Gomateshwara, the tallest monolithic statue

The colossal statue of Gomateshwara or Bahubali is situated at Shravanabelagola, the ancient religious town in Hassan district of Karnataka, 158 km away from Bangalore. This gigantic statue of lord Bahubali, carved out of a single block of granite standing majestically on top of a hill, is the tallest monolithic statue in the world. It is 17 m/55 ft (approximately) high and is visible from a distance of 30 km. It was built in the 10th century AD by Chavundaraya, a minister of the Ganga King Rachmalla (975-986 AD).

Set amid two hills and aqua green lakes, Shravanabelagola is a Jain religious centre with an unbroken tradition from the 3rd century AD. The neighbouring areas have Jain settlements and several statues of Jain Tirthankaras. Visitors can have a beautiful view of the surrounding areas from the top of the hill.

Gomateshwara, also known as Bahubali, was the second of the one hundred sons of the first Jain Tirthankara, Lord Rishabha, who was the king of Podanpur. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world visit the statue once in 12 years for Mahamastakabhisheka rituals.

According to legends, envious of the prosperity, power and fame of Bahubali, his elder brother Bharat wanted to conquer his kingdom. As war would destroy both the kingdoms, the ministers of both sides began negotiations and decided upon a personal fight between the brothers to settle the matter. The last part of the fight was to be fought by hitting the opponent’s head with fists. Bharat, taking the first blow, knocked Bahubali almost to the ground. The next turn was that of Bahubali who was known for the strength of his arm capable of killing Bharat with a single blow. But realizing that fighting his elder brother for material gains was not righteous, he did not hit him but tore at his own hair. Thus he gave up his kingdom and took up the path of ascetic life and meditation.

According to custom, monks who accept monastic vows must bow to all others who took such vows previously. If Bahubali went to Lord Rishabdev for permission to take monastic vows, he would have to bow down to all his 98 younger brothers, who had renounced worldly life before him. His ego did not permit him do that, and hence could not attain the supreme knowledge.

On understanding about his folly, his sisters approached him and prayed to give up his pride and ego. As Bahubali realized his mistake and shed his pride and ego, he attained divine knowledge, truth and enlightenment. After this, Bahubali went to his father who welcomed him and Bahubali began preaching and showing people the right path.

At the feet of Gomateswara

Surrender, originally uploaded by вαℓα¢нαη∂∂єя $к.

This image was captured by the original author when the priest bent down to offer his prayer to the idol (statue) of Gomateswara at Shravanabelagola temple, 158 km away from Bangalore, India. One has to climb 500 steps to see this 55 feet high beautiful statue. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, devotees and tourists from all over the world flock to the statue once in 12 years for an event known as Mahamastakabhisheka.

Khajuraho 1701093

Khajuraho temples of india (A world heritage site), originally uploaded by thebrij.

Welcome to Khajuraho Group of Monuments, A World Heritage!

Khajuraho (Hindi: खजुराहो) is a village located in Chhatarpur District, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is 385 miles (620 KM) southeast of Delhi, the capital city of India.

The Khajuraho group of monuments is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu temples and Jain temples which are famous for their sculpture. The name Khajuraho, "Kharjuravahaka" in olden times, is derived from the word "khajur" that means date palm.

Khajuraho 1701091

Western Group of Monuments, Khajuraho, India, originally uploaded by anubis0409.

Western Group of Monuments, Khajuraho, India

Palitana - Jain Temple

Palitana - Jain Temple (India - Gujarat), originally uploaded by amar_v_vora.

Palitana, in Gujarat (India) is approximately 50 KM south west of Bhavnagar. It is in the Saurashtra region, which has a very large number of temples. It is historic too because Saurashtra always attracted foreign visitors, especially the invaders in the pre-Mughal period who were attracted to India because of the large quantities of gold and precious gem stones the temples in this region used to have. They primarily invaded for looting wealth to finance their war efforts to capture and enlarge their empires.
This region has a very large number of modern cities growing side by side with beautiful beaches and varied flora and fauna. Palitana is well connected by roads and railways to the major cities and to the other parts of India and the world.
It is interesting to note that many temples are located on hilltops or mountain ranges of India. The believers of religions like Hinduism, Jainism, etc., seem to place special importance to pilgrimages to holy places where they have to climb up mountainous tracts. The Jainism has many hill locations for pilgrimage, Shatrunjaya Hill, Palitana, being the most important among them. A group of temples in Girnar (Junagadh) in the nearby areas and similar temples in Rajasthan and Maharashtra are also worth a visit by anyone, especially for their location in beautiful surroundings and the rich temple architecture and sculptures.
Palitana and surroundings, with a very large cluster of Jain temples, has 863 temples. These temples were built in the 11th and 12th centuries. This period saw a frenzy of activities to promote spiritualism and temple architecture, in almost all parts of Indian subcontinent. Foreign invaders destroyed many of these temples in the 14th and 15th centuries.
As for these magnificent Jain temples, unlike many others built by Kings and Emperors, they were built by the Jain traders and the people of this area.