Bahubali
| Bahubali | |
|---|---|
| Jain deity | |
 The 57ft high Gommateshwara statue at Shravanabelagola, Karnataka, was built in 983 A.D | |
| Royalty | |
| Dynasty/Clan | Ikshvaku |
| Predecessor | Rishabhanatha |
| Family | |
| Parents |
Rishabhanatha (father) Sunanda (mother) |
| Children | Somakirti (also known as Mahabala) |
| Kalyanaka / Important Events | |
| Born | Ayodhya |
| Moksha place | Mount Kailash |
| Characteristics/Attributes | |
| Height | 500 bows (1500 metres) |
Bahubali (English: One With Strong Arms) was the son of Rishabhanatha, the first tirthankara of Jainism. Bahubali is a much revered figure among Jains. He is said to have meditated motionless for a whole year in kayotsarga (standing) posture because of which climbers grew around his legs. After one year of meditation, Bahubali attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience) and became an omniscient being. According to Jain texts, Bahubali's soul attained moksha (liberation from the cycle of births and deaths) at Mount Kailash. He is revered as a Siddha (liberated soul) by the Jains.
Bahubali is also called Gommatesha because of the Gommateshwara statue dedicated to him. The statue built by the Ganga dynasty minister and commander Chavundaraya, is a 57-foot (17 m) monolith (statue carved from a single piece of rock) and is situated above a hill in Shravanabelagola, in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. It was built in around 983 A.D. and is one of the largest free standing statues in the world.
Legends
The Ādi purāṇa, a 9th-century Sanskrit poem, deals with the ten lives of the first tirthankara, Rishabhanatha and his two sons, Bharata and Bahubali. It was composed by Jinasena, a Digambara monk. A 10th-century Kannada text based on the Sanskrit text was written by the poet Adikavi Pampa.[1][2]
Birth
Bahubali was born to Rishabhanatha and Sunanda in Ikshvaku dynasty in Ayodhya.[3][4][5]
King
According to Jain texts, when Rishabhanatha decided to become a monk he distributed his kingdom into his 100 sons. Bharata got the city of Vinita (Ayodhya) and Bahubali got the city of Bodanapur (Bodan-Telangana). After his digvijaya (winning six divisions of earth in all directions), Bharata proceeded for his capital Ayodhyapuri with a huge army and divine chakra-ratna (spinning, disk-like super weapon with serrated edges). But the chakra-ratna, surprisingly, stopped on its own at the entrance of Ayodhyapuri signalling to the emperor that his 99 brothers have yet not submitted to his authority.[6] Bharata's 98 brothers became muni (ascetic) and submitted their kingdoms to him. Bahubali was endowed with the final and superior body of extraordinary sturdiness and strength (vajra-ṛṣabhanārācasaṃhanana) like Bharata.[7] He hurled open defiance at the chakravartīn and challenged him to a fight.[8]
The ministers on both sides gave the following argument to prevent war-
The brothers themselves, cannot be killed by any means; they are in their last incarnations in transmigration, and possess bodies which no weapon may mortally wound in warfare! Let them fight out the issue by themselves in other ways.
It was then decided that to settle the dispute, three kinds of contests can be held between Bharata and Bahubali. These were, eye-fight (staring at each other), jala-yuddha (water-fight) and mala-yuddha (wrestling). Bahubali won all the three contests from his elder brother, Bharata.[9]
Family
Bahubali had a son named Somakirti (also known as Mahabala).[10]
Renunciation
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After the fight, Bahubali was filled with disgust for the world and developed a desire for renunciation. Bahubali abandoned his clothes and kingdom to become a Digambara monk (nude Jain monk).[11] Bahubali began meditating with great resolve to attain Kevala Jnana but he couldn't succeed as the thought that he is standing on Bharata's land troubled him.[12]
He is said to have meditated motionless for a whole year in kayotsarga (standing) posture because of which climbers grew around his legs.[13] However, he was adamant and continued his practice unmindful of the vines, ants, and dust which enveloped his body. At last at the end of the year, it occurred to him that "common lands were not capable of exclusive proprietary possession and that saints could use such lands without lowering themselves in any way". About the same time Bharata himself came, in all humility, to him, and worshipped him with veneration and respect. Bahubali was then able to quell the disturbing element in his thoughts, and soon succeeded in his effort to destroy the four kinds of inimical karmas.
According to another version, the thought that was disturbing Bahubali's meditation was a kind of painful regret that he had been the cause of his elder brother's humiliation, which was dispersed when Bharata came and worshipped him with reverence and affection. Bahubali was then able to destroy four kinds of inimical karmas including the knowledge obscuring karma because of which he attained kevala jnana (omniscience). He was revered as an kevali (omniscient being).[14] Bahubali finally attained Nirvana/moksha and became a siddha, i.e., a pure liberated soul.[15][16]
Statues
There are 5 monolithic statues of Bahubali in Karnataka measuring more than 6 m (20 feet) in height.
- 17.4 m (57 feet) at Shravanabelagola in Hassan District in 981 CE[17]
- 12.8 m (42 feet) at Karkala in Udupi District in 1430 CE[17]
- 11.9 m (39 feet) at Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada District in 1973 CE[17]
- 10.7 m (35 feet) at Venur in Dakshina Kannada District in 1604 CE[17]
- 6 m (20 feet) at Gommatagiri in Mysore District in 12th Century CE[18]
The Bahubali Atishayakshetra with Bahubali in standing posture is situated on about 50 steps up and 8.5 m (28 feet) in high at Kumbhoj, Kolhapur, Maharashtra.
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has excavated another 13 feet statue of Bahubali belonging to 3rd - 9th century in Arahipura, Mandya district. The excavation worm is expected to be completed by 2018.[19] It has excavated another 8th Century AD statue of Bahubali in Arathipura, Maddur, Mandya, Karnataka which is 3 feet wide and 3.5 feet tall.[20]
Karnataka
Gommateshwara statue, Shravanbelagola
The colossal monolithic statue of Bahubali at Shravanabelagola is 158 km away from Bangalore. This gigantic statue of Bahubali is carved out of a single block of granite and stands majestically on top of a hill. For centuries, Shravanabelagola has remained a great tirtha (pilgrimage center) and thousands of pilgrims flock to see the magnificent, gigantic statue. It is 17 m. (55 ft) high and is visible from a distance of 30 km.
The statue built by the Ganga dynasty minister and commander Chavundaraya, is a 57-foot (17 m) monolith (statue carved from a single piece of rock) and is situated above a hill in Shravanabelagola, in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. It was built in around 983 A.D. and is one of the largest free standing statues in the world.[3][21]
Karkala
Karkala is a town and also the headquarters of Karkala Taluk in Udupi district of Karnataka, India, and is located about 38 km from Udupi and about 480 km from Bangalore. About, 52 km. North-east of Mangalore, is known primarily for the statue of Lord Bahubali (Gomateshwara).
Karkala is well known for its massive 42 feet monolithic statue of Gomateshwara Bahubali, believed to have been built around 1432 AD. The statue is the second tallest in the State.[17]
The towering 41.5 ft. granite monolith of Bahubali, also known as Gommateshwara, is built on an elevated platform on top of a rocky hill. The colossus was consecrated on 13 February 1432 A.D. by Veera Pandya Bhairarasa Wodeyar, scion of the Bhairarasa Dynasty, feudatory of the Vijayanagar Ruler.[17][22]
Venur
Venur is a small town in Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka state situated on the bank of river PhalguniThimmanna Ajila built a colossus of Gommateshwara 38 feet high in 1604 AD.[17] He was a direct descendant of Chamundaraya, who built one at Shravanabelagola.
Venur colossus is the shortest of all the three Gommateshwara’s within the radius of 250 km around it.It also stands in an enclosure, on the same pattern as that of Shravanabelagola. The Kings of Ajila Dynasty ruled here from 1154 AD to 1786 AD.
Dharmastala
A 39 feet (12 m) high that weighs about 175 tonnes is installed at Dharmasthala in Karnataka.[17]
Gommatagiri
Gommatagiri is an acclaimed Jain centre. The 12th-century statue of Bahubali (also known as Gomateshwara) is erected atop a 50 meter tall hillock called 'Shravana Gudda'.[18] The statue of Gomateshwara at Gommatagiri is an early Vijayanagara creation in granite. It has serene facial expressions and curly hairs. This Jain centre attracts many pilgrims during the annual Mahamastakabhisheka 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 in Shravanabelagola (58 feet) except that it is dwarfed in size.Historians attribute the statue to an early Vijayanagar period.[18]
Outside Karnataka
Bahubali Atishayakshetra,Kumbhoj
Kumbhoj is the name of an ancient town located in Kolhapur district in Maharashtra. The town is about eight kilometers from Hatkanangale, about twenty seven kilometers from Kolhapur. The famous Jain Tirtha (pilgrim place) known as Bahubali, is just two kilometers away from the Kumbhoj city. Bahubali statue at Kumbhoj is identical to the Bahubali of Shravanabelagola known as Gomateshwar to the south in Karnataka. This statue is of 28 feet in height.
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bahubali. |
Notes
- ↑ History of Kannada literature
- ↑ Students' Britannica India, Volumes 1-5, Popular Prakashan, p. 78, ISBN 0-85229-760-2
- 1 2 Zimmer 1953, p. 212.
- ↑ Jain 2008, p. xv.
- ↑ Dundas 2002, p. 120.
- ↑ Vijay K. Jain 2013, p. x.
- ↑ Vijay K. Jain 2013, p. xi.
- ↑ Champat Rai Jain 1929, p. 143.
- ↑ Jain 2008, p. 105.
- ↑ Jain 1929, p. 106.
- ↑ Champat Rai Jain 1929, p. 145.
- ↑ Jain 2008, p. 106-107.
- ↑ Jain 2008, p. 105-106.
- ↑ Jain 1929, p. 145-146.
- ↑ Jain 1929, p. 146.
- ↑ Jain 2008, p. 107.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "12-year wait ends, all eyes on 42-ft-tall Karkala Bahubali", The Times of India, 21 January 2015
- 1 2 3 "Gommatagiri statue crying for attention", The Hindu, 22 January 2006
- ↑ Girish, M. B. (23 February 2016) [4 December 2015], "Another Jain centre under excavation in Mandya district", Deccan Chronicle
- ↑ Express News Service (7 January 2015), Eighth Century Jain Temple Discovered in Maddur, The New Indian Express
- ↑ Rice 1889, p. 53.
- ↑ "Bahubali abhisheka from today", The Hindu, 21 January 2015
References
- Jain, Vijay K. (2013), Ācārya Nemichandra's Dravyasaṃgraha, Vikalp Printers, ISBN 9788190363952,
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - Jain, Champat Rai (2008), Risabha Deva (Second ed.), India: Bhagwan Rishabhdeo Granth Mala, ISBN 9788177720228
- Fisher, Mary Pat (1997), Living Religions: An Encyclopedia of the World's Faiths, London: I.B.Tauris, ISBN 1-86064-148-2
- Zimmer, Heinrich (1953) [April 1952], Joseph Campbell, ed., Philosophies Of India, London, E.C. 4: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, ISBN 978-81-208-0739-6, This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Jain, Champat Rai (1929), Risabha Deva - The Founder of Jainism, Allahabad: The Indian Press Limited, This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Rice, B. Lewis (1889). Inscriptions at Sravana Belgola: a chief seat of the Jains, (Archaeological Survey of Mysore). Bangalore : Mysore Govt. Central Press.
External links
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