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The Jaina Heritage of Karnataka and Sravanabelgola
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on Candragiri to the highly impressive Gommatesvara on Vindhyagiri and the beautiful Cāmundarāya busti to the highly ornate Sāntiśvara busti at Jinanāthapura we find the history of Jaina monuments graphically portrayed in one place.
It is true that the earliest remains of the Jains in the state are not found at Sravanabelgola and that the site itself did not take its important place in the history of the area until Ganga times, more specifially until the carving of the great Bāhubali image at the end of the 10th century; but, inscriptions at the site clearly record its importance from much earlier times. Many inscriptions record the deaths of Jaina holymen and devotees from pre-Garga days and it is commonly held that Bhadrabāhu and Candragupta Maurya died on the smaller hill. Any visit to the site will confirm the great suitability of the place for the rite of selfstarvatian practised so extensively among the Jainas. The site with its two peaks rising from the plains creates the mountain so central to the religions of India.
While the mountain gave the site its auspicious character, the colossus on Vindhyagiri made the site of Sravana Belgoļa the important pilgrimage centre which it is to this day. It is this beautiful and impressive figure placed on an auspicious spot which in turn led to the importance and development of the site through the centuries. Of all the Jaina sites in the state, indeed of all the sites of any religious dedication, this giant statue sets Sravaņa Be!goļa apart as something very special due to its sheer grandeur, beauty, and dramatic impact. Other nonJaina sites in the state such as Haļebią with its wild profusion of detail and Hampi/Vijayanagar with its vast expanses of impressive remains are not nearly as awe-inspiring as Gommateśvara who gazes over the plains of Mysore.
The importance of this image is clear from the number of copies of the figure found elsewhere in the state. Four large examples are known at Karkala, Veņūr, Gommațagiri, and Sravaṇappagutta. These are smaller than the Bahubali of Vindhyagiri and later in date, but they illustrate the religious importance given to the image by the Jainas of Karnāțaka, which is curiously absent from the iconography of the Jainas in the north.
Cālukyas and Gangas
Some of the earliest Jaina remains in Karnataka are from the time of the early Cālukyas of Bādāmi, the most important of which are the Jaina cave (Cave IV) at Badāmi of the 6th century and the Jaina temple (No. 39) at Aihole of the 8th. The former contains many images sculpted during the Late Calukya period including images which copy the Bāhubali image at Srava pabego!a illustrating the importance of the image to the Jainas in the northern part of Karnataka.
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