Karnataka Ratna is the highest civilian honour of the State of Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

. It is awarded to a person for his extraordinary contribution in any field. It was constituted in the year 1992 by the Government of Karnataka

Government of Karnataka

The Government of Karnataka is a democratically elected body with the Governor as the constitutional head. The Governor who is appointed for a period of five years appoints the Chief Minister and his council of ministers...

. There have been a total of 8 recipients of this award.

The Award

The Award comes with a gold medal weighing 50 gm, a citation, a memento and a shawl

Shawl

A shawl is a simple item of clothing, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular or square piece of cloth, that is often folded to make a triangle but can also be triangular in shape...

.

Awardees

Kuvempu

Kuvempu

Kuppali Venkatappagowda Puttappa was a Kannada writer and poet, widely regarded as the greatest poet of 20th century Kannada literature. He is the first among eight recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada. Puttappa wrote all his literary works using the pen name Kuvempu...

 was the first recipient of this award for his contribution in the field of literature. Subsequently it has been awarded to Dr Rajkumar, S.Nijalingappa, C.N.R Rao, Bhimsen joshi

Bhimsen Joshi

Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi ; February 4, 1922 - January 24, 2011) was an Indian vocalist in the Hindustani classical tradition. A member of the Kirana Gharana , he is renowned for the khayal form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional music...

, Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji

Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji

Dr. Sree Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji is the present head of Sree Siddaganga Mutt in Tumkur District, South India and founder of the Sree Siddaganga Education Society. He was initiated into viraktashram order in 1930. Swamiji was born in Veerapura near Magadi Taluk. He studied English in college...

, Dr. D Javare Gowda

Javare Gowda

Dr. D. Javare Gowda is a Kannada author and winner of the Padma Shri and the Karnataka Ratna awards. He is known as "De Ja Gow" in literary circles. His guru was T.N. Srikantaiah.- Career:He was the Vice Chancellor of Mysore University from 1969 to 1975...

 and Dr. Veerendra Heggade.

S.No	Name	Birth / death	Awarded	Notes
1.	Kuvempu Kuvempu Kuppali Venkatappagowda Puttappa was a Kannada writer and poet, widely regarded as the greatest poet of 20th century Kannada literature. He is the first among eight recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada. Puttappa wrote all his literary works using the pen name Kuvempu...	1904–1994	1992	Literature.
2.	Dr Rajkumar	1929–2006	1992	Films
3.	S. Nijalingappa S. Nijalingappa Siddavanahalli Nijalingappa was a senior Congress politician and the Chief Minister of Karnataka between 1956 and 1958 and once again between 1962 and 1968...	1902–2000	1999	Politics
4.	C. N. R. Rao	b. 1934	2000	Science
5.	Bhimsen Joshi Bhimsen Joshi Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi ; February 4, 1922 - January 24, 2011) was an Indian vocalist in the Hindustani classical tradition. A member of the Kirana Gharana , he is renowned for the khayal form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional music...	1922–2011	2005	Music
6.	Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji Dr. Sree Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji is the present head of Sree Siddaganga Mutt in Tumkur District, South India and founder of the Sree Siddaganga Education Society. He was initiated into viraktashram order in 1930. Swamiji was born in Veerapura near Magadi Taluk. He studied English in college...	b. 1907	2007	Social Service
7.	Dr. D. Javare Gowda Javare Gowda Dr. D. Javare Gowda is a Kannada author and winner of the Padma Shri and the Karnataka Ratna awards. He is known as "De Ja Gow" in literary circles. His guru was T.N. Srikantaiah.- Career:He was the Vice Chancellor of Mysore University from 1969 to 1975...	b.	2008	Education, Literature
8.	Dr. Veerendra Heggade	b. 1948	2009	Social Service, Philanthropic work