Gommatagiri is about 20 km from
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
.
Gommatagiri is situated in
Bilikere hobli of
Hunsur
Hunsur is a city in Mysore district in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Hunsur Taluk administrative division.
Geography
Hunsur is located at . Hunsur is situated on the western sid ...
taluk in
Mysore district
Mysore district, officially Mysuru district is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mysore division.Chamarajanagar District was carved out of the origi ...
in
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 ...
state,
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 ...
.
Overview
Gommatagiri is an acclaimed
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 ...
centre. The 700-year-old statue of
Bahubali
Bahubali (), a much revered figure among Jains, was the son of Rishabadeva (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin. He is said to have meditated motionless for a year in a standing posture (''kayotsarg ...
(also known as ''Gomateshwara'') is erected atop a 50 meter tall hillock called 'Shravana Gudda'.
The statue of Gomateshwara at Gommatagiri is an early
Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bell ...
creation in granite. It has serene facial expressions and curly hairs. This Jain centre attracts many pilgrims during the annual "Maha masthakabhisekha" in September. The local Jains have a belief that the entire region was a bastion of Jainism at least since the 2nd Century BC.
The 20 feet statue at Gommatagiri is very similar to
Gommateshwara statue
The Gommateshwara statue is a high monolithic statue on Vindhyagiri Hill in the town of Shravanbelagola in the Indian state of Karnataka. Carved of a single block of granite, it is one of the tallest monolithic statues in the world second on ...
in
Shravanabelagola
Shravanabelagola () is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is from Bengaluru. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas (pilgrimage de ...
(58 feet) except that it is dwarfed in size.
Historians attribute the statue to an early
Vijayanagar period.
[
]
Risks
However, the statue at Gommatagiri is in danger of being irretrievably damaged due to quarrying, and the explosions triggered off in the region have resulted in cracks at the base of the statue.[
The joints supporting the hillock have widened because of the blasts and the hillock needs to be strengthened by providing "abetment" from the western side.
]
Photo gallery
File:Statue of Bahubali at Gommatagiri, Mysore.JPG, Statue of Bahubali
Bahubali (), a much revered figure among Jains, was the son of Rishabadeva (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin. He is said to have meditated motionless for a year in a standing posture (''kayotsarg ...
at Gommatagiri
File:The stairs of the Bahubali temple at Gommatagiri, Mysore.JPG, The stairs of the Bahubali
Bahubali (), a much revered figure among Jains, was the son of Rishabadeva (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin. He is said to have meditated motionless for a year in a standing posture (''kayotsarg ...
Jain temple
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 gen ...
at Gommatagiri
File:Shravana Gudda - the hillock on which Gomateshwara statue is located.jpg, Shravana Gudda - the hillock on which Bahubali
Bahubali (), a much revered figure among Jains, was the son of Rishabadeva (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin. He is said to have meditated motionless for a year in a standing posture (''kayotsarg ...
statue is located
File:Tirtankar - Gommatagiri.jpg, Tirtankar beside Shravana Gudda
File:Gommatagiri - kalyanamantapa.jpg, Gommatagiri - kalyanamantapa or marriage hall
See also
* 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 ...
* Jainism in Tulu Nadu
* Jainism in North Karnataka
Jainism in North Karnataka flourished under the Chalukyas, Kadamba, Rashtrakutas, and Vijayanagara empire. Imbued with religious feeling, patronage was extended towards the building of Jain temple and it garnered high repute among the people, ...
* Jain art
Jain art refers to religious works of art associated with Jainism. Even though Jainism has spread only in some parts of India, it has made a significant contribution to Indian art and architecture.
In general Jain art broadly follows the cont ...
Notes
External links
{{Jainism topics
Villages in Mysore district
Jain temples in Karnataka
Colossal statues in India
Holy cities
Tourism in Karnataka
12th-century Jain temples
Colossal Jain statues in India