religion of kadamba kannadigas

Religion
Kadambas were followers of the vedic religion. Though Hinduism was popular religion, Jainism and Buddhism were also encouraged. In places like puligere and Hanagal, endowments and grants were given to the Jain temples and scholars. The land grants incriptions of kadambas testifies to this fact. Jaina asceties like poojyapada, Niravadya Pandit and others have been mentioned in the inscription.Kalamukhas, Gauravas, Kapalikas, Shaivbas and Vaishnavas had the royal patronage. Festivals like Chaitra and Divali were celebrated in temples. The expenses of these festivals were borne by people of all religions. Buddhism also found encouragement like other religions. The Chinese traveler Huien Tsang who visited Banavasi in 7th century A.D. has mentioned about Buddhisht stupas at Banavasi.

Art and Architecture.
The Kadamba kings were patrons of art. They patronized music, paintings and architecture. Their temples statues have been the evidence of the artistic excellence of those days. The 5th century A.D jain Basadi built by Mrugesha Varma is one of the oldest buildings of Karnataka. The shiva temple of Talagunda reflects the Kadamba style of architecture. The Kalleshwara temple of halasi, Jain basadis, the Madhukeshwara temple of Banavasi, Varaha Narasimha and others belong to Kadamba period. The gigantic Bairava statute at Goa, which is of the same period, is very beautiful and artistic. According to Dr. Moraes the Gopura’s which are elevated in the pyramidical order was a Kadamba innovation.