South India · Karnataka
Shravanabelagola, Karnataka
Sources: wikimedia
Before you go
The most important Digambara Jain site in South India; the Mahamastakabhisheka anointing happens once every twelve years (next 2030).
About Shravanabelagola
- Hills
Where it is
Shravanabelagola is a Jain pilgrimage town in Hassan district of Karnataka, lying between the rocky hills of Vindhyagiri and Chandragiri around a sacred pond, about 145 km west of Bengaluru and 85 km north of Mysuru.
History
Jain tradition holds that the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta came here with the teacher Bhadrabahu in the 3rd century BCE and ended his life by a ritual fast on Chandragiri. Around 981 CE Chavundaraya, a minister of the Western Ganga kings, had the monolithic statue of Gommateshwara (Bahubali) carved on Vindhyagiri, and more than 800 inscriptions record the town's long history.
People
Shravanabelagola's people speak Kannada, and the town is a centre of the Digambara Jain community, home to an ancient Jain matha. Pilgrims climb the rock-cut steps of Vindhyagiri barefoot, and the Mahamastakabhisheka, last held in 2018, draws vast crowds.
Known for
- The Gommateshwara (Bahubali) monolith
- The basadis of Chandragiri hill
- The Mahamastakabhisheka every twelve years
- The Bhandari Basadi
- Ancient inscriptions
Did you know?
The Gommateshwara statue, about 17 m tall and carved from a single block of granite, is anointed with milk, turmeric, sandalwood and flowers once every twelve years.
Shrines and sites
- Gomateshwara
- Chandragiri hill's basadis
- Bhandari Basadi
Traditions
- Jain
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.