| Address: | Jinnenahalli, Karnataka 573135 |
|---|---|
| How to go: | Nearby railway station is Shravanabelagola (4 km away). Few trains are passing by from Bangalore (KARWAR EXPRESS 16515 - Yesvantpur Junction to Shravanabelagola, INTERCITY EXP 22679 daily - Yesvantpur Junction to Shravanabelagola, KANNUR EXP 16511 daily - Bangalore City Junction - Shravanabelagola), these are going towards Hassan, so you can get same trains from Hassan also. From Bangalore you will find KSTRC bus which is going to Shravanabelagola daily, you will find it from Majestic bus stand. Also you will get KSTDC bus service from Yesvantpur BMTC bus terminal. For more information visit https://youtu.be/5K4O9Y9T3yU |
| Pros: | Good road condition, available market and food stall, local transport connectivity |
| Cons: | Nothing such I found |
| What to visit ? | |
| Company: | History and architecture lover |
| Minimum day/time to visit: | 1 day |
| Locality: | Rural Karnataka |
| Expenses: | From Bangalore it is 148 km, from Mysuru it is 48,from Belur it is 90 km, from hassan it is 52 km and from Halebeedu it is 82 km. You can calculate fuel price if you go by car. KSTDC has own package for Shravanabelagola tour, find the details in |
| More Information: | Vindhyagiri Hill So today we are heading towards Vindhyagiri also known as Indragiri hill where you will get to see Lord Gomateshwara or Bahubali, who is the son of first Jain tirthankara Adinath. And Shravanabelagola is the most important Jain pilgrims center in this country. The time of visiting the temple is morning 7 am to evening 5 pm. From the foot hill itself you need to deposit your shoes for 5 rs and start climbing 641 rock-cut steps. More you start going up, more you enjoy the beautiful view of the entire village. And from the top it looks mesmerizing. When Adinath renounced his kingdom and decided to live as a hermit, his two sons Bahubali and Bharata fought facelessly to conquer the kingdom, where Bahubali won and later realised the consequences and gave the kingdom to his brother. After that he has chosen the path of meditation attaining enlightenment. After stepping up, first you will find Odegal Basti. It consists three Jain shrines, main temple dedicated to Sri Adinath, the first jain tirthankara, on left Sri Shantinatha, 16th jain tirthankara, on right Sri Neminatha, 22nd tirthankara. Next is Tyagada Brahmadeva pillar, with carvings of creepers within it. After few more steps you will find a huge gateway with carvings of Goddess Laxmi flanked by two elephants. It is called Akanda bagilu. Finally you will enter to the main temple of Lord Gomateshwara aka Bahubali, you will find Bahubali statue in the middle encircled by gallery of various Jain tirthankaras. The Bahubali statue is a single block of granite amazingly installed in 983 AD by Chamundaraya who was a powerful minister of Ganga king. Surprisingly the statue has no sign of damage till date. It is standing in a meditation posture named Kayotsarga indicating self control, grace and simplicity and the nakedness indicated completely renunciation of worldly things. Mahamastakabhisheka is the main festival in Shravanabelagola held once in twelve years. It started from 2006 and upcoming date of this festival is February 2030. it is about pouring 1008 Kalashas of water, milk, coconut water, ghee, curd, sugar, honey, turmeric, almonds, saffron, jaggery, bananas, sandal paste, marigold flowers etc chanting mantras. It signifies the Lord's attainment after 12 month of meditation. Chandragiri Hill Before entering to the temple complex one will find a small temple called Bhadrabahu gavi on the right side hillock where Acharya Bhadrabahu spent his last few days of his life in Sallekhana vrata that means without food and water. His footprint can still be found inside the cave. This is a great place for meditation. As mentioned in part 1 vlog of Shravanabelagola that first Tirthankara Rishabhanatha or Adinath had many sons among them Kamadeva Bahubali and Chakravarti Bharatha had a fight to conquer their own land where Bahubali won but later he gave it to his older brother Bharata. After so many years Bharath understood there is no beauty in our body and power so attain Moksha here. In 300 BC Acharya Bhadrabahu who was the last Shruta Kevalin in Jainism and Chandragupta Maurya who was the founder of Maurya empire visited together in Chandragiri hill for enlightenment. Shruta Kevalin is a Jain word which means a person who has complete knowledge of Jain literature. And enlightenment is moksh prapt karna in hindi. Acharya Bhadrabahu was the spiritual teacher of Chandragupta Maurya. By the name of Chandragupta the hill was named as Chandragiri hill. Before that the hill was named as kalbappu In this hill you will find around 12 temples which are called basadi or Jain shrine. I will visit each and every one and show you inside. Among those Chandragupta basadi, Chavundaraya basadi and Parshwanatha basadi are much bigger than others. Temples are following Dravidian style and are built on Hoysala, Chola and Mysore kingdoms. The tallest idol in Chandragiri hill is Parshwanath ji in Parshwanatha basadi. It is a 18 feet monolithic statue. The day I went there I luckily got to be the witness of Mahamastak Abhishekam rituals of Parshwanath by their own community. I came to know they celebrate it every year before Christmas within their family where as main Mahamastak Abhishekam on Bahubali in Vindhyagiri hill happens after every 12 years. Last time it happened on 2018, so next time it will happen on 2030. I was happy before that I have got a glimpse of that festival in Chandragiri hill. Let’s have some idea about Yaksha and Yakshini in Jainism. In Jain tradition, a pair of a male (yaksha) and a female (yakshini) are always seen on the right and left side of every Tirthankara. They are demi-god also the protector of Jain gods. That’s why they have supernatural power being a guardian. It is believed that they have been reborn in this life as a human form after their good deeds are over as a karma from the past life. In Shravanabelagola along with every god you will see them also you will find name written beside them. I found a ritual in Jain temple where devotees offer rice, almond, Raisins, clove, coconuts etc. to their god. Last time I went, I couldn’t find this homemade hotel. This is situated exactly opposite of the main gate of Kalyani pond. The food are really simple and homely and run by a Jain family. Thali is 150 rs with unlimited food. I really like the ambience inside. Stay |
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