Chaturmukha Basadi is a symmetrical Jain

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

located in

Gerusoppa Gerusoppa is a village in Honnavar Taluk in Uttara Kannada District in the Indian state of Karnataka. The village is also known as Nagarbastikeri and comes under Nagarbastikeri Panchayat. It was capital of Salva dynasty between 14th and 15th ...

in Honnavar Taluk of

Uttara Kannada district Uttara Kannada is a fifth largest district in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belagavi districts to the north, Dharwad District and Haveri District to the east, Shivamogga District, and Udupi District to ...

in the Indian state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. The temple is situated near the banks of the

Sharavati Sharāvati is a river which originates and flows entirely within the state of Karnataka in India. It is one of the few westward flowing rivers of India and a major part of the river basin lies in the Western Ghats. The famous Jog Falls, locat ...

History

The territory of Gerusoppa was a Jain capital during 1409–1610 CE ruled by the Saluva dynasty of the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

. It is said that 1,084 temples existed in the region, but were destroyed and presently only six remain. In 1865, the

veranda A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front an ...

roof, the spire and the floor slabs were carted away by tehsildars from

Honnavar Honnavar is a town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India. History Honnavar is a port town in Coastal Karnataka known for its beautiful landscapes and rich history. The port hosted foreign traders from the Arab world, as well as later ...

for construction of another temple. There is an inscription dated from the 16th century that mentions

Rani Chennabhairadevi Rani Chennabhairadevi, (also called Raina-Da-Pimenta by the Portuguese people, Portuguese), was a 16th-century Vijayanagara empire, Vijayanagara Empire Jainism, Jain queen of Nagire province. She was officially known as Mahamandaleshwari Rani ...

's (popularly called the "Pepper Queen") ascension to power. The chaturmukha temple was constructed in 1562 CE during the reign of Chennabhairadevi. Gerusoppa also received royal patronage from the

Hoysala Empire The Hoysala Kingdom was a kingdom originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka, parts of Tamilnadu and South-Western Telangana between the 11th and the 14th centuries Common Era, CE. The c ...

Architecture

Chaturmukha Basadi is a famous Jain center located in the Gerusoppa. The temple is cross-shaped ''chaturmukha'' () structure built in the Western Chalukya architectural style. The temple contains a central shrine, which has four entrances, and enshrines a life-size chaturmukha idol of Jina,

Rishabhanatha Rishabhanatha (Devanagari: ऋषभनाथ), also Rishabhadeva (Devanagari: ऋषभदेव, ), Rishabha (Devanagari: ऋषभ, ) or Ikshvaku (Devanagari: इक्ष्वाकु, ''Ikṣvāku''), is the first (Supreme preacher) ...

Ajitanatha Ajitanatha (lit. invincible) was the second ''tirthankara'' of the present age, ''avasarpini'' (half time cycle) according to Jainism. He was born to king Jitashatru and Queen Vijaya at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku dynasty. He was a liberated soul ...

Sambhavanatha Sambhavanatha was the third Jain ''tirthankara'' (omniscient teaching god) of the present age ( Avasarpini). Sambhavanatha was born to King ''Jitari'' and Queen ''Susena'' at Shravasti. His birth date was the fourteenth day of the Margshrsha ...

and

Abhinandananatha Abhinandananatha or Abhinandana Swami was the fourth ''Tirthankara'' of the present age ( Avasarpini). He is said to have lived for 50 lakh ''purva''. He was born to King Sanvara and Queen Siddhartha at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku clan. His birth d ...

, facing the four cardinal directions. Each hall of the temple is supported by four pillars with square bases and overhanging brackets with carvings of lotuses. There are ornate idols of

Dvarapala A Dvarapala or Dvarapalaka (Sanskrit, "door guard"; IAST: ' ) is a door or gate guardian often portrayed as a warrior or fearsome giant, usually armed with a weapon - the most common being the Gada (mace), ''gada'' (mace). The dvarapala statue i ...

, wearing a high crown and each holding a club and a cobra, on either side of the temple entrance. There are idols of Tirthankara in the lotus position on three doorways and an image of

Gajalakshmi Gajalakshmi (), also spelt as Gajalaxmi, is a prominent representation of the goddess Lakshmi, the Hindu deity of wealth, prosperity, and fertility, depicted with two elephants on either side. This representation symbolises not only the divine bl ...

on the fourth. There is a shrine to of

Jwalamalini Jwalamalini (,, ) is the yakshini (guardian goddess) of the eighth tirthankara Chandraprabhu in Jainism and was one of the most widely invoked yakshinis in Karnataka during the early medieval period. Etymology and origin ' refers to ''the glow ...

inside the temple. The temple also enshrines images of

Virabhadra Virabhadra (), also rendered Veerabhadra, Veerabathira, and Veerabathiran, is a fierce form of the Hindu god Shiva. He is created by the wrath of Shiva, when the deity hurls a lock of his matted hair upon the ground, upon hearing of the self- ...

and

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

Other Jain Temples in Gerusoppa

There are four other Jain temples in Gerusoppa. # Mahavira temple houses a black stone idol of

Mahavira Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...

, the 24th

Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...

. The temple also houses three stone slab inscriptions — (1) slab inscription, dated 1378 CE, with ''Jina'' at top with two worshippers, a cow and a calf. (2) slab inscription has three sections; the first line has an image of Jina with an attendant, the second line has two male worshippers in the

lotus position Lotus position or Padmasana () is a cross-legged sitting meditation posture, meditation pose from History of India, ancient India, in which each foot is placed on the opposite thigh. It is an ancient asana in yoga, predating hatha yoga, and ...

and third has two female worshippers on either side. (3) slab inscription with a Jina inside temple adorned by devotees. # Neminatha temple, situated near Mahavira temple, enshrines a large idol of

Neminatha Neminātha (Devanagari: नेमिनाथ) (Sanskrit: नेमिनाथः), also known as Nemi and Ariṣṭanemi (Devanagari: अरिष्टनेमि), is the twenty-second tirthankara of Jainism in the present age (). Nemina ...

, the 22nd Tirthankara, seated on a circular pedestal. # Parshvanatha temple is dedicated to Parshvanatha, the 23rd Tirthankara. The temple enshrines many idols collected from nearby shrines including a Pañcadhātu idol. There are images of twelve Tirthankaras in the panel of the temple. # Kade temple enshrines a carved idol of Parshvanatha with the hood of a cobra.

History

Architecture

Other Jain Temples in Gerusoppa

See also

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

Books

Web

External links