SHARAVANABELGOLA..

SHARVANABELGOLA :

Shravanabelagola (Sravana Belagola) is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is 158 km from Bangalore, the capital of the state . The Gommateshwara statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas ( Pilgrimage Destinations) in Jainism .

SUNRISE :

One that reached a 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 BCE after he became a Jain monk and assumed an ascetic life style .

   SCULPTURE OF GHOMATESHWAR :

                                                                              

 LOCATION :

Sharavanabelgola is located at 11Km to south-east of chanarayapatana in the chanarayapatana taluk in the hassan district of karnatakait is situated at the distance of 12KM to the south from the banglore-manglore road{NH-75}, 18km from hirisave,78km from halebidu,83km from mysore,158km from banglore .

       SCLPTURE :

Sharavanabelgola has 2hills 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 and Śrāvakas who have meditated there since the fifth century AD, including the last king of the Rashtrakuta dynasty of Manyakheta. Chandragiri also has a famous temple built by Chavundaraya.

The 58-feet tall monolithic statue of Gommateshwara is located on Vindyagiri Hill. It is considered to be the world's largest monolithic statue. The base of the statue has an inscriptions in Prakrit i.e. Devanagari script, dating from 981 AD. 

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 or 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 referred to as Gommateshwara by Kannadigas, but the Jains refer to the same as "Bahubali".[citation needed]Inscriptions .