Gomateshwara Temple- Karnataka

Address

Gomateshwara Temple Vindhyagiri Hill, Hassan Karnataka- 573135

Diety

Bahubali

Introduction

At a distance of 1 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station, Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple is very famous for the Bahubali Statue which is the tallest monolithic stone statue in the world with a height of 58 feet. The temple is built on top of a Vindhyagiri Hill at an altitude of 3347 feet. A flight of 620 steps provide access to this temple from the entrance near the pond. Gomateshwara Temple is among the prime places to visit in Shravanabelagola. This image was created during the period of Chamundaraya, a minister of the Ganga King Rajamalla between 982 and 983 CE. The eyes of the statue are open as if viewing with work without any detachment. The statue has an ant hill behind, representing Gomatha’s long penance. Creeper emerges from the ant hill adorning his legs and arms. The entire figure stands on an open lotus.

Puranic Significance

Bahubali’s other names are Kammateswara, Gommateshwara because of the Gommateshwara statue dedicated to him. The statue was built by the Ganga dynasty minister and commander Chavundaraya; it is a 57-foot (17 m) monolith (statue carved from a single piece of rock) situated above a hill in Shravanabelagola in the Hassan district, Karnataka state, India. It was built circa 981 A.D. and is one of the largest free-standing statues in the world. The Ādi purāṇa, a 9th-century Sanskrit poem, deals with the ten lives of the first tirthankara, Rishabhanatha and his two sons Bharata and Bahubali. It was composed by Jinasena, a Digambara monk.Gommatagiri is an acclaimed Jain centre. The 12th-century granite statue of Bahubali, also known as Gomateshwara, is erected atop a 50-metre (160 ft) tall hillock called ‘Shravana Gudda’