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in Egypt. It was carved during the time of Rachamalla Satyavakya, the Ganga King during 981 AD on the instruction by his chief minister Chamundaraya, at the request of his devout mother Kalaladevi. Bahubali's statue is also fondly nicknamed Gommeteshvara as Gommat was the childhood name of Chamundaraya, meaning beautiful. Gommeteshvara means the God of Gommat.
Bahubali means a 'man with strong arms' and as homage to his story the statue is shown with elongated arms hanging loosely by the sides, the exaggerated shoulders and long pendant ear-lobes. The creepers which grew unheeded over the deeply meditating saint are represented as curling tendrils over his limbs. The anthills and serpents issuing from them and the creepers entwining over the great distance create a magnificent effect in stone. The nudity of the figure suggests absolute renunciation and full detachment from the world in his body abandonment pose. Outwardly he appears calm but inwardly we know he is fighting a battle with his proud ego. The statue is visible for almost 10 miles around. It outstrips the other two well known Bahubali statues at Karkala and Venur which come in at 42 and 35 feet high that were consecrated in the 14th and 16th century. Both are in Karnataka state where the worship of Bahubali was very widespread.
The main sculptor is known to be called Aristnemi. The colossal image is 57 feet high, carved from a single living rock of fine grained granite and is free standing. He stands with his eyes halfopen, looking towards the north at the Himalayas. The inscription at the feet of Bahubali is not only in Kannada but also in Tamil Grantha, Prakrit, Sanskrit, Devanagari and Marathi. They state that the statue of Gommata was caused to be erected by Chamundaraya. They are also thought to be the first recorded Marathi inscriptions in the world and are of great historical importance as they give information of specific old dynasties, kings and saints who visited this place
Shravanabelagola's Bahubali is one of the two biggest sculptures in the world after the colossus of Rameses II
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LOCATION
Having visited this place twice, I feel this place portrays the most magnificent symbols of the Jain faith of tenderness and religious sanctity. It is truly an opportunity not to be missed.
Jainism has always flourished in Karnataka, South India, largely because of the stable relationship with the Ganga and the Mauryan dynasty. The establishment of Ganga dynasty is cited as 265 AD and is credited to a Digambara monk called Simhanandi. The Mauryan dynasty was founded by the Jain King Chandragupta in 321BC. Thereafter, for these centuries the Jain communities in Karnataka enjoyed the continuous patronage of this dynasty. Since then Shravanabelagola, right in the middle of the state, has become a great place of pilgrimage. It is located in the midst of two hills. It is situated about 157 km west of Bangalore and is known for its landmark statue of Bahubali. In fact Shravanabelagola literally means 'white pond of the Jain monk'. The statue is on Indragiri Hill,
Raju Sobhag Shah, is a retired Chartered Surveyor and is a volunteer at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the Indian and South East Asian Department
which is also called Vindiyagiri Hill. Indragiri is the bigger of the two hills and today one has to climb this hill bare foot roughly 600 stone steps to reach the top. As well as this there are many temples and undisputed records of Jain history. It is here that King Chandragupta and his mentor Bhadrabahu are said to have taken there final breath by observing the Jain vow of Sallekhana (actively fasting until death). The caves where they died and two carved foot prints of Bhadrabahu are still found on Chandragiri which is the smaller of the two hills. There is also a complex of 14 Jain temples on this hill. Steps have also been cut for the ascent of those wishing to see these historical sites and the ancient inscriptions covering the surroundings rocks.
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