Santara dynasty

Santara or Bhairarasa was a medieval ruling dynasty of Karnataka, India. The area covered by their kingdom included territories in the Malenadu region as well as the coastal districts of Karnataka. Their kingdom had two capitals. Karkala in the coastal plains and Kalasa in the Western Ghats. Hence the territory they ruled was also known as the Kalasa-Karkala kingdom. The Santaras Dynasty and Alupa royal family both adherents of Jainism, are recorded to have maintained matrimonial alliances. The Santaras became the feudatories of the Vijayanagara Empire after its rise. During this period, the Santara ruler Veera Pandya Bhairarasa erected the monolith of Bahubali in Karkala. The dynasty passed into oblivion after invasions by the Nayakas of Keladi and later by Hyder Ali.