Chandragupta basadi ( kn, ಚಂದ್ರಗುಪ್ತ ಬಸದಿ) is one of the smaller
basadi
A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings g ...
s (
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
temples) located on the
Chandragiri Hill
Chandragiri ( kn, ಚಂದ್ರಗಿರಿ) is one of the two hills in Shravanabelagola in the Indian state of Karnataka, the other one being Vindhyagiri. It is also near Indragiri.
History
The recorded history surrounding the hill star ...
in
Sravanabelagola in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n state of
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
.
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...
has listed the Chandragupta basadi in group of monuments in Shravanabelagola as ''Adarsh Smarak Monument''.
Architecture
![Frontal Entrance to Chandragupta Basdi at Shravanabelagola](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Frontal_Entrance_to_Chandragupta_Basdi_at_Shravanabelagola.jpg)
The
basadi
A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings g ...
originally consisted of three cells standing in a line and opening into a narrow passage. The basadi is southfacing and the cells on either side have small towers over them resembling the chole type. Subsequently, an ornamental doorway has been added in front with perforated stone screens at the sides. The screens are pierced with square openings are carved with minute sculptures, interpreted, in the light of Jaina tradition, as the scenes from the lives of the Srutakevali,
Bhadrabahu and
Chandragupta Maurya.
Some irregularity is observed in the alternate rows of the eastern screens owing to some misplacement. By replacing the topmost stone at the bottom and the bottom one at the top the rows regularity correspond with those of the western screen. The middle cell of this temple has the figure of
Parshvanatha, the one to the right the figure of Padmavathi and the one to the left the figure of Kushmandini, all in a seated posture. In the verandah there are standing figures of Dharanendra yaksha at the right end and Sarvahna yaksha at the left. The temple opens into the front hall which also forms the entrance to the
Kattale basadi. In this hall stands a figure of
Kshetrapala opposite to the middle cell of the Chandragupta basadi. The outer walls are decorated with pilasters, friezes, niches, the heads and trunks of lions mostly in pairs facing each other. Tradition says that this temple was caused to be erected by the Maurya emperor Chandragupta. The label dasoja occurring on one of the screens is undoubtedly the name of the sculptor who made the screens and the doorway. He is very probably identical with the sculptor who carved some of the fine
bracket images of the Chennakesava temple at Belur and therefore the period of the screens and the doorway would be about the middle of the 12th century A.D. The other parts of the building are some of the oldest on the hill, probably going back to the ninth or tenth century A.D.
See also
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Jainism in Karnataka
Karnataka, a state in South India has a long association with Jainism, a religion which enjoyed patronage of major historic kingdoms in the state such as the Rastrakuta Dynasty, Western Ganga, Kadamba and Chalukya dynasties and the Hoysala E ...
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Bhandara Basadi
References
Citations
Sources
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{{Jainism Topics
Jain temples in Karnataka
9th-century Jain temples