Karnataka (ISO: Karnāṭaka, Kannada pronunciation: [kɐnaːʈɐka]) is a state in the

south western 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. The
capital is Bengaluru and is the largest city.

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 south. It is the only southern state
to have land borders with all of the other 4 south south Indian sister states. The
state covers an area of 191,976 square kilometres (74,122 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 30 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.[11][12][13]

The two main river systems of the state are the Krishna and its tributaries, the
Bhima, Ghataprabha, Vedavathi, Malaprabha and Tungabhadra in North Karnataka, and
the Kaveri and its tributaries, the Hemavati, Shimsha, Arkavati, Lakshmana Thirtha
and Kabini, in South Karnataka. Most of these rivers flow out of Karnataka
eastward, reaching the sea at the Bay of Bengal. Other prominent rivers such as the
Sharavati in Shimoga and Netravati in Dakshina Kannada flow westward, reaching the
sea at the Arabian Sea.

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.[14]

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 fourth-largest of any Indian state with ₹15.35
trillion (US$220 billion) in gross domestic product and a per capita GDP of
₹210,000 (US$2,900).[3][4] Karnataka has the nineteenth highest ranking among
Indian states in Human Development Index.[6]