This was our a day trip to Gommateshwara while going towards Chikmagalur. This is a monolithic temple and it has a statue of Bahubali which is 57 foot (17 m) tall. It is a Jain temple constructed on Vindyagiri Hill is one of the two hills in Shravanabelagola which is located in Hassan district, Karnataka. It was built around 983 A.D and one of the biggest free standing statue in the world. To reach temple you have to climb all most 700 steps on hill which is cut out from stones.
The entire is statue is made up off single stone and all the sides of the statue are symmetric, even it was measured and everything was very well carved. There is no difference of even a millimeter.
In 2007 is was voted as one the 7 wonders of the world in Times Of India poll.
They celebrate Mahamastakabhisheka festival is held once in 12 years, when the Gommateshwara statue is anointed with milk, saffron, ghee, sugarcane juice (ishukrasa) etc. from the top of the statue Heinrich Zimmer attributed this anointment as the reason for the statue's freshness. The next abhisheka will be in 2030. You can plan accordingly to visit.
It is approx 150 Kms from Bangalore city and easily reachable since roads are butter smooth. It took us 3 hours on a regular speed to reach. There is no fees of visiting temple and be care during summers. You are not allowed to wear foot wears while climbing hill. Wear socks while climbing because stone stairs gets really hot during summers.
As soon as you reach on top and enter temple you will witness and amazing piece of art just not the statue but there are so many old small statues and sculptures placed. From the hill top town looks amazing and beautiful. You will be able to spot the square man made lake which is dated 10th century.
Archaeological teams still searching for some answers. how they were able to take the stone to the the top ? Did they made statue before shifting it to top ? How many tried they did before getting final statue ? What kind of technology they used make the statue so perfect ?
These are few mysterious general questions and list of questions are too big. Go there witness this amazing art of ancient India.
Our recommendation is keep a water bottle while you are climbing and special take care of small kids because the stairs are steep. It can be a day trip as well as a visit while travelling towards Chikmagalur. A must visit to this place from Bangalore
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