About Shravanabelagola

Country: India | State: Karnataka

Ideal Trip Duration: Half Day to Full Day

Nearest City to Shravanabelagola: Mysore (83 Kms), Bangalore (140 Kms)

Best Time to Visit Shravanabelagola: October to March

Peak Season: April to May & September to October

At a distance of 50 km from Hassan, 83 km from Mysore, and 140 km from Bangalore, Shravanabelagola is one of the most popular Jain pilgrimage centers in South India. This is one of the popular 2 day trip from Bangalore and a major heritage / historical site not to miss in a Karnataka tour packages.

This place is named after the pond in the middle of the town (Bela-Kola means White Pond). Shravanabelagola is famous for the Bahubali Statue, among the must include places in Shravanabelagola tour packages. With a height of 58 feet carved out of a single block of granite, the statue is supposed to be the tallest monolithic stone statue in the world. The statue was carved during the period of Chamundaraya, a minister of the Ganga King Rajamalla between 982 and 983 CE. The nude statue of Bahubali is carved carefully with much perfection.

As per the mythology, Lord Gomateshwara (Lord Bahubali) was the son of the first Jain Tirthankara named Lord Adinatha. Lord Adinatha had 99 other sons and when he renounced his kingdom, there was a big fight between the two brothers, Bahubali and Bharatha, over the kingdom. Bharatha lost this battle, but Bahubali did not feel any happiness on seeing his brother's defeat. He then gave the kingdom to his brother and then attained Kevalagnana.

There are many places to visit in Shravanabelagola in the form of Jain temples and historical sites. Shravanabelagola is famous for two hills called Vindhyagiri and Chandragiri where most of the monuments are located. These two hills are spread on both sides of Temple Pond. The main temple of Gomateswara is located on Vindhyagiri hill along with Odegal Basadi, Tyagada Kamba, Siddhara Basadi, Chennanna Basadi, Akhanda Bagilu, etc. Chandragiri is home to about 14 shrines among which Chamundaraya Basadi, Chandragupta Basadi, Chandraprabha Basadi, Kattale Basadi, and Parshwanatha Basadi are important.

There are several historical basadis within the town as well. The great emperor of the Mauryan Dynasty Chandragupta Mourya has spent his last days in Shravanabelagola after becoming a follower of Jainism. His grandson Emperor Ashoka has built a basadi for him on Chandragiri hill in the 3rd Century BC. There are more than 800 well-preserved inscriptions dated between the 6th and 19th centuries in Shravanabelagola.

It usually takes one full day to visit all the historical monuments in Shravanabelagola. About 620 steps provide access to the temple of Gomateswara from the bottom of the hill. For those who can't trek the hill, Dolis are available at the entrance of the temple that charges about Rs. 800 including return. Once in 12 years, Shravanabelagola celebrates the Mahamastakabhisheka festival which attracts thousands of devotees and tourists from all over India. The next Mahamastakabhisheka will be held in Feb 2018.

There are a few accommodation options available in Shravanabelagola in the form of private lodges and Yatri Nivas.

Shravanabelagola is well connected by bus from Bangalore, Mysore & Hassan.

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Other Info
Internet Availability: Poor
STD Code: 08176
Languages Spoken: Kannada, English
Major Festivals: Mahamastakabhisheka - once in 12 Years (Jan/Feb - next one in 2018)
Notes/Tips:
None

How to Reach Shravanabelagola

By Air

Nearest Airport: Bangalore - Bengaluru International Airport (165 Kms)

By Train

Nearest Train Station: Hassan Railway Station (50 Kms)
Bangalore City Railway Station (140 Kms)

By Bus

Nearest Bus Station: Sravanbelagola (0 Kms)

Top 10 Places to Visit in Shravanabelagola

Heritage | Pilgrimage

#1 of 22 Places to Visit in Shravanabelagola

At a distance of 1 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station, Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple is a monolithic statue situated in Shravanbelagola, Karnataka. It is the tallest monolithic stone statue in the world with a height of 58 feet, and among the must include places in Shravanabelagola Tour Packages.

The temple is built on top of a Vindhyagiri Hill at an altitude of 3347 feet. A flight of 620 steps provides access to this temple from the entrance near the pond. Gomateshwara Temple is among the prime places to visit in Shravanabelagola.

This image of Bahubali was created during the period of Chamundaraya, a minister of the Ganga King Rajamalla between 982 and 983 CE. The eyes of the statue are open as if viewing with work without any detachment. The statue has an anthill behind, representing Gomatha's long penance. Creeper emerges .....

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Heritage | Pilgrimage

#2 of 22 Places to Visit in Shravanabelagola

At a distance of 0.5 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station & 1.5 km from Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple, Chamundaraya Basadi located on Chandragiri Hill is a wonderful structure dedicated to Lord Neminatha built in Jaina architecture of Dravidian style. It was built by Chamundaraya, the minister of Ganga king Marasimha II in 982 AD. The construction of this basadi was completed in 995 AD. It is one of the prime places to visit in Shravanabelagola, the holy site of Jain pilgrimage.

Chamundaraya Basadi is the most attractive and largest structure on Chandragiri hill. This structure resembles the Dravidian two-tier temple architecture introduced by Badami Chalukyas. The basadi is a rectangular structure facing east. The complex consists of a garbhagriha, a pradakshina path, open sukanasi, navaranga and a mukhamandapa. The garbhagriha houses the image of Lord Neminatha.

There is another small structure on the first level of Chamundaraya Basadi which can be accessed by a set of narrow .....

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Heritage | Pilgrimage

#3 of 22 Places to Visit in Shravanabelagola

At a distance of 1 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station, Odegal Basadi also known as Vadegal Basti or Trikuta Alaya is a wonderful 14th-century basadi situated on Vindhyagiri hill on the way to Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple. It is one of the prime places to visit in Shravanabelagola.

The Odegal Basadi is named so because of the stone proportions placed against its basement. It is the only trikutachala in Shravanabelagola that can be visited as part of Shravanabelagola Tour Packages. The basadi is built on a highly elevated platform supported by huge blocks of stone pillars. It is impressive for the commanding position it occupies. The temple has a small Mukha mandapa followed by a large maha mandapa with circular pillars. The maha mandapa has three sanctums facing different directions with beautiful statues of Tirthankaras housed inside.

The .....

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Heritage | Pilgrimage

#4 of 22 Places to Visit in Shravanabelagola

At a distance of 700m from Shravanabelagola Bus Station, Bhandara Basadi is the largest temple built in the center of Shravanabelagola town at a distance of about 300m from the entrance of the Vindhyagiri hill which houses the famous Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple. It is one of the popular sacred places to visit in Shravanabelagola.

Built in 1159 CE, this temple was erected by Bhandari Hullamayya, a general of Hoysala King Narasimha. The temple is a large structure measuring 155 ft x 232 ft. The temple exhibits great artistic skills of Hoysala rulers. The temple has a large manasthamba and an ornate mandapa in front of the entrance. The tower on entrance of the temple is small but nicely designed. The temple tower is erected on a pillared mandapa that houses few wooden carvings of a Jain Thirthankaras.

The main shrine is a rectangular structure with a 12 pillared sanctum, a rangamandapa and another mandapa called Saraswathi .....

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Heritage | Pilgrimage

#5 of 22 Places to Visit in Shravanabelagola

At a distance of 2 Kms from Shravanabelagola & 2.5 km from Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple, Aregal Basadi is located in Jinanathpura. It is named so because it was built on a rock (Are in Kannada).

The structure was built by Hiri Achimayya the son of Barma (brother of Ganga Raja who was the general of the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana) using brick and mortar. The original image of Parshwanatha of this temple was replaced by a marble image of Parshwanatha in 1889 AD. Idols of Navadevata, Panchaparameshti, Nandishwara and Chaturvimshati are also found here.

Near the entrance, an inscription of the memorial stone erected by the wife and mother of Achimayya is found.

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Heritage | Pilgrimage

#6 of 22 Places to Visit in Shravanabelagola

At a distance of 0.5 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station & 1.5 km from Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple, Chandragupta Basadi is situated to the north of Kattale Basadi on Chandragiri Hill. Chandragupta Basadi is dedicated to Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. This was originally built by Emperor Ashoka, the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya. It is one of the prime places to visit on Chandragiri Hill in Shravanabelagola.

The Chandragupta basadi is a triple celled structure where three cells are arranged in a row fronted by a verandah. The cells on either side have small towers over them resembling the chole type. To this was subsequently added an ornamental doorway in front with perforated stone screens at the sides. The screens are pierced with square openings are carved with minute sculptures as the scenes from the lives of the Srutakevali Bhadrabahu and the Maurya Emperor Chandragupta. A sculpture of Parshwanatha is housed in the central shrine while the two side shrines house Padmavati and .....

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Heritage | Pilgrimage

#7 of 22 Places to Visit in Shravanabelagola

At a distance of 0.5 Km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station & 1.5 km from Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple, Parshwanatha Basadi is located on Chandragiri Hill. The basadi contains a garbagriha, a sukhanasi, a navaranga and a porch. This is a beautiful structure with decorated outer walls. The doorways are lofty and the navaranga as well as the porch have verandhas at their sides. The pillars in the navaranga are of round Ganga type with bell, vase and wheel mouldings. The image of Parshwanatha is the tallest on the hill which is 18 feet in height.

The manastambha (pillar) in front of the Parshwanatha basadi has a pavilion on the top containing standing Jain figures facing four directions. This pillar is sculptured on all the four sides of the base and contains the figure of Padmavathi on the south, Yaksha on the east, seated Kushmandini on the north and a galloping horseman on the west. It was built by a Jain merchant Puttaiya between 1672 & 1704 AD.

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Heritage | Pilgrimage

#8 of 22 Places to Visit in Shravanabelagola

At a distance of 0.5 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station & 1.5 km from Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple, Kattale Basadi is situated to the left of Parswanatha Basadi on Chandragiri. It is the biggest of all the Basadis on Chandragiri hill.

This basadi is dedicated to Adinath, the first tirthankara. An image of the Goddess Padmavathi is also found in the verandah. It was constructed by Ganga Raja, the general of Vishnuvardhana. This structure was recently renovated by the Government of Karnataka.

The basadi has garbhagriha, pradakshinapatha, an open sukanasi, a navaranga of 16 pillars, a large rangpmandapa. The garbhagriha houses the seated image of Lord Adinatha. As per the inscriptions on the pedestal of this image, the temple was funded by Pochavve, the mother of Gangaraja.

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Heritage | Pilgrimage

#9 of 22 Places to Visit in Shravanabelagola

At a distance of 0.5 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station & 1.5 km from Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple, Chandraprabha Basadi is located on Chandragiri Hill.

It consists of an open Garbagriha, a sukhanasi, a navaranga and a porch and enshrines a seated figure of Chandraprabha, the 8th tirthankara. In the sukhanasi are placed the images of Shyama and Jwalamalini, the yaksha and yakshi. The pedestal of Jwalamalini image shows a lion with two riders seated one behind the other.

The basadi is a brick structure raised over a stone base. It is said to have been constructed by the Ganga king Sivamara II.

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Heritage | Pilgrimage

#10 of 22 Places to Visit in Shravanabelagola

At a distance of 7 Kms from Shravanabelagola & 8 km from Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple, Halebelagola is well known for Jinalaya Basadi built in 1094 AD in the Hoysala style of architecture.

The Basadi consists of a garbhagriha, an open mandapa, a navaranga and a porch. The base of the structure is supported by figures of elephants. The outer walls are decorated with pillars and shallow niches. The central ceiling of the navaranga is beautifully carved with a standing figure of Dharanendra holding bow and conch in the centre and the Ashtadikpalakas around. There are damaged figures of two chauri bearers and a headless Jain figure in the navaranga.

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Top 3 Shravanabelagola Packages