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15
BAHUBALI IN KANNADA LITERATURE
Out of the 24 Tirthankars the story of Adinatha may be said to be more attractive. This is partly because, Adinatha was the first Tirthankara and did many useful things for humanity and partly because of the story of Bharata and Bahubali which is there in Adinatha Purana. From the point of view of story, both Bharata and Bahubali are equally important. But from the point of view of qualities Bahubali has a higher place and he stands in the heart of the reader.
B. S. KULKARNI
Bahubali as the name itself suggests, was a very strong and also the most handsome person of his age, and, as such, was the Kama-dēva of his age.
The good qualities such as valour, sacrifice etc., attracted the poets. It is true that Bahubali's story occurs in Adipurāņa. But the poets took special fancy and wrote independent works on Bahubali. Like poets in other languages, the Kannada poets too respected the qualities of Bahubali and wrote a good number of works on him.
Kannada people did not stop here only. They went a step ahead and did marvelous work. They created Sculptures of Bahuball and erected them so that the people of this age should have the Dariana of Bahubali of Krtayuga. Cavundaraya got carved the statue of Bahubali at Sravapabelgola and there are three more at Kärka), Vēnüra and Gommatagiri (near Mysore). The statute of Bahubali at Sravanabelgola is supposed to be the most beautiful and wonderful in the world.
The story of Bahubali occurs in the following Kannada works.
1) Adipurana-Pampa, 2) Adipurana-Hastimalla, 3) Cavundaraya-purana, 4) Gommata Stuti, 5) Gommaja Stuti. 6) Karkal Gommelvar Carlte, 7) Bharatēša
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