________________
APRIL, 1981
171
The measurements of the different parts of the image which were taken recently by the Department are as follows:
58'-0" 50'-0"
Total height of the image Total height to the bottom of the ear From the bottom of the ear to the crown
of the head (about) Length of the foot Length of the great toe Half girth of the thigh Breadth across the pelvis Breadth at the waist Breadth across the shoulders From the base of the neck to the ear Length of the fore finger Length of the middle finger Length of the third finger Length of the fourth finger
8'43" 2-9" 10'-0" 13'-0" 10'-0" 23'--71" 2'-6" 3'-9" 5'-0" 4-8"
3'_2"
The labour bestowed on this image is really astonishing and the image is on the whole a very successful master-piece of sculpture. The best part of the image is its face with its wonderful contemplative expression touched with a faint smile with which Gommata gazes out on the struggling world. The spirit of Jaina renunciation is fully brought out in this statue. The nudity of the image indicates absolute renunciation, while its stiff and erect posture suggests perfect self-control. The benign smile on the face shows the inward bliss and sympathy for the suffering world. In spite of its slight anatomical defects, the image looks majestic and impressive. Fergusson says, “Nothing grander or more imposing exists anywhere out of Egypt and even there no known statue surpasses it in height.” The majesty and the beauty of this great image has led many Kannada poets., old and new, to sing their praises of it in beautiful poetry. From the terrace around the Gommata image a wonderful sight meets the eye on all sides extending over a radius of about forty miles. On a clear day many well-known places can be identified through field glasses. This sacred place assumes an indescribable charm at dawn, at sunset, by moonlight and in the darkness of a star-lit night.
The Mastakābhişeka or the head-anointing ceremony is performed only at intervals of several years and at great cost. The earliest one on record took place in 1398 A.D. and the latest in 1940 A.D. The following account of the ceremony held in 1887 A.D. is quoted from Epigraphia Carnatica, Volume II, Sravana Belgola, pages 18-19 :
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