Amazing Monolithic Statue of 'Bahubali'

The world was believed by certain section to be doomed in December of 2012, however, survived. And, what a way it was for us to start the next year 2013 as on the first day of the new year we trekked to the amazing monolithic statue of Bahubali. The statue is located at Shravanbelagola, a small town in Karnataka state of India. the town is approx. 160 km from Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka state. The journey from Bangalore through a highway, which is being widened and had many diversions, took three hours to reach by KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation) bus. We were told that the town is not connected by railway. The bus ticket costed only Rs. 124 per head upto Chennarayapatna and Rs. 11 per head from Chennarayapatna to Shravanbelagola.

Bahubali monolith standing firm and tall

Bahubali is a jain siddha who is believed by Jain Digambars to be the first human who has attained liberation. He is believed to be one of the two sons of the first Jain Tirthankar namely Rishabh, who is referred to as the founder of Jainism, a popular religion in India. His monolithic statue at Shravanbelagola is an amazing figure neatly carved out of a single granite stone more than a 1000 years back during 978-993 AD. The approx. 18m (60 ft) tall statue is also known as Gommateshvara. Built by  Chamundaraya, a minister and commander in ancient Western Ganga dynasty which is believed to rule the area from about 350 to 1000 AD, the statue is located on top of a hill. The majestic statue shows a standing Bahubali in meditation with closed eyes and without any clothes. The distinct carvings  of creeper plants on the legs and arms indicate the expertise of artisans during that period. The quality of work with intact features even after 1000 years is considered unparalled.

A coconut offering on toe of Bahubali monolith

During school, I had read about Bahubali statue with amazement and keenly followed news items in magazines and newspaper about Bahubali's Mahamastakabhishekam, an event which is held every 12 years. The photographs of huge statue being washed or bathed in pure milk, ghee, curd, turmeric, saffron etc. during this event not only used to impress me as a child but also filled me with curiosity to know more about the statue. The visit on the new year to the statue filled me with a sense of satisfaction, though I never dreamt of visiting the place.

Vindhyagiri hill  with Bahubali  atop

The gate at the entrance to the stairway at the start of the trek mentions the name of the hill as Vindhyagiri. The trek, which includes climbing 680 steps carved neatly on the hill, was completed in half an hour. There are separate stairs for pilgrims for coming and going separated by a ramp like structure. During climbing down, my wife found it easier and faster to climb down which we could do in just 10 minutes flat. During climb up, we enjoyed the view at different levels of the hill as various distant places unfolded from the height to give a panoramic view of Chandragiri hill and surrounding areas.  There were hundreds of people including children, ladies and elderly trekking up and down the hill. It is learnt that millions of pilgrims and tourists visit the place every year.

While writing this entry to the blog, I learnt that Bahubali statue at Shravanbelagola was voted as the first of seven wonders of India in Aug 2007 with 49% votes in a poll conducted by The Times of India, a top English newspaper in India. There are other Bahubali statues at other places like Venur, Dharmasthala, Karkala and Gommatagiri in Karnataka state and Kumbhoj in Maharashtra state of India. All of these statues are of lesser height as compared to the one at Shravanbelagola.

We were overwhelmed by this chance visit to the statue and happy to see a neat and clean religious place with no one harassing in the name of religion.