The other Gomateshwara

If one is world famous, the other is not even known in its neighbourhood. If  one is remembered every day as one of mankind’s greatest achievement, the other is not even mentioned.

If one is accounted among the tallest, the other is small in size. They are a sharp study in contrast.

They are two sculptures of the same deity and perhaps even from the same sculptor. They both belong to the same dynasty and perhaps they are only a few years apart. Unfortunately, only one of them is well-known while the other is languishing in obscurity.

The contrast is between the same status of Bahubali or Gomateshwara, While the Gomateshwara in Shravanabelogala in Hassan district is too well-known to merit any mention, its earlier cousin located in the village of Tippur or Tippurur in Maddur district of  Mandya district is not even in the tourist books. Nor is it on any tourist itinery.

Both the statues were built by the Gangas of Talkad. A local legend of  Tippur or Bastitipur has it that Chavundaraya, the poet-minister-builder and commander of the Gangas first built the statue of Gomata here before going in for a bigger statue in Shravanabelogala. 

If the Gomata in Shravanabelogala is 57 feet in height, the statue at Tippur or Aretippur is just four feet in height. The statue at Tippur is similar in construction to its big brother in Shravanabelogala.      

It has floral scrolls and creepers winding up its leg and historians say it is a prototype of the one at Shravanabelagola.

However, the statue is reckoned to be crude and looks unfinished. It is set on a small hillock, adjoining another hillock. Thus the construction of the statue, the two hills and floral patterns on the idol make it a prototype of the bigger one.

This statue is believed to be the oldest among all the seven statues of Bahubali or Gomata in Karnataka. There is another eighteen foot statue of Bahubali near Basadihalli in Mandya district. Basidihalli is better known today as Kurubara Basti. This statue too is uncared for and is almost in ruins.  

During the period of the Gangas, Shravanabelogala, Tippur and even Basadihalli were well-known Jain centers. However, after the Cholas overran Gangas around 1000AD, only Shravanabelogala retained its former glory while the other two gradually fade away. Today, except for Shravanabelogala, the other two are not even mentioned.  

The two hillocks of Tippur are called Kanakagiri or Jinagudda and Savanappana Betta. An edict found in Tippur says that the place was called Tippeyur or Bastiya Tippur. There is historical evidence to prove that a basadi was built here during the time of Ganga kings (916-17 AD).
A soldier called Manaleyar built the basadi during the period of the Ganga Emperor Neetimarga Permadi. The basadi was later gifted  to Jain saint Kanaka Bhattararya. It was this saint who gave the hillock the name Kanakagiri.
Kanakagiri is now an  open-air museum housing several Jain memorials and sculptures. There are ruins of four basadis built of brick. In a heap of bricks that lie scattered here, one can still spot the foundations of these structures. In the middle of this heap of bricks is a stone edict. This edict is inscribed by poet Balachandradeva in memory of his father and guru Kandarpadeva and mother Sonnadevi.
The edict also points out that the Jain centre was given away to Maddur’s Sriramachandra Deva by the 14th century.
There is a beautiful tank on Kanakagiri called Kanakagiri Teertha. On the banks of this tank are some Jain sculptures that point to the existence of Parshwanath and Suparshwanatha basadis. There are several other sculptures all strewn around on the ground here.
Towards the north of Kanakagiri is Savanappana Gudda.
Here, atop the hill is a ten feet tall statue of Bahubali. The edict found here points out that the statue was constructed  here in 918 AD much before the Gommateshwara statue in Shravanabelagola which was constructed in 984 AD.
This statue is called Savanappa by locals. The Savanappana Gudda is being harmed by stone quarrying.
Stones are being cut away with the help of machines. Sometimes, dynamite is also used to blow up some parts of the hillock, sending out vibrations across the area. If mining continues unabated, in a few years, the hill is likely to be history.
The local deity of Tippur village is Jinamma. Unlike in some villages where a sacrifice is offered to the grama devata (village deity), Tippur village has no such practice. This could be because of  the Jain influence of non-violence.

  The Jain centre of Basadi Hoskote is situated at the backwaters of KRS in Mandya district.

It is just 55 kms from Mysore and it houses a shrine of Gomata apart from five basadis called pancha basadi.

The basadis are dedicated to Adinath, Shanthinath, Neminath, Mahavir and Bahubali. However, the primary attraction here is the  18 feet high idol of Bahubali.

The unique feature of the shrine is the fact that though there are no Jains residing in and around the village, villagers of  Sapanahalli, Basasi Hoskote, Hosa Mavinakere, Hale Mavinakere, Ganjigere, Ballenahalli, Murukanahalli, Kurubarabasti, Kabbalagerepura and Machgonahalli  participate in the puja.

Take the Mysore -Channarayapatna state highway via Modur and travel further on Bookanakere, Machagonahalli and reach  Kurubarabasti or take the Krishnarajapet, Vittalapura, Ganjigere, Machagonahalli road and reach Basadi Hoskote.
The statue here is carved out of soap stone and is seen leaning to its right side. There are beautifully carved branches, petals at the feet and legs of the statue. There are mutilated pieces of sculpture and  damaged sculptures of Parshwanatha and other Tirthankaras in sitting (padmasana) and standing (kayotsarga) postures.

The river Cavery flows nearby.
Another statue is at Gommatagiri, which is about 20 km from Mysore and it is located situated in Bilikere hobli of Hunsur taluk.

Gommatagiri is an acclaimed Jain centre of learning an philosophy. The 700-year-old statue of Gomata is on a 50 meter tall hillock called Shravana Gudda.

The statue of Gomata is an early Vijayanagar creation in granite. It has serene facial expressions and curly hair. This Jain centre attracts many pilgrims during the annual "Maha masthakabhisekha" in September.

The statue at Gommatagiri has striking similarities to its famous counterpart in  Shravanabelogala except that it is dwarfed in size in comparison.

However, the statue at Gommatagiri is in danger of being irretrievably damaged due to quarrying, and the explosions triggered off in the region have resulted in cracks at the base of the statue. The joints supporting the hillock have widened because of the blasts and the hillock needs to be strengthened.

Gommatagiri is on a diversion road from Bilikere and about 12 kms from Yelwal.

Thus there are five main monolithic statues of Bahubali in Karnataka measuring more than 20 feet in height. They are the statues of Bahubali of  57 feet at Shravanabelogala in Hasan district built in  981 AD, the 42 feet statue at Karkala in Udupi district built in  1432 AD, the 39 feet statue at Dharmastala in Dakshina Kannada district built in 1973 AD, the 35 feet statue at Venur in Dakshina Kannada district in 1604 AD and the 20 feet statue at Gommatagiri in Mysore district built in the 12th Century.

A devout Jain who was a military genius, poet and builder

Chavundaraya is synonymous with the construction of the Gomateshwara in Shravanabelogala. A Jain, he is also known as one of the ministers of the Western Ganga Emperors who ruled over large tracts of south Karnataka.

The Ganga Emperors had Talakad as their capital and they were very faithful vassals of the Rashtrakutas and they fought many wars for the Rashtrakutas. They even took on the Cholas on behalf of the Rashkrakutas.

Chavundraya also known as Chamundaraya (940–989) was also a renowned military commander of the times and he had been given the title Samara Parushurama and Ranaranga Singa . He was a veteran of many wars and his knowledge of military tactics was exceptional.

He played a vital role in the battles fought with Rajaditya, Vajjaladeva, Govinda and the battles of Bageyurakote, Ucchangi and Gonarabayalu which are all  well documented in inscriptitions and literary works

A Brahmin by birth, Chavundaraya himself says he converted to Kshatriya caste. A 10th century inscription in Algodu village in Mysore district and an inscription in Arani in Mandya district sheds light on the genealogy of Chavundaraya.

The inscriptions says that Chavundaya was the son of  Govindamaiah.

It is believed that Chavundaraya owed his scholarship and interest in literature to his initial upbringing as a Brahmin. He was also a patron of art, architecture, literature. But not many know that Chavundaraya was himself a poet of repute and the second oldest works on verse in Kannada language was written by him. He was also adept in Sanskrit in which he has written some works

An ardent devotee of the Jain ascetics, Nemichandra and Ajitasena Bhattaraka, this powerful minister of the Gangas commissioned the Gomata statue in 982.

Chavundaraya exerted immense influence during the rule of the Ganga Emperors, Narasimha, the second, Rachamalla the fourth and Rachamalla the fifth.  

It is really a mystery how this multi-talented personality found time to pen down some of the well-known works of his age.

His Chavundaraya Purana, also known as Trishasthi Lakshana Purana, is a Kannada work which was written in 978. It is very probable that the “Charitrasara” in Sanskrit was written during the same time or a little later.

The Kannada work is important as it is the second work in verse in the language.

Chavundaraya Purana is a summary of the Sanskrit works, Adipurana and Uttarapurana, written by Jinasena and Gunabhadra during the rule of Rashtrakuta Emperor Amoghavarsha.

The prose is written in simple and lucid Kannada and it does not have any reference to complicated Jain philosophy.

It narrates the legends of twenty-four Jain Thirthankaras, twelve Chakravartis, nine Balabhadras, nine Narayanas and nine Pratinarayanas – narrations on sixty-three Jain proponents in all

Apart from being a writer, Chavundaraya personally patronised  the two famous Kannada grammarians Gunavarma and Nagavarma, the first.

Kannada language and literature owes an indelible debt to Chavundaraya for having patronized the poet Ranna whose  Parusharama Charitre is an eulogy of  Chavundaraya.

Charitrasara  is a scholarly treatise  on the subject of the practices of ascetics. He has also written a commentary on Nemichandra’s Gommatasara. If Gommatasara is in Prakit, Chavundaraya’s commentary called Vira Martandai is in Kannada. Unfortunately this book is supposedly lost.

However, we have references to this work by another commentator, Kesava Varni, who is the author of  Kesavavarniya Vritthi.

Chavundaraya’s contribution is acknowledged in an inscription in the Tyagada Brahmadeva pillar in Shravanabelogala where is called a gem in the jewel of Lakshmi and a moon.

He also personally helped out Ranna when the latter came to Talkad from his home in north Karnataka.   

A devout Jain, Chavundaya practiced Jain religion with full dedication. He lived his life according to the Jain tenets. He and his family members- mother Kalala Devi, wife Ajita Devi,  son Jina Deva, younger sister Pullava and younger brother Naga Varma were all strict Jains and they lived the life of austere Jains.

Well, the story of Chavundaraya and the statue of Gomata is too long to write here. Suffice it to say that it is a shining example of his work as a builder.

Chavundaraya thus comes across as an all-rounder. He was a warrior, patron of arts and literature, poet and writer, Minister and adviser, a devout Jain and above all a fine human being. 

 

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?