Karnataka (; ISO: Karnāṭaka, Kannada pronunciation: [kɐˈɾnäːʈɐkɐ], also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as the State of Mysore , it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. The state corresponds to the Carnatic region. Its capital and largest city is Bangalore. Karnataka is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Telangana to the northeast, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. It is the only southern state to have land borders with all of the other four southern Indian sister states. The state covers an area of 191,791 square kilometres (74,051 sq mi), or 5.83 percent of the total geographical area of India. It is the sixth-largest Indian state by area. With 61,130,704 inhabitants at the 2011 census, Karnataka is the eighth-largest state by population, comprising 31 districts. Kannada, one of the classical languages of India, is the most widely spoken and official language of the state. Other minority languages spoken include Urdu, Konkani, Marathi, Tulu, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kodava and Beary. Karnataka also contains some of the only villages in India where Sanskrit is primarily spoken.Though several etymologies have been suggested for the name Karnataka, the generally accepted one is that Karnataka is derived from the Kannada words karu and nādu, meaning "elevated land". Karu Nadu may also be read as karu, meaning "black" and nadu, meaning "region", as a reference to the black cotton soil found in the Bayalu Seeme region of the state. The British used the word Carnatic, sometimes Karnatak, to describe both sides of peninsular India, south of the Krishna.With an antiquity that dates to the paleolithic, Karnataka has been home to some of the most powerful empires of ancient and medieval India. The philosophers and musical bards patronised by these empires launched socio-religious and literary movements which have endured to the present day. Karnataka has contributed significantly to both forms of Indian classical music, the Carnatic and Hindustani traditions. The economy of Karnataka is the sixth-largest of any Indian state with ₹16.65 trillion (US$210 billion) in gross domestic product and a per capita GDP of ₹226,000 (US$2,800). Karnataka has the nineteenth-highest ranking among Indian states in Human Development Index.

Davanagere is a town in the centre of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the seventh largest town in the state(major town), and the administrative headquarters of eponymous Davangere district. Hitherto being a cotton hub and hence popularly known before as the Manchester of Karnataka, the commercial ventures of the city is now dominated by education and agro-processing industries. Davanagere became a separate district in 1997, when it was separated from the erstwhile undivided district of Chitradurga for administration conveniences. Davanagere is known for rich culinary traditions which encompass the diversity of entire Karnataka's dishes due to its geographical position in the state as its centre. Notable among them is its aromatic benne dosey/butter Dosa that is associated with the name of the city.Davanagere was selected as one of the hundred Indian towns to be developed as a smart city under Central government's Smart Cities Mission. It was among the first 20 towns to be developed under the mission by Ministry of Urban Development. According to 2020 human living index, it was selected as the top 9th most livable city under 10 million population in India.