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The Kingdom of Mysore under the Wadeyar kings had a double-headed eagle, Gandabherunda whose references are available in the Purana as their Emblem.
Post-independence too the Mysore state was enlarged in 1956 and renamed Karnataka in 1973, and the Gandabherunda continued as the official state emblem of Karnataka.
It is used as the official emblem of the Karnataka state government because it is a symbol of strength. The symbol represents the virtue of fighting the forces of destruction.
Gandabherunda in Purana:
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The references to Gandabherunda can be found in Purana and various Sanskrit texts.
Mahavishnu took form of Narasimha and slayed Hiranyakashipu. Narasimha took ‘Ugra’ avatar to kill the demon. His anger was so strong that even after Lakshmidevi came and sat on his lap, his anger could not be sated.
The gods and sages panicked as his anger could burn the whole creation. They all prayed to Shiva to mitigate the ferociousness of Narasimha.
Shiva took Veerabhadra’s form and tried to fight Ugra Narasimha but he failed. Hence he took the form of Sharabhasura, as he knew Vishnu will shed his Ugra Narasimha avatar and take some other form to defeat Sharabhasura.
Sharabhasura had the power of a lion and Vishnu took the form of the Gandabherunda bird whose food is the lion. This bird form had a hundred folds more power than Sharabhasura, so Vishnu could easily defeat Sharabha. In the course, his Ugra Avatara was already shed hence Vishnu was now back to his Shantha Roopa.
According to another version, the demon Sharabhasura a Rakshasa king was tormenting his subjects.
He was a great devotee of Shiva and he had a boon that, he would not be killed by one-headed gods, three-headed Trimurti, four-headed Brahma, or five-headed Adi Shakthi. Hence he thought himself to be invincible and continued his atrocities.
Hence Vishnu picked up a flaw in his boon and took Gandabherunda form which is a two-headed bird, and slew Sharabhasura and the bird became a symbol of the apex of Physical strength.
History of Gandabherunda as an emblem:
Many of the ancient kings and emperors of ancient India either took it as a state emblem or adored themselves with titles similar to Gandabherunda.
Hoysala Vishnuvardhana, Chalukya Vikramaditya, Yadava Singhana, Vijayanagara Krishnadevaraya, Achyutharaya compared themselves to Gandabherunda.
Apart from Purana, this bird appears for the first time in Takshashila manuscripts belonging to 6th century BC.
There is an ancient temple of 1047 AD in Shimoga district of Karnataka, built by Chanmundaraya. He built a Shiva idol named Gandabherundeshwara.
In front of the temple, there is a stone pillar at the top of which one can see a sculpture of Gandabherunda.
The Maharaja of Mysore used to bestow the highest honor of the state to accomplished persons in literature and culture by presenting them with precious stones studded with gold Gandabherunda medals.
When the government of Mysore Maharaja was merged into an independent Indian union, the State of Karnataka came into existence. Naturally, the government opted for this emblem with very significant change.
Our national emblem of four lions was put on top of a Gandabherunda which signifies the powerful state being under one union government in solidarity.