Origin from 981
In 981 CE, Chavundaraya, a general and minister serving the Western Ganga dynasty of Karnataka, completed the consecration of a colossal monolithic statue of Bahubali, carved from a single granite outcrop atop Vindhyagiri hill at Shravanabelagola, more than five centuries after Devarddhi-gani redacted the Svetambara canon at Valabhi in 453, already recorded here. Standing some fifty seven feet tall, the statue depicts Bahubali, son of the first Jain tirthankara Rishabhanatha, in the standing meditative kayotsarga posture he is said to have held until vines grew up his legs, a testament to the renunciation at the heart of Jain teaching. Chavundaraya, remembered in Digambara tradition for commissioning the work as an act of devotion, raised the statue in Karnataka's Digambara heartland, and the site around it grew into one of Jainism's principal pilgrimage centers, drawing hundreds of ancient inscriptions in Kannada, Tamil, Sanskrit and Marathi across the centuries that followed. The statue's grand head anointing ceremony, the Mahamastakabhisheka, is still performed roughly once every twelve years, more than two centuries before Jagatchandra Suri founded the Tapa Gaccha in 1228, already recorded here.
Facts
Dates
StatusEstablished marks Chavundaraya's 981 CE consecration of the Gommateshvara statue at Shravanabelagola, a specific dated milestone between Devarddhi-gani's redaction of the Svetambara canon at Valabhi in 453 already recorded here and Jagatchandra Suri founding the Tapa Gaccha in 1228 also recorded here. Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Digambara directly: "Chavundaraya, remembered in Digambara tradition for commissioning the work as an act of devotion, raised the statue in Karnataka's Digambara heartland, and the site around it grew into one of..."
Ganga, Deities This source names Ganga directly: "and minister serving the Western Ganga dynasty of Karnataka, completed the consecration of a colossal monolithic statue of Bahubali, carved from a single granite outcrop atop Vindhyagiri hill at..."
This source names Karnataka directly: "serving the Western Ganga dynasty of Karnataka, completed the consecration of a colossal monolithic statue of Bahubali, carved from a single granite outcrop atop Vindhyagiri hill at..."
This source names Marathi directly: "in Kannada, Tamil, Sanskrit and Marathi across the centuries that followed."
This source names Rishabhanatha directly: "son of the first Jain tirthankara Rishabhanatha, in the standing meditative kayotsarga posture he is said to have held until vines grew up his legs, a testament to the renunciation at the heart of..."
This source names Shravanabelagola directly: "outcrop atop Vindhyagiri hill at Shravanabelagola, more than five centuries after Devarddhi-gani redacted the Svetambara canon at Valabhi in 453, already recorded here."
This source names Valabhi directly: "redacted the Svetambara canon at Valabhi in 453, already recorded here."
Occurred In
Spread Event Of
Adds a specific, dated milestone in Jainism's history between the Svetambara canon's redaction at Valabhi in 453 and Jagatchandra Suri founding the Tapa Gaccha in 1228, both already recorded here: Chavundaraya's 981 CE consecration of the colossal Gommateshvara statue at Shravanabelagola, still the center of Jain pilgrimage in Karnataka.
Sources
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