The earliest known references to Karnataka are found in the Sabha Parva and the Bhishma Parva of Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic.[5][6] The Matsya Purana, Skanda Purana, Markandeya Purana and the Bhagavata Purana also make references to the name Karnata. The celebrated Kannada folk song of antiquity Punyakoti (Govina Haadu) also refers to the region as "Mereyutiha Karnata Desha" (Flourishing Karnata country), finds a reference in Padma Purana.

In Canto 5 - Chapter 6 of the Bhagavata Purana, Karnata is mentioned while narrating the life of Rishabhadeva. It is said in the Bhagavata that the Lord in Rishabhadeva's form ended his avatara in the Kutakachala hill in Karnata province. Kutakchala is a hill in present-day Karnataka near Kollur in the Western Ghats.[7][8]

Historical references
Sanskrit grammarian Pāṇini and the ancient Sanskrit work Mrichchhakatika (c. 5th century CE) make references to Karnataka. In the 5th century CE, the term Karnataka was used by the astrologer Varaha Mihira in his work Brihatkatha and the Birur plates of Kadamba Vishnuvarma call Shantivarma The master of the entire Karnataka region.[9] In the 7th century CE, Rashtrakuta inscriptions refer to the armies of Chalukyas of Badami as Karnatakabala.[citation needed] The Tamil classic Silappatikaram of the same time period calls the people of present-day Karnataka region as Karunatakars.[citation needed].The Kalingathu parani, a war poem written by jayangkondar in Tamil Literature calls a people of a region called 'Karunatiyar'.[10] In the 9th century CE, the Kannada classic Kavirajamarga hails the entire region between the rivers Kaveri and Godavari as Karnata.[11] Kathasaritsagara of 11th century CE makes mentions of the name. In the 13th century CE, Kannada poet Andayya's works use the same terminology. In the late 16th century, a Telugu work Vasucharitamu refers to Tirumala Deva Raya (1570 CE), the first of the Aravidu (Aravithi) line of rulers of the late Vijayanagar Empire as the reviver of the Karnata Empire.[12] All this clearly shows that the name Karnataka has been in usage consistently since ancient times.[13]