Why Shravanabelagola ? Largest Monolithic statue !! two storey temples !! Rock stacked walls !! and more...
Today’s weekend escape is our day trip to Shravanabelagola. What a unique and transcendental experience with a short travel from the city. An experience which reminded us life is not all about the material possessions.
The Drive
The drive to Shravanabelagola is a very pleasant one with excellent road conditions for a relaxed drive through the Bangalore – Mangalore highway.
We always enjoy the drive on the Mangalore highway with broad and tree lined roads. You can get the feel of Malnad as you drive a few kms on these highways with coconut trees and tiled houses on either sides.
We had a late start, yet there was not much congestion except for at the toll gates.The only thing which is frustrating about this route is the number tolls, about 4 tolls and we have had bad experience getting wrong change on the toll, beware and check your change.
The Pit Stop and Souvenir Shop
As we enjoyed the ride we were looking for a place to stop by for breakfast, we came across this place Dhruvathara. Ample parking space, good food , clean restrooms seemed like a good pit stop and an interesting souvenir shop next to the restaurant with a nice collection of handmade crafts and antique decorative items.
Few more kms of drive on the Mangalore highway and we can easily spot the sign board and an arch to divert from the national highway to the state highway which leads to the Shravanabelagola. The drive through the state highway is also a pleasant one, though the roads are small they are in good condition unlike many other state highways. It was a beautiful view with the tree lined roads and passing by wind turbines.
Shortly we arrived at the small and quite town of Shravanabelagola. We tried to park our vehicle near Vindyagiri but parking seemed to be a problem with it being a small town and many cars had already stopped by. We had to park the vehicle a bit far and walk to the foot of the hill.
Vindyagiri
Vindyagiri the biggest among the two hills of Shravanabelagola. This hill is a tough climb with steep 470 steps. There are dual fleet of steps carved out of the hill itself.
Though a tough climb , the views from the elevations are fascinating. Great excuse to exercise which is not usually a part of the busy life most of us lead.
Not being very athletic, we stopped at every few steps to hold our breath.
As we had started pretty late and also made a small pit stop we reached the place around 11:30 and it seemed to be very hot. Be sure to bring socks as we cannot wear footwear and climb the hill. There are kids selling socks and hats at the foot of the hill , if you forgot you are covered , so not a worry.
As we climbed up the hill, there are some beautiful carvings on the rocks. Being a Saturday the place was starting to get crowded with school kids who had come for excursion. Probably an early start on weekends should help beat the heat and the crowds.
As we reached the top to our surprise we saw few Christian Nuns who had come to visit the place, this is the beauty of our country. How people of many beliefs live together in harmony and respect.
On top of the hill is the fruit for the toil of climbing , "The monolithic statue of Bahubali". The statue is carved out of a single stone and is considered to be one of the “Wonders of India”.
Unlike the architecture of Hoysala’s which is found in vast majority in Karnataka, the Vindyagiri and Chandragiri house Ganga dynasties architecture and Jain belief.
The picture does not do any justice to what the statue actually looks like, we had visited right after the Mahamastakabhisekha so the statue was getting cleaned.
Bahubali !!! He stood there in kayotsarga (Yogic posture followed in Jainism) , tall reaching out to the sky with broad shoulders and a faint smile, looking at us with his eyes filled with detachment. Standing still in kayotsarga had led to the climbing of vines on the legs and curled around the hands. This was beautifully depicted in the carvings!!!
We are not followers of Jainism but we felt an unworldly peace as we stood there in front of the Statue.
After offering our prayers we sat in the mandappa enjoying the view of the valley and Chandragiri. We encountered a digambara walking to the sanctum with a hand fan made out of peacock feathers. This was our first encounter of a digambara. The people in the mandapa were sitting, busy and lost with their phones and on the other side the digambara sat reading the books from the temple. It was a contrasting visual with two variants of people!!!
Chandragiri
The smallest out of the two hills is Chandragiri, stands on the further side of the Vindyagiri. Unlike Vindyagiri, this one is not steep and is comparatively easier to climb.
Lesser steps and less steeper climb this time, we enjoyed the climb.
As you climb up the hill, you will find a complex of temples hiding behind the beautiful wall made of stacked stones, this complex is home to several Jain temples called Basadi and a statue of “Bharat” brother of “Bahubali”. This hill was less crowded, very silent unlike the Vindyagiri. The whole place was silent except for the wind whistling and the birds chirping.
It was unique experience to visit the Jain Basadi’s , to our surprise there were 2 storey temples and as we climbed up the steep and small stairs carefully there was another deity on the upper storey. This is came to us as a surprise , as we have never encountered something like this earlier.
We sat in the Basadi and meditated for a while taking in the calmness and soaking in the tranquility. As we walked around the complex, there were more Basadi’s and Stupa’s. The rock stacked walls around the complex were exceptionally beautiful. As we walked out of the complex we noticed a cave – “The cave of Bhadrabahu”. It is said that the King Chandragupta Maurya spent his last days here in Chandragiri.
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