sentences:  Adi Sankara, proponent of advaita found enlightenment in Sringeri which became the first of four mathas he established in India.Fearing persecution from the Tamil CholasRamanujacharya fled Tamil Nadu and came to Karnataka during the rule of the Hoysala dynasty and preached his philosophy from Melukote.In the 12th century AD, Virashaivism spread from northern Karnataka across the Deccan.