Dharwad or Dharwar

Dharwad or Dharwar is a city in Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Dharwad district. The municipality of Hubli-Dharwad (resulting from a merger with neighbouring Hubli in 1961) covers 191 sq km. Dharwad is located 425km northwest of Bangalore, on the main highway between Bangalore and Pune in Maharashtra. Distance from Dharwad to Bagalkot, Karnataka is 122.2 km and takes around 2 h 27 min via NH218. Dharwad is famous for its Dharwad pedha - a milk-based sweetmeat. Dharwad is host to the Karnataka University, a prominent university of the region and is well-known as a city popular with students and pensioners.

Dharwad is situated on the edge of Western Ghats and hence is a hilly town. Many years back, Dhwarwad was known for it's lakes; many have dried out, like Koppadkere and Yemmikere. The ones that still exist are Sadankere, Kelgeri and Nuggikere. Dharwad is famous for its equable climate: warm summers, mild winters and a wet rainy season.

History of Dharwad

The word "Dharwad" means a place of rest in a long travel or a small habitation. For centuries, Dharwad acted as a gateway between the Malenaadu (western mountains) and the Bayalu seeme (plains) and it became a resting place for travellers. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word 'dwarawata', 'dwara' meaning "door" and 'wata' or 'wada'meaning "town".

Another theory is that during the Vijayanagara rule of Dharwad there was a ruler by name "of Dharav" (1403), and Dharwad got its name from him. There are some inscriptions that refer to Dharwad as Kampana Sthana.

Inscriptions found near Durga Devi temple in Narendra (a nearby village) and RLS High School date back to the 12th century and have references to Dharwad. This makes Dharwad at least 900 years old. Also, there is an inscription at Hanuman Temple at Bokyapur lake near Garag (a village about 18km from Dharwad).

The Chalukyas ruled Dharwad during the 12th century. A stone inscription indicates that there was a ruler by the name of BhaskaraDeva in 1117. In the 14th century the district was first overrun by the Bahmani Sultanate, after which it was annexed to the newly established Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar, an official of which named Dhar Rao, according to local tradition, built the fort at Dharwad town in 1403. After the defeat of the king of Vijayanagar at Talikot (1565), Dharwad was for a few years practically independent under its Hindu governor; but in 1573 the fort was captured by the sultan of Bijapur, Adil Shah, and Dharwad was annexed to his dominions. Adil Shah built a fort in an area later called MannaKille, and later Nazratabad. With this fort, the strategic importance of Dharwad increased and it thus attracted the attention of subsequent conquerors, including Aurangzeb, Shivaji, Aurangzeb's son Mu Azam, Peshwa Balaji Rao, Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan and finally the British colonizers.

In 1685, the fort was taken by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, and Dharwad, on the break-up of the Mughal empire, fell under the sway of the Maratha Peshwa of Pune. In 1764 the province was overrun by Hyder Ali of the Mysore, who in 1778 captured the fort of Dharwad. The fort was retaken in 1791 by the Marathas. After the final defeat of the Peshwa by the British in 1818, Dharwar was incorporated into the territory of the British East India Company's Bombay Presidency. During the early 19th century, when the British were expanding their domains, they faced a lot of opposition from local rulers, including Baba Saheb of Naragund and Kittur Rani Chennamma.

Dharwad was the home to the famous freedom fighter and the "Karnataka Kulapurohit", Sri Alur Venkatrao. It was Sri Alur Venkatrao's work, 'Karnataka Gatha Vaibhava', that mooted the idea of unification of Kannada-speaking areas.

Dharwad was peaceful for most of late 19th century. During those times, the British started an English medium school in Dharwad in 1848. Later, in 1863, the Basel Mission organization started another school. In 1867 the British opened another school, Varmal school, which later on became known as a training college. In 1883, the municipality area included Sidapur, Lakamanhalli, Haveri Pete, Bagtalan, Madihal, Galaganjikop, Malapur, Kamalapur, Narayanpur, Saptapur, Atti kolla and Hosayellapur. The British government also established a railway station in 1888.

The town had a station on the Southern Maratha railway. By 1901 the town had a population of 31,279 and was home to several cotton gina, a cotton mill, and two high schools, one maintained by the government and the other by the Basel German Mission.

After India's independence in 1947, the Bombay Presidency was reconstituted as India's Bombay State. In 1956 the southern, Kannada-speaking districts of Bombay State, including Dharwad, were added to Mysore and renamed Karnataka in 1972. Dharwad is home to the Karnataka University and the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) as well as numerous other colleges.

In 1941, Dharwad had a population of 47,992. In 1961 the town merged with the adjacent town of Hubli to become a single municipality, Hubli-Dharwad. The population of the twin cities is the second-largest in Karnataka, after Bangalore. Hubli-Dharwad's population increased 22.99% between 1981 and 1991, from 527,108 to 648,298, and by 21.2% between 1991 and 2001. In the year 2008 a Circuit bench of the High Court of Karnataka was established in Dharwad.

Nuggikeri Hanuman Temple In Dharwad

Nuggikeri Hunuman Temple is an ancient temple in Dharwad. Devotees come from different regions to this temple. On saturdays the crowd is more as it is the vishesha divasa (special day) for Hanuman.

Nuggikeri Hunuman Temple is very old & Hanuman idol in the temple was reinstalled by famous saint Shri. Vyasraj. Now the temple administration is controlled by Desai family. Rennovation process for the entire temple and the sorroundings is going on. Please contact Mr.Krishna Desai at 0836-2447980 for any details regarding the temple.

State Protected Monuments in Dharwad

State Protected Monuments officially reported by Archeological Survey of India in Dharwad, Karnataka is listed below

State Protected Monuments in Dharwad

Jain temple of Neminath Shaiva temples of Sri Kalmesvar Mallikarjuna temple and inscriptions Veerabhadra Temple Ruined temple of Ramling Siddesvar temple with pillars and Inscriptions Veerabhadradev temple Mallikarjuna and Netagalla Basavanna temple Temple of Budangudden called Ajavankatti Kalmesvar temple with stone inscription Ranganath temple Hanuman temple Shambuling temple Veerabhadra temple Narayanadev temple Lingayat temple of Veerabhadra Somesvar, Siddalinga Dharwad Temple of Kallappadeva and Ramalingadev with inscription Solabesvar temple with inscription Temple of Siddalinga with inscriptions Kalmesvaradeva temple with inscriptions Narayana temple with stone inscriptions Europian Samadigalu Dharwad

Hotels, Boarding, Lodging & Accomodation in Dharwad

Temples in Dharwad

Tarakeshwara Temple in the town of Hangal is a marvel of architectural splendor which has to be seen to be believed.

The University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad was established during 1986. The main campus is located on the Pune-Bangalore National Highway No.4. The University also has 36 Research Stations, 10 Extension Education Units, 10 Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Agricultural Technology Information Centre, located across the length and breadth of the jurisdictional area of the University. The University has its jurisdiction over 12 districts in northern Karnataka. The University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS, Bangalore) is located in Bangalore. It was established in 1964 as UAS Bangalore by a legislative act.

Hanuman Temple Dharwad - Dharwad Dormitory Hotels