Shravanabelagola
Atop the Vindhyagiri hill stands Asia’s tallest monolithic statue, and yet, you need to toil up 600-odd steps for a glimpse of it. Shravanabelagola as a Jain bastion is home to many basadis and is a vital stop to the pilgrim. The 52-foot statue of Bahubali from its high perch has a gaze that takes in the lay of a rather scenic land – a treat you can partake, provided you make the arduous climb up.
Tens of thousands carvings representing action-packed sequences from the Hindu myths chipped from black soapstone cover the length and breadth of the Chennakesava Temple. As you go from one magical carving to the next, along the temple’s star shaped platform in almost-reverent wonder, you are unwittingly tracing the path of the pradakshana like the devout Hoysalas once did. The same applies to the Hoyasaleshwara Temple at Haleebedu – the erstwhile capital of the Hoysalas – that again is made out of black soapstone, but with bigger and more intricate sculptures. Your heart breaks with your guides, when he tells you about the fall of Haleebedu.
Prayer might be the last thing on your mind as you marvel at the intricacy of the carvings at the Chennakesava Temple or while you absentmindedly accept the prasad at the Hoysalaeshwara Temple, and it would take a really devout pilgrim to focus on god while panting and wheezing up the 600-odd step climb to Shravanabelagola
Connectivity
By Flight
Nearest Airport: Bangalore Airport – 145 kms
By Rail
Nearest Railway station: Hassan – 55 kms
By Road
Distance from Major towns: Bangalore: 176 km, Hassan: 49 km
Belur: 85 km, Halebidu: 79 km, Mysore: 83 km
Best time to visit : October to March
Chandragiri You can see the Chandragupta Basadi of the Gangas and the Parashwanatha Basadi here, besides several Jain temples. There is also a famous temple built by Chamundaraya.
Indragiri : Indragiri has the Gommata monolith, the statue of Bahubali, said to be the tallest monolithic structure in the world. This statue, the exquisitely engraved Tyagada Brahma Pillar, along with Siddhara Basadi, Odegal Basadi, Chennanna Basadi and Chauvvisa Tirthankara Basadi was installed by a Ganga general and scholar Chamundaraya.
Jinanathapura: Located north of Shravanabelagola, this place has the Aregal Basadi and the Shantinatha Basadi of Hoysala times.
Inscriptions : More than about 800 inscriptions related to Shravanabelagola are found here, belonging to the period before 10th century. Some of them are recording death by starving (sallekhana) by Jain ascetics and laymen.
Bhattaraka Math : This Math belongs to the Desiya Gana lineage of Mula Sangha of Digambar monastic tradition.
