
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Barkur
Village in the Udipi taluk of South Kanara District, Madras, situated in 13° 29' N. and 74° 48' E. The traditional capital of Tuluva, the country of Tulu-speaking people, it was long the local seat of the representatives of the Hoysala Ballalas of Dorasamudra, who were Jains by religion. The local rulers attained practical independence during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the most powerful of them being named Bhutal Pandya (circa A. D. 1250), confounded by some with the Bhutal Pandya to whom is ascribed the Aliya Santana law of inheri- tance peculiar to the west coast, the origin of which is really much earlier. When the Vijayanagar kingdom was founded in 1336, Harihara, its first ruler, stationed a viceroy called the Rayaru here and built a fort, remains of which are still to be seen. On the fall of Vijayanagar the Bednur kings asserted their authority ; and in the ensuing struggle the Jains were almost extirpated and Barkur was destroyed. Ruined tanks and Jain shrines and sculptures still abound, but its importance has vanished and not one Jain house remains.
