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Antiquity of Bahubali and His Monument at Sravanabelgola
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The reaction of this unfortunate event on the mind of Bahubali was that he renounced worldly life and went to mount Kailāsa for severe penance. He ultimately attained Kevlajñāna and then Nirvāņa. .
Now the question is as to how the place Podanapura could be recognised. Jinasena described the cultural peculiarities of the provinces. An envoy of Bharata Cakravarti had come to visit Podanapura to convey the message of Bharata to Bāhubali. Podanapura, the capital of Bahubali's kingdom, might have been in the present Andhra Pradeśa. Gunabhadra made it clear that Podanapura was situated in South India.
Jambū Visesane dvipe bhārate dakşine mahān/ Suramyo visayastatra vistirņam podanam puram //
The Buddhist literature also supports the view that Podanapura (Podan, Potan, Potali) was the capital of Aśmaka situated on the bank of the Godavari'. Pāṇini also appears to agree with this view. Dr. Hemachandra Rai Chaudhari recognises Bodhana as Podana of the Mahābhārata and Pottana of Buddhist literature. The Vasudevahindi also supports the view of Dr. Rai Chaudhari.
The Svetāmbara tradition in general is of the view that Takşašilā was the capital of Bāhubali, which could not be supported by other evidence. As a matter of fact, the (Podanapura) town is Bodhana of Nizamabad district in Andhra Pradesh. The Bhāra takā vya of Pampa, the Vemulvād pillar inscription and the Parvani Copper inscription also support the view. This town was also the capital of the Raştrakūta King Indravallabha. The Jaina temple therein was converted into a mosque during the Mughal period.
According to the Jain tradition, Bharata had installed the Bahubali statue at Podanapura. After a sufficient gap of period it was covered and became difficult to locate. Acārya Jinasena narrated the whole story to the mother of Camundarāya who went to find out the exact place at Podanapur. He visited on the way the Candragupta Basadi of Sravanabelgola and paid homage to Lord Pārsvanātha and Ācārya Bhadrabāhu. It is said that during the night in a dream he was instructed by Padmāvatidevi that it would not be possible to reach Podanapura. But he could have a Darsana of Bahubali there itself, if he threw a golden arrow from Candragiri to the South direction. Cāmundarāya shot the arrow in the Southern direction and the upper portion of the Bahubali statue became visible. The statue was then discovered. Then it was methodised by artists. Eventually the Mastakābhişeka' was performed with the kind assistance of Gulļakāyajji. Cāmurdarāya named the town as Belgola and donated 96 thousand Varāhas for its administration and welfare.
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