Sravanabelagola lies 160 km to the West of Bangalore in the Hassan district of state of Karnataka. This can easily be planned as a day trip from Bangalore.
What I had heard of the place had piqued my interest- single hill culled compound with Jain temples with a large monolithic Bahubali statue purported to be the largest in Asia..some touting it to be the largest in the world. Also, this is a Jain Pilgrimage point, one that reached its peak in architectural and sculptural activity under the patronage of Western Ganga Dynasty of Talakad.
Chandragupta Maurya is said to have died here in 298 BC after he became a Jain monk and assumed an ascetic life style.
This time around out vehicle of choice was a 'rent -a-car' Ford Ecosport.
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| Me and the Zoomcar |
Driving at 100 km seemed like driving at 40 km. The car had fantastic pick up and was sturdy with good air conditioning. God knows the air conditioning was required. It's only February and Bangalore is heating up. The temperature was around 35 C.
The drive found us on the Bangalore- Nelamangala- Hirisave-Sravanabelagola route. This was a beautiful and picturesque drive.
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| Beautiful picturesque drive |
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| En route |
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| My first view of the hillock |
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| Surrounding town and approaching main gate |
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| The entry point |
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| Lets park and get going |
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| Beautiful quiet quaint town |
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| Entry point- flight of steps visible |
This announces that we are at the vindyagiri hillock.
As per Wiki
Shravanabelagola has two hills, Chandragiri and Vindhyagiri. Acharya Bhadrabahu and his pupil Chandragupta Maurya are believed to have meditated there. Chandragupta Basadi, which was dedicated to Chandragupta Maurya, was originally built there by Ashoka in the third century BC. Chandragiri also has memorials to numerous monks who have meditated there since the fifth century AD, including the last king of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty
The smaller of the 2, Chandragiri has older and richer monuments. A book guides me to the fact that the oldest inscription dates back to the 6th Century. Wow!!
I loved the challenge of climbing these 650 steps to the top. Palanquins are also available. The other hillock has about half the number. We concentrated on this hillock as the Bahubali statue is atop this hillock.Also, there is temple around the statue along with many other small temples which are strewn all over the hillock. fascinating really... I did not find the climb difficult as am into regular exercise. But if you are not in good shape you can expect soreness to set in by the next day. Ensure you carry a bottle of water and buy a pair of ordinary socks (or carry one from home) as you would need to take your shoes off and the stone heats up.
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| Temple at the start point on the left |
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| Flight of 650 steps |
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| Water tank is visible while climbing |
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| bela-kola ( white tank) which gives the place the name |
This tank is about 150 mt square.
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| Another beautiful rick cut temple |
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| Thats me posing away.. |
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| Beautifully ornate hillside |
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| inscription (old) protected by a sheet |
More than 800 inscriptions have been found at Shravanabelagola, dating to various times from 600 to 1830. A large number of these are found in the Chandragiri and the rest can be seen in the Vindhyagiri Hill and the town. Most of the inscriptions at the Chandragiri date back before the 10th century.Some of these inscriptions mention the rise and growth in power of the
Western Ganga Dynasty, the Rashtrakutas, the Hoysala Empire , the Vijaynagar Empire and the Wodeyar Dynasty. These inscriptions have helped modern scholars to understand the nature and development of the Kannada language and its literature (Wiki)
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| first view of the Bahubali |
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| another beautiful temple |
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| The 58-feet tall monolithic statue of Gommateshvara is located on Vindyagiri Hill |
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| Used a telephoto lens to capture the Bahubali |
The statue is supposed to have been constructed in 983 CE. The town between these two hillocks has many Jain temples and monasteries.
The base of the statue has an inscriptions in. devnagari script, dating from 981 AD.
As per wiki :
The inscription praises the king who funded the effort and his general, Chavundaraya, who erected the statue for his mother. Every twelve years, thousands of devotees congregate here to perform the
Mahamastakabhisheka, a spectacular ceremony in which the statue is anointed with Water, Turmeric, Rice flour ,Sugar cane juice, Sandalwood paste,saffron, and gold and silver flowers.The next Mahamastakabhisheka will be held in 2018. The Statue is called as 'Statue of Gommateshvara' by the Kannada people of Karnataka, but the Jains refer to the same as "Bahubali" .
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| An old picture |
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| As it looks now!! |
