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LORD GOMMATESVARA OF SRAVANABELGOLA
JYOTI PRASAD JAIN
*A statue solid set
And moulded in colossal calm." 'It is human in shape and feature, yet as inhuman as an icicle; and thus expresses perfectly the idea of successful withdrawal from the round of life and death, personal cares, individual destiny, desires, sufferings and events... Like a pillar of some superterrestrial unearthly substance... stands supernally motionless, absolutely unconcerned about worshipping jubilant crowds that throng around his feet'.
'Truly Egyptian in size, and unrivalled throughout India as detached work... Nude, cut from a single mass of granite, darkened by the monsoons of centuries, the vast statue stands upright, with arms hanging straight, but not awkwardly, down the sides in a posture of somewhat stiff but simple dignity's
"Set on height of more or less prominence, visible from a considerable distance around, and despite its formalism, commands respectful attention by its enormous mass and expression of dignified serenity... Nothing grander or more imposing exists anywhere out of Egypt, and even there no known statue surpasses it in height'.
'It is the biggest monolithic statue in the world - larger than any of the statues of Rameses in Egypt."... "The image on the whole is a very successful piece of sculpture since the spirit of Jaina renunciation is fully brought out in it. The naked figure shows absolute renunciation while its stiff erect posture stands for perfect self-control and the benign smile on the face shows 'inward bliss and sympathy for the suffering world... Its merits are the sublime beauty of the face and the gigantic proportions of the colossal image."
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