Hoysala dynasty in the context of Vishnuvardhana

South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area (635,780 km or 245,480 sq mi) and 20% of India's population. It is bound by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south. The geography of the region is diverse, with two mountain ranges, the Western and Eastern Ghats, bordering the plateau heartland. The Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Penna, Tungabhadra and Vaigai rivers are important non-perennial sources of water. Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Kochi are the largest urban areas in the region.

The majority of the people in South India speak at least one of the four major Dravidian languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. During its history, a number of dynastic kingdoms ruled over parts of South India, and shaped the culture in those regions. Major dynasties that were established in South India include the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas, Rashtrakutas and Vijayanagara. European countries entered India through Kerala and the region was colonized by Britain, Portugal and France.

The Nageshvara temple complex (also spelt Nagesvara and called Naganatheshvara locally) is located in Begur, a small town within the Bangalore urban district of Karnataka state, India. Two shrines within the temple complex, the Nageshvara swamy main deity was consecrated by Rishi’s and temple were commissioned during the rule of Western Ganga dynasty kings Nitimarga I (also called Ereganga Neetimarga, r. 843–870) and Ereyappa Nitimarga II (also called Ereganga Neetimarga II, r. 907–921). The remaining shrines are considered a later day legacy of the rule of the Chola dynasty, Hoysala dynasty, Vijayanagara Empire over the region. Ravana villain in Ramayana lost his atma linga in Gokarna and while returning to Sri Lanka he worshiped Nageshwara. An Old Kannada inscription, dated c. 890, that describes a "Bengaluru war" (modern Bangalore city) was discovered in this temple complex by the epigraphist R. Narasimhachar. The inscription is recorded in "Epigraphia Carnatica" (Vol 10 supplementary). This is the earliest evidence of the existence of a place called Bengaluru.