Karnataka Ratna
| Karnataka Ratna Award | |
|---|---|
| ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರತ್ನ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ | |
| Awarded for | Highest civilian honour of Karnataka |
| Sponsored by | Government of Karnataka |
| Established | 1992 |
| First award | 1992 |
| Most recent winner(s) | 2025 |
| Highlights | |
| Total awarded | 12 |
| First winner(s) | |
The Karnataka Ratna is the highest civilian honour of the State of Karnataka, India. It is awarded in recognition of a person's extraordinary contribution in any field. It was instituted in the year 1992 by the then Chief Minister of Karnataka, S. Bangarappa[1] by the Government of Karnataka. A total of twelve persons have received this award.
The award
The Award comes with a gold medal weighing 50 gm, a citation, a memento and a shawl.[1]
List of recipients
| Year | Recipient (birth–death) |
Image | Field | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Kuvempu (1904–1994) |
Literature | ||
| Dr. Rajkumar (1929–2006) |
Cinema | |||
| 1999 | S. Nijalingappa (1902–2000) |
Politics | [2] | |
| 2000 | C. N. R. Rao (b. 1934) |
Science | [3] | |
| 2001 | Devi Shetty (b.1953) |
Medicine | [4] | |
| 2005 | Bhimsen Joshi (1922–2011) |
Music | [5] | |
| 2007 | Shivakumara Swami (1907–2019) |
Social service | [6] | |
| 2008 | Javare Gowda (1915–2016) |
Education and literature | [1] | |
| 2009 | Veerendra Heggade (b. 1948) |
Social service | [1] | |
| 2022 | Puneeth Rajkumar# (1975–2021)[a] |
Cinema and social service | [7] | |
| 2025 | B. Saroja Devi# (1938–2025)[b] |
Cinema | [8] | |
Dr. Vishnuvardhan# (1950–2009)[c] |
Notes
- ^ Puneeth Rajkumar died on 29 October 2021, at the age of 46.
- ^ B. Saroja Devi died on 14 July 2025, at the age of 87.
- ^ Vishnuvardhan died on 30 December 2009, at the age of 59.
References
- ^ a b c d Karnataka Ratna award for Javara Gowda, Veerendra Heggade
- ^ "A home of mementos". The Hindu. 4 February 2009. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019.
- ^ "Karnataka Ratna for C.N.R Rao". The Hindu. 27 March 2001. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019.
- ^ "Padma Bhushan raises the bar for Devi Shetty | Deccan Herald". 25 January 2012.
- ^ "Bhimsen Joshi conferred upon 'Karnataka Rathna'". Zee News. 30 September 2005. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ "Siddaganga seer receives Karnataka Ratna". The Hindu. 2 April 2007. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018.
- ^ "'Karnataka Ratna' award for Puneeth Rajkumar on November 1". The Indian Express. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ "Vishnuvardhan, Saroja Devi to be conferred with Karnataka Ratna award posthumously". Indian Express. 11 September 2025.