Jain Spirit 2002 06 No 11

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 38

YOUTH
WWW.DINODIA.COM
Kartik Jain's award winning essay which came first in the Jain Spirit 2001 Essay Competition is about his
pilgrimage to Shravana Belgola
BAHUBALI: AL MY HERO
LESUN ORIS IP
offered this gold to his mother, his hands
stuck together. His mother said, "There is a The 57' high statue of Bahubali is
son, Chamund Raya who is giving so much carved out of a single rock
gold to fulfil her mother's ambition and
another is you who is spoiling me with THE TOUR STARTED ON 27 MAY FROM gold." The architect felt sorry for him and Sangali in Maharastra. We visited 25 started his work piously. The hill on which
Jain higher educational institutes, 50 this statue was made is called Vindhya Giri Jain temples, 10 places of pilgrimage and 7 and is 3,347 feet high from sea level and Jain abbeys. At last on 7 June we reached 470 feet from the ground. the ultimate destination of our tour,
There is another hill named Chandra Shravana Belgola. Shravana Belgola has its Giri opposite to Vindhya Giri, which is own importance in Jain places of pilgrimage 3,053 feet high from sea level and 173 feet for the unique 57-feet-high statue of Lord from the ground. Its ancient name is Gommatesvara Bahubali carved out of a Chikkabetta. According to inscriptions the single rock. This statue was built in 981 by last Shruta Kevali, Bhadra Bahu Swami had Chamund Raya, the minister of the then come to this place along with their 12,000 king Rachmalla of the Ganga Dynasty, who followers from Ujjain due to famine in north ruled Mysore and its adjoining areas for a India in the third century B.C. Bhadra Bahu period of nearly one thousand years.
and after him his famous follower, King It is believed that Kalala Devi, the Chandragupta Maurya took their samadhi mother of Chamund Raya had expressed her on this hill due to which the name of the ambition to visit and see the high statue of place became Shravana Belgola - the Lord Bahubali in Podanpura. To fulfil her belgola (lake of white lotus) of Shravanas ambition, Chamunda Raya, together with (monks). The lake with the white lotus is her mother, started his journey for still here and is now called Kalyani Sarovar. Podanpura. They rested at Shravana There are 16 temples on the hill in which Belgola where he had a dream that Chandragupta Basadi is the oldest. The Podanpura is too far from here and also the famous gauze of 90 sections is also in this statue of Bahubali is encompassed by temple, in which various scenes were Kukutta snakes. "It is impossible for you to sculptured like Bhadra Bahu Swami leaving reach there. You should have a bow and Ujjain, Chandragupta accepting the diksha shoot a golden arrow tomorrow on the hill and his meditation. before you. You will have Lord Bahubali at Shravana Belgola is 90 km from the point where the arrow hits the hill." Mysore and 142 km from Bangalore, which
In the morning, Chamund Raya did is also the nearest railway junction and the same. Surprisingly, there appeared the airport. Transport facility is available at any forehead of Lord Bahubali. Then Chamund time from here for Shravana Belgola. Raya appointed an architect and according to his wish he agreed to give him as much Kartik Jain is 17 years old and lives in gold as he cut the stone. When the architect | Khatauli, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Good advice from the RSPCA about caring for animals when on holiday
THEREVER YOU GO ON holiday overseas you
are likely to come across animals. Many of them will not be properly cared for and you might find it upsetting. Here are some tips on how you can help: Stray situation.
In many countries you'll find stray cats and dogs around your hotel or apartment. Please don't feed them - this only encourages more strays to the site and the animals then rely on tourists for food. This food source stops once the holiday season is over and local animal welfare societies then have to pick up the pieces. These organisations are often very small and rely entirely on donations to keep going. To help them out, why not donate some tinned or dried food or give them money to have one or more animals neutered. Try the phone
PETA/KAR
Sacred cow observes unholy traffic
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Jain Spirit . June - August 2002