A cure for Kalasarpa Dosha

This is one of the holiest pilgrimage spots of one of the oldest religions of the world. It is barely 54 kilometers away from the royal city of Mysore and yet it is not as widely heard of as other pilgrim centres.

Emperors and Kings patronised the shrine on the hill here and monks and seers performed penance for decades, seeking salvation and nirvana. shrine and pious monks lived here doing their penance for centuries.

The pilgrim centre is all the more famous as Mahaveera, one of the Jain theerthankaras, is believed to have passed through this place, Today, this centre, which is surrounded by lush green forests and captivating wildlife, is slowly emerging from obscurity and it is becoming a major tourist and wildlife attraction.

This is Kanakagiri, one of the holiest of  pilgrim places for the Jains and an unmatched tourist destination which offers a little bit of everything-wildlife, ancient temples, legends and local myths, trekking, Nature and  ever green forests. Add to this good, clean and fairly reasonable accommodation and excellent food at the Jain centre and you have the perfect picnic spot.

Kanakagiri in Chamarajanagar district is 53 Kms away from Mysore and it is adjoining  Maleyuru, the small village which is connected by bus from Mysore,  Nanjangud and Chamarajanagar.

The Kanakagiri hill centuries ago was known as Hemanga Desha and Jain accounts speak of Mahaveera once having passed through this place during his southern sojourn.

What sets this place apart fro other Jain centres such as Shravanabelagola and Moodabidari is its relative seclusion and evergreen surroundings. Set 18 kms from Chamarajanagar, this pilgrim spot was the very place where one of the most famous Jain author, grammarian and scholar, Ācārya Pūjyapāda, lived. The acharya belonged to the Didambara sect of the Jains and before initiation as a Jain ascetic, he was known as Devanandi.

Jains believed and still do that as the Acharya was worshiped by demigods on account of his  scholarship and deep piety, he was named Pūjyapāda.

He was heavily influenced by the writings of his predecessors like Ācārya Kundakunda and Ācārya Samantabhadra. He is rated as among the greatest of the early masters of Jain literature.

He wrote in Sanskrit, in prose as well as verse form. He was a pontiff of the Nandi sangha, which was a part of the lineage of Ācārya Kundakunda. He was the tenth guru of the Sangha. What makes the Acharya and his association with Kanakagiri all the more important to Kannadigas is that he was from a Brahmin family from Karnataka and his parents were Madhava Bhatta and Shridevi.

Ācārya Pūjyapāda was the guru of Emperor Durvinita of the Ganga dynasty and we can, therefore, date his period as having lived between 464 - 524 AD.

He later chose this hillock for his penance and attained salvation here itself. The inscriptions, engravings of footprints, samadhi mantapas and nishadi caves in the hill here throw much light on the heritage of the place as well as the history of Jain religion.

There is an interesting story on how the hill got its name. The Acharya’s nephew Nagarjuna, who lived here, was driven to poverty after the death of his father. He undertook rigorous penance in a cave on the hill and acquired the power to convert everything he laid his hands on into gold. Ecstatic with newly found magical powers, he began to convert the entire hill into gold. However Goddess Padmavathi Devi, who had granted him the boon, prevented him from misusing the boon further and directed him to build a temple.

Nagarjuna then built the present temple of Sri Parshwanatha on the hill. Locals to this day swear that fragments of gold could be seen around the hillock and hence the name Kanakagiri or the hillock of gold. When the temple was completed, it came to be known as Athishaya Kshetra Kanakagiri.

When Hoysala Emperors worshiped here and won a major battle,
they called this place as Vijaya Parshwanatha. The Gangas, Emperors of Vijayanagar and Wodeyar Kings all came here.

Coming to the hill, 370 steps have been cut out from the rock face to enable the devotees to climb up to the hill shrine. A motorable road is also being laid, side by side, to the top. The flight of steps passing through the arches leads to the northern entrance of the temple.
The sanctum has an attractive three foot image of Parshwanatha. The images of Kushmandini and Padmavathi Devi face each other. A rare feature of the images is that the goddesses are believed to be embodiments of Rahu and Kethu respectively.

They are believed to have a special force, Divyashakthi, between them to eliminate the ill-effects of Rahu and Kethu, known as Kalasarpa Dosha. Thus Kanakagiri is the only place where Rahu and Kethu face each other. Thousands of people troubled by planetary effects visit the place and seek solace and solution.

Even Queen Deveerammanni of  the Wodeyars from Mysore visited the temple to find a solution to her problems. Once her problems were solved, she presented a specially made snakehood with the figures of Dharanendra and Padmavathi to the temple.
A walk behind the temple takes you to Nagarjuna Guhe, the cave where Nagarjuna sat in meditation. The pond nearby has fresh water all through the year and this water is used for abhisheka in the temple.

The hill is punctuated by small, pink coloured cells with the footprints of twenty four Jain Thirthankaras. In the centre of the footprints is a large mantapa bearing the footprints of  Pujyapada. The view of the surrounding forests from the top of the hill is panoramic.
The Jain math, at the base of the hill, serves free meals as prasada for all the visitors everyday. Accommodation is also available here.

Maleyuru
Maleyuru village is just three kilometers from Kanakagiri and both share a close bond. It was once one of the important Jain centres in the world and it is well known for its sandalwood.

According to a legend, Princess Jevandara of the Ganga dynasty attained sainthood at the behest of Mahaveera when he visited this place. Many saints undertook penance and attained Kevala Jnana and salvation atop the hill.

Jain ascetics Supratishta Munivarya of Suryapura and Jnanachandra Munivarya preached here to the devotees and thus propagated the principles of Jain religion.

The nearest railway station to approach Kanakagiri is Chamarajanagar.  For accommodation and other details contact  Sri Digambar Jain Mutt, Sri Kshetra Kanakagiri, 571128, Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka: Phone - 91 08226 296786

Nearby is the Survarnavathi reservoir. Large herds of elephants can be seen in the waters of this reservoir during May-June. The scenic beauty of Nature around the dam is breathtaking and is a spot worth visiting.

This statue is taller than Gomata

This statue is taller than the Gomateshwara of Shravanabelogala in Hassan district of Karnataka. Like the Gomateshwara, this too is a statue of  one of the Jain Thirthankaras.

While the date and year in which the Gomata statue was consecrated is known, this statue unfortunately cannot be precisely dated. What is generally known is that it is an ancient statue but apart from that not much is known about it. We can only date it to a particular century.

Though the place is known among the Jains as it is a pilgrim centre, outsiders are either ignorant or unaware of this beautiful statue. Tourists too are not aware of this beautiful monolith.

This is the statue of Adinath, the first of the Jain Thirthankaras and the statue is in Barwani in the State of Madhya Pradesh.

This is one of the tallest statues in the world and it rises to an imposing height of 84 feet or 26 metres.

The difference between the statues of Gomata and here is that unlike the Shravanabelogala one, this statue has support at the back. All we know  is that this statue was built in the 12^th century.

The statue of Adinath is in Malwa region at the foothills of the beautiful Satpura ranges.

 The Malwa region is locate between Satpura and Vindhyachal mountains. The Narmada, Shipra and Chambal rivers flow in the region.    

The Satpura ranges have been the favorite place of great ascetics and preceptors for centuries and Bawangaja or its district headquarters of Barwani is no exception. The town is at a height of  4,000 feet (1,219.4 m) and it is all the more holy as it houses the idol of the founder of Jainism who is also the first of the Thirthankaras- Rishabh Dev or Adinath.

The statue is carved on single stone and Adinath is in meditation.

The place where the idol is consecrated is called as Chulgiri Siddha Kshetra and it is made by of a single stone.

The Khadgasan idol is made of brown stone. As no written evidence is available regarding its construction it is very difficult to say anything about its construction period.

The hands of Adinath are not joined with legs but are made separate. The idol has perfect proportions and its parts are  symmetrical. There is a balanced image of all emotions like joy, mercy and separation on the face of  Adinath.

On the left side of the idol is the four armed Gomukh Yaksha and on the right is 16-armed Yakshi Chakreshvary. The entire idol can be seen only from some distance but the nearer you get to the idol, the lesser view you get of the monolith.

This is also the place of meditation and Nirvana  of Ravana’s son Indrajeet and of Ravana’s younger brother Kumbakarna and several other Jain ascetics.

There are ten other Jain temples nearby and they were constructed in the 15th century. Buses are available for Bawangaja from Badwani  every 30 minutes. Buses are available from Indore, Ujjain, Khandwa and Baroda  
The nearest railway station is Indore which is 160 km from Badwani.  The nearest airport is Indore. Accommodation and food is available at the temple itself.

The Jain Ashoka

What Emperor Ashoka was to Buddhism, he was to Jainism. If Ashoka converted to Buddhism, he converted to Jainism. Ashoka built Stupas and Viharas while he built basadis and Jain temples.

If Ashoka sent emissaries to Sri Lanka to spread Buddhism,  he sent mission to Afghanistan to teach them the basic tenets of Jainism.

He succeed to the Mauryan throne after Ashoka. A grandson of Ashoka, his name was Samprati and he is the most underrated and misunderstood kings of India.

Samprati was the son of Kunala the son of Ashoka who had been wrongly blinded during the reign of Ashoka. After Ashoka died in 272 AD, the nobles of Pataliputra placed Samprati on the throne.

Samprati’s elevation to the Mauryan throne is the stuff of legends. Ashoka had pledged to give 100 crores to the Buddhist Sangha. He had managed to give 86 crores and he had to pay a further amount of 4 crores to fulfill his promise. Before he could pay the amount, he died.

However, to honor his word, Ashoka had pledged his kingdom to the Sangha. During the period of Ashoka, the Sangha was the most powerful body and it looks like they wielded extra constitutional authority.

When the Sangha insisted on the payment of the rest of the amount, the ministers managed to raise the money, paid it to the Sangha and redeemed the kingdom.

They then placed Samprati on the throne as they did not want the son of Sangamitra, the daughter of Ashoka, a Buddhist, on the throne.

Samrat Samprati, as he is known, reigned from 224 to 215 BC. He was a capable ruler and he ruled the entire present-day Indian sub-continent.

Emperor Samprati is poorly highlighted in Indian history. He is regarded as the “Jain Ashoka” for his patronage and efforts to spreading Jainism in east India.

Samprati, according to Jain historians, is considered more powerful and famous than Ashoka himself. The historical authenticity of Samprati is proved because Samprati Vihär, after the name of Samprati, existed at Vadamänu in the Krishna Valley during the second century BC.

Under the influence of Suhasti (the disciple of Acharya Sthulibhadra), the leading saint of the Jain community, Samprati was again converted to Jainism.

Jain texts say that Samprati built thousands of  jain temples in India, many of which still exist, such as the Jain temples at Viramgam and Palitana in Gujarat and Agar Malwa  in Ujjain. History says within three and a half years of coming to power, Samprati he built one hundred and twenty-five thousand new temples, repaired 36,000 Jain temples, repaired 12,500 Jain idols and consecrated thousands of statues.

He erected Jain temples throughout his empire and founded Jain monasteries everywhere.

According to Jaina tradition, King Samprati had no children. He considered it the consequence of earlier Karma and observed the religious customs more scrupulously

Like his great grandfather Chandragupta Maurya, he too was staunch follower and patron of Jainism. He was disciple of the  Jain ascetic Suhasti.

According to historian Vincent Smith, the Mauryan Emperor Samprati sent Jain monks and scholars to Arabsthan, Iran and Greece for spread of Jainism. He also sent Jain missionaries to south India.

Before the departure of the missionaries, Samprati  sent some spies in form of monks in the territories to clear the routes from any threats. Because of Samprati, Jainism took an aggressive role and  spread to west and Central India, Deccan and Coorg in South India.

A devout Jain, he opened food centers for the poor. He asked his feudatories to prohibit killing of animals. There are several cave temples ascribed to him.

According to the Jain tradition he ruled for 53 years He later shifted his capital to Ujjain. Here, he set about celebrating his transformation as a Jain. He ordered all Jain festivities to be held with gaiety and pomp. Almost everyday, there was a procession or festival in which Suhasti and his brother Mahagiri participated.

Sampriti became such an enthusiastic Jain, that he ensured that the Jain monks in Ujjain were given adequate comfort.

Though Suhasti reluctantly accepted the hospitality of Samprati and even ore reluctantly relaxed the strict norm of good living for Samprati, Mahagiri had revived the naked form of Jainsim and he was a austere ascetic.

Mahagiri did not want any worldly attachments and he remonstrated frequently with Samprati when he was plied with good food. With Suhasti allowing Samprati more leeway, Mahagiri found himself in a difficult position in the Ujjain court.

Meanwhile, Samprati plied the Jain ascetics with good food and  gifts. Both the Jain ascetics found it difficult to refuse for fear of offending the Emperor.

However, Mahagiri had no more stomach for good food. When all remonstrance with the Emperor proved useless, he retired to Dasaranabhadra where he starved himself to death.

  

The temple where no two pillars are alike

This temple has nearly 1,500 pillars and all of them are intricately carved. But what sets this out from other temples in India is that no two pillars are the same. Morever it has 38,000 idols and carvings, big ands small.

Each pillar of the Rishabanath or Adinath temple in Ranakpur village of Pali district of Rajasthan is different from the other. Built in marble, this beautiful structure can at best be described as poetry in architecture.

Generally regarded to be among the most spectacular of the Jain temples in India, this structure was built almost 600 years ago. It is also called the Chow mukha (four faced) temple and Trailokya Deepak. It has 29 halls and 80 domes and 32 arched gates.

The upper and lower parts of the domes are linked by brackets that have deities' sculptures.

The entire structure is 313 feet in breadth and 290 ft in length.

Light colored marble has been extensively used and the pillars are so built that you just cannot count it on your own. Every time you start counting, you lose the numbers and you have to start again.

It is not only the pillars that stand out here. All the statues in the temple face each other and with the pillars they form a beautiful symmetry.

One of the many carvings which are worth a detailed look is made of single marble. It is of 108 snakes with as many hoods and so many tails that you cannot find the end of the tail. Another peculiar feature of this carving is that it faces all the four directions.

However, the largest image or carving is in the axis of the temple on its western side.

The temple is designed as a structure with four faces. It is on a small hill and it has several domes and cupolas. It was built in 1437 by Dhanna Shah under the patronage of Rana Khumba, the ruler of Mewar.

In the temple complex, there are several other temples, including Chaumukha temple, Parsavanath temple, Amba Mata Temple and Surya Temple. The Chaumukha Temple is the most important and  temple with the deity of  four-faced Chaturmukha. This is a structure dedicated to Adinath, the first Tirthankara of the Jains. The deity of  Adinath, sitting on padmasana,  is white in color and about 180 cms in height.

The Temple has four different doors to get inside the chambers which then take you to the main hall where this image of Adinath is consecrated.

The pillars or columns change their color from gold to pale blue every year. The prayer hall has two huge bells each weighing 108 kgs. The temple has one of the largest  subterranean vaults spread over a mammoth area of 48000 square feet..

Another peculiarity about the temple is that its exterior is carved with erotic poses. This contrasts sharply with the beautiful but covered and modest carvings in the interior of the temple.

Some o the images and carvings are mutilated, thanks to the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb.

The temple is said to have taken 65 years to build.

There are two smaller temples nearby built after two other Jain Tirthankars, Neminath and Parsvanath. The small but beautiful Sun Temple here is even today under the control of the royal family of Udaipur. This temple is known for its superbly carved windows.

Rankapur is only a village which is between Udaipur (90 kms) and Jodhpur (160kms). The nearest railway station is Falna or Phalna which is 30 kms away. Rankapur is well-connected by roads and tourists generally make it a day trip from Udaipur. A local bus from Udaipur stops right opposite the temple every hour and its costs Rs 45 per person. The journey back to Udaipur takes about three hours.

Another must at the Rankapur temple is having food at the Bhojana Shala. The food is simple but extremely delicious. It is purely vegetarian but the taste is well, yummy. Eat to your heart’s content and have as many helpings as you want.

There are some good hotels around the village. You can also stay back in the rooms of the temple. They are clean but Spartan and cost you Rs. 200 per day.

Other attractions are a jeep Safari or nature hike through the Rankapur valley or the nearby Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary

A horseback safari through the Aravalli mountains, the Ranakpur Valley and the Kumbhalgarh wildlife sanctuary is worth a try.

   

The King who walked out as a naked saint

Today there is an article in Bangalore Mirror about Digambara Jains wanting police protection for their saints. The article says there have been several instances in Bangalore when people have tried to cover the bare body of the Digambara munis.
The article says some people opposed to munis waking bare bodied on roads. This is surprising as Bangalore has always been known for its tolerance and cosmopolitan outlook.
Morever, Jainsim was born in India and it is one of the oldest religions. Karnataka has a large number of  Jain monuments and some of its greatest kings like Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysalas, Amoghavarsha of the Rashtrakutas are Jains.
Almost all the dynasties that ruled Karnataka-the Gangas, Kadambas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas, Kalachuris, Rashtrakutas, Vijayanagars and  Wodeyars, patronized Jainism along with Hinduism.
Karnataka has several centres of Jain learning and pilgrimage such as Shravanabelogala, Moodabidari, Venur, Karkala and even Hampi. Early and mediaeval Kannada literature owes a lot of Jainism as many of  the greatest posts and writers such as Pampa, Ranna, Ponna, Nagachandra, Amoghavarsha, Chavundaraya were Jains.
When this is the case it is surprising to note that the Jain munis faced harassment in and around Bangalore. Jains and Jainism are not alien to people of Karnataka and the people are familiar with both sects of Jains-Digambars and the Swethambars.
Digambar munis renounce everything, including clothes. They do not cover themselves. They practice a life of severe austerity. They do not cook food and nor do they get any food cooked. They go to Jain houses and take food in their palms and eat.
The Digambar sect is not of recent origin. Both the Digambara and Swethambara sects are almost of the same time and  south India, India, particularly is familiar with both of them.
In fact, Digambaras have been visiting Karnataka from several; centuries. One of the most illustrious disciples of the Digambara sect is Chandragupta Maurya.
Chandragupta was the founder of India’s first unified kingdom. He battled the armies of Alexander (By then Alexander had died and he had nominated Selucus Nikator as Governor of northern provinces of Punjab and Afghanisthan. A part of  Alexander’s army had remained here) and won a decisive war against the Greeks.
Selucus was not only forced to cede Punjab to Chandragupta but also give his daughter in marriage o Chandragupta. A Greek ambassador, Megesthenes, was sent to the court of Chandragupta in 302 BC.
Megesthenses records that the palace of Chandragupta was more beautiful and magnificent than all other palaces he had seen. He also speaks about the towering pillars and the pillared hall. (The ruins of the pillars have been found in Kumrahar near Pataliputra or Patna in Bihar. )
In his book called Indika,  Megesthenes gives a vivid account of the pomp of the Maurayas and the regal manner in which Chandragupta conducted himself. He wore robes of the finest silk and muslin and he was suitably covered with gold ornaments. He  was always watched and guarded by women warriors.
The Maurya palace, Megesthenes said, consisted of  gilded pillars clasped all around with a vine embossed in gold and decorated with silver images of birds. He says the royal palace was filled with wonders which neither Memnonian Susa in all its glory nor the magnificence of Ekbatana can hope to vie; indeed, only the well-known vanity of the Persians could imagine such a comparison."

Chandragupta rarely appeared in public and when he did so it was with full paraphernalia of royal attire, weapons and guards. All this changed in 298 BC when he gave up the throne and accepted the Digambara form of Jainsim.  

Chandragupta installed his son Bimbisara on the throne and in what can only be described as an astonishing act, gave up everything including his kingdom and accepted Bhadrabahu as his Guru.

Chandragupta and his Guru then walked all the way from Pataliputra in Bihar to Shravanabelogala in Karnataka. Please imagine the contrast in the lifestyles. A king giving up everything he had  and going out in the world without taking anything.

Chandragupta walked bare bodied all the way to Shravanabelogala along with Guru and 12,000 disciples. When the large group reached Shravanabelogala, Bhadrabahu decided to stay back here along with Chandragupta. He knew his end was here and he wanted to prepare himself for it. The Guru only wanted Chandragupta by his side. Chandragupta was christened as Acharya Prabhachandra.

A large body of ascetics under Acharya Vishaknanda went further south.  Both Bhadrabahu and Chandragupta retied to the Chandragiri hills. (The idol of Gomateshwara is on the other hill called Vindhyagiri or Gomatagiri). Bhadrabahu began fasting without eating food in a cave which today is known as Bhadrabahu cave. This tradition of  giving up one’s body is called Sallekhana.
Meanwhile, Chandragupta was asked to stay in a small place a little away and today it is better known as Chandragupta basadi. This basadi was rebuilt by Ashoka, the grandson of  Chandragupta.

The basadi has carvings or rather inscriptions which detail Chandragupta’s  migration from Pataliputra to Shravanabelogala. It also gibes information about Chandragupta and his association with Bhadrabahu.
Chandragupta survived Bhadrabahu by 12 years and he died in 298 or 297 BC. He too took the Jain path of  complete renunciation  by going in for Sallekhana.
Thus both Guru and Shishya died following Sallekhana at the same place. Even today, the footprints of both Bhadrabahu and Chandragupta can be seen on the Chandragiri hill.
Historical records show that nearly 110 Jains have performed Sallekhana at Sharavanabelogala between the 6^th century and 19^th century. Of them,  64 are by monks, 11 are  nuns, 23 male disciples, and eight  female disciples. The list also has  two warriors, two local officials and  two merchants. Jain texts and locals say more than 700  Jain munis and women saints have performed Sallekhana.
When a king can come down from the position of lording over others to going without clothes and food, what ails the people from accepting such a kind of life. Digambara munis renounce everything including clothes. Can those who tried to clothe them do so?