Kaginele is the village of Kaginele in Badagi taluk of Haveri district, which is the abode of Adikesava, the deity of Kanakadasa. Kanakadasa’s Guru Peetha at Kaginele was established as the spiritual and cultural center of Kuruba Gowda in Karnataka state. Kanaka Dasara was born in Bada village to a Kannada family of father Beerappa and mother Bachhamma, Kanaka Dasara Kalavadi (30 November 1509-1609).He was earlier known as Thimmappa Nayaka.
Kaginele Kanakadasa Gadugge is about 337 km from Bangalore and 91 km from Hubli. And it is 18 km away from Haveri city. 20 km from Haveri city Railway Station.
Kanakadasa’s temple was built in 1842 over Kanaka Dasa’s tomb. It has a statue of Kanakadasa holding a tambourine. The conch and alms bowl used by them are also constructed.
Kaginele was formerly a province consisting of many villages. There are 10 ancient temples and about 15 inscriptions in this province. Once this province was under the Kadamba rule of Banavasi. When Banavasi came under the hands of the Chalukyas, it also came under the rule of the Chalukyas. For some time it was under the rule of the Yadavas of Devgiri. There are evidences that Chalukyas Bhuvanaikamalla gave endowments. The Yadas of Devgiri have donated to the temples of Betteswara and Kalahastiswara. In the 14th century, the Bahmani Sultans captured it from Bukka, the ruler of Vijayanagara. Then again it was in Vijayanagara and was a separate province. During this time, Kanaka was the leader of its army and was the Mandalika of Vijayanagara. It is said that the Sultan of Bijapur conquered it and annexed it to the then province of Bankapur. The forts here must have been destroyed by the attack of Mustafa Khan, who was the warlord of Bijapur. Later it was destroyed by the Savanur Nawabs, then the Mughals, the Sultans of Bijapur, the Marathas and the British.
Kaginele has grown as a religious center since ancient times. Many temples and towers here are a testimony to the confluence of Jain, Vaishnava, Shaiva and Veerashaiva cultures. Lakshminarasimha, Adikesava, Kalahastiswara, Veerbhadra, Someshwara, Brahmeshwara, Sangameshwara, Basavanna, Adishakti are the major temples here which were established in the 10th century. The main temples here are Adikesava and Narasimha. Both the temples are inside a mud walled enclosure. Narasimha Mandir is visible after entering the gate. At a distance of 10 feet on the left is Adikesava Temple. In the 16th century, the idol of Adikeshavan was brought from Kanakadasa Bada village and installed. Adikeshavan idol is 1.5 feet tall. Kanakadasa’s tomb is on the bank of the lake here. It was a religio-cultural center from about 9th century to 16th century
