EDUCBA

EDUCBA

MENUMENU
  • Blog
  • Free Tutorials
  • Certification Courses
  • Login
Home Miscellaneous Temples Gomateshwara Temple
Secondary Sidebar
Miscellaneous
  • Temples
    • Temples in Bangalore
    • Temples in Ranchi
    • Temples in Thiruvananthapuram
    • Temples in Himachal Pradesh
    • Temples in Gujarat
    • Temples in Ahmedabad
    • Temples in Shimla
    • Temples in Chandigarh
    • Temples in Rajasthan
    • Arunachaleswara Temple
    • Temples in Punjab
    • Temples in Tamilnadu
    • Temples in Bhubaneswar
    • Temples in Chennai
    • Temples in Arunachal Pradesh
    • Temples in Assam
    • Temples in Bhopal
    • Temples in Tripura
    • Temples in Telangana
    • Temples in Uttar Pradesh
    • Temples in Hyderabad
    • Temples in Maharashtra
    • Temples in Karnataka
    • Temples in Kerala
    • Temples in Mumbai
    • Temples in China
    • Temples in Japan
    • Temples in Washington DC
    • Temples in Madhya Pradesh
    • Temples in Patna
    • Temples in Haridwar
    • Temples in Lucknow
    • Temples in Uttarakhand
    • Temples in Kolkata
    • Temples in Chhattisgarh
    • Temples in Dehradun
    • Temples in Goa
    • Temples in Bihar
    • Temples in Ujjain
    • Temples in Andhra Pradesh
    • Temples in Luxor
    • Temples in Jharkhand
    • Somnath Temple
    • Laxmi Narayan Temple
    • Gomateshwara?Temple
    • Kanchipuram Temples
    • Mookambika Temple
    • Khajuraho Temples
    • Bankey Bihari Temple
    • Yadagirigutta Temple
    • Temples in Hampi
    • Srisailam Temple
    • Mukteswara Temple
    • Annavaram Temple
    • Belur Temple
    • Gangotri Temple
    • Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir
    • Kalighat Temple
    • Chottanikkara Temple
    • Venkateswara Temple (Tirumala)
    • Padmavathi Temple
    • Temples in India
    • Ramappa Temple
    • Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple
    • Chilkur Balaji Temple
    • Mahabodhi Temple
    • Sri Tirupati Balaji Temple
    • Lingaraja Temple
    • Neelkanth Mahadev Temple
    • Prem Mandir
    • Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple
    • Konark Sun Temple
    • Ranakpur Temple
    • Sabarimala Temple
    • Akshardham Mandir
    • Shri Amarnath Cave Temple
    • Thiruvannamalai Temple
    • Jain Mandir
    • Vaishno Devi Temple
    • Yamunotri Temple
    • Sai Baba Temple
    • Isha Temple
    • Brihadisvara Temple
    • Kalkaji Mandir
    • Birla Mandir
    • Padmanabhaswamy Temple
    • Amarnath Temple
    • Dwarkadhish Temple
    • Vrindavan Temples
    • Ayodhya Temple
    • Bhimashankar Temple
    • Kamakhya Temple
    • Chidambaram Temple
    • Lepakshi Temple
    • Guruvayur Temple
    • Dwarka Temple
    • Virupaksha Temple
    • Madurai Meenakshi Temple
    • Palani Temple
    • Ambaji Temple
    • Bhadrachalam Temple
    • Golden Temple
    • ISKCON Temple
    • The Jagannath Temple of Puri
    • Rameswaram Temple
  • Essay (72+)
  • Advantages and Disadvantages (76+)
  • Full Form (123+)
  • Historical Places (15+)
  • Holidays (37+)
  • Hotels (174+)
  • Leaders (15+)
  • Machines (10+)
  • Movement (13+)
  • Tourist Places (279+)
  • Celebrities (55+)
  • Entertainment (2+)
  • Food and Dining (43+)
  • Freedom Fighters (9+)
  • Historical Monuments (18+)
  • Machines (3+)

Gomateshwara Temple

Significance of the Gomateshwara Temple

Shravanabelagola- a pious town located in Karnataka town at a distance of 83 km approximately from Mysore and 158 km from Bangalore, is well-known for its Jain pilgrimage in South India. This holy place is one of the notable heritage spots in Karnataka. People mainly recognize Shravanabelagola for its Bahubali Temple, also known as Gomateshwara Temple. Two central hills- Vindhyagiri and Chandragiri, are also present at the godly Shravanabelagola. A monolithic statue of Bahubali of 57 feet (17 m) tall is present at Vindhyagiri Hill.

The inscription at the base of the statue praises the King, endowed for the effort behind constructing the figure. Widely known fact general of the King, Chavundaraya erected this exalted statue for his mother in 983 A.D. The Bahubali statue is both glorious and generous and is visible at a distance of 30 km. The figure is one of the tallest monolithic statues carved of a single block of Granite and is the world’s second after the Great Sphinx of Giza.

The Story Behind Gomateshwara Temple

As per various Jain scripts, the first Tirthankara of Jain Rishabdeva (Adinath) had 100 sons, and the pious Gomateshwara, or Bahubali, was the second descendant of him. When he left his kingdom, a rough-and-tumble situation emerged between two of Rishabdeva’s sons, Bahubali and Bharatha, for the empire. Bahubali defeated Bharatha in the skirmish; however, the tartness between him and his brother left him miserable. After much deliberation, he decided to proffer his earned kingdom to Bharatha and went on his way toward achieving Kevala Jnana (Absolute Knowledge).

Watch our Demo Courses and Videos

Valuation, Hadoop, Excel, Mobile Apps, Web Development & many more.

The Kannada people of Karnataka refer to this statue as the statue of Gomateshwara, and the Jains refer to this pious statue as the Bahubali. The grand Jain event ‘Mahamastakabhisheka festival’ organized at the Shravanabelagola hill every twelve years, attracts tourists and devotees worldwide. ‘Mahamastakabhisheka festival’ has a unique ritual in which the magnificent statue is sprinkled with water by the devotees from a high platform. Followed by the figure is rinsed with tons of milk, sugarcane juice, and saffron flower paste. The Mahamastakabhisheka festival will occur in 2030.

Significance of Mahamastakabhisheka Festival

This grand event, celebrated every twelve years, is known to be attended by great personalities like Krishna-Rajendra Wodeyar in 1910 and Narendra Modi and Ramnath Kovind in 2018.

According to various sagas, the general of King, Chavundaraya organized a Mahamastakabhisheka right after the construction of the Gomateshwara statue. Five liquids- milk, tender coconut, sugar, nectar, and water- were used to conduct the Mahamastakabhisheka. The liquids are collected in hundreds of pots but cannot bathe below the navel of the statue. Kushmandini, in disguise, as a poor older man, appeared in the ceremony holding milk in the shell of half of a white Gullikayi fruit, and the abhisheka was done successfully from head to toe, letting Chavundaraya realize his mistake.

The Iconography of the Giant Gomateswara Statue

The statue, constructed in 983 A.D., depicts Bahubali in deep meditation, depicted through the kayotsarga (standing still) pose. The presence of climbing vines near his legs represents the blossoming that occurs as a result of this meditative state. The sculpture portrays Gomateshwara in a state of nudity, with intricate detailing on the curls of his hair and large ears. The eyes are depicted as half-open, with a gaze directed towards the nose, conveying a sense of detachment from the material world. The subtle smile at the corner of his lips symbolizes inner peace and vitality. The facial features are meticulously sculpted, with broad shoulders and arms that extend straight down. The sculpture is depicted without any backing from the thigh upwards.

Gomateshwara  Temple

(Image Credit: Karnataka Tourism)

  • An anthill can be spotted in the background, denoting his infinite atonement. At the upper portion of the arms, a snake and a creeper emerged from the anthill coil, both the legs and arms pinnacle as a cluster of flowers and berries. The entire sculpture stands on an open lotus embodying the completeness acquired in establishing this fantastic statue.
  • Two Chauri bearers named Yaksha and Yakshini stand on either side of the vast Bahubali or Gomateshwara. These richly embellished and beautifully sculpted figurines complement the central sculpture. Inscribed on the posterior side of the anthill is also a trench for accumulating water and other ceremony components used for the holy bath of the statue.

Recommended Articles

We hope that this EDUCBA information on “Gomateshwara  Temple” was beneficial to you. You can view EDUCBA’s recommended articles for more information,

Padmavathi Temple

Venkateswara Temple (Tirumala)

Chottanikkara Temple

Kalighat Temple

Primary Sidebar
Footer
About Us
  • Blog
  • Who is EDUCBA?
  • Sign In
  • Live Classes
  • Corporate Training
  • Certificate from Top Institutions
  • Contact Us
  • Verifiable Certificate
  • Reviews
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  •  
Apps
  • iPhone & iPad
  • Android
Resources
  • Finance
  • Data Science
  • Software Development
  • Excel
  • Design
  • Project Management
  • Personal Development
  • Marketing
  • Human Resource
Certification Courses
  • Financial Analyst Course - All in One Bundle
  • Data Science Course - All in One Bundle
  • Software Development Course - All in One Bundle
  • Excel VBA Course - All in One Bundle
  • Design Course - All in One Bundle
  • Project Management Course - All in One Bundle
  • Personal Development Course - All in One Bundle
  • Marketing Course - All in One Bundle
  • Human Resource Course - All in One Bundle

ISO 10004:2018 & ISO 9001:2015 Certified

© 2023 - EDUCBA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE CERTIFICATION NAMES ARE THE TRADEMARKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

EDUCBA

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you

Let’s Get Started

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

EDUCBA

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you
EDUCBA

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you
EDUCBA Login

Forgot Password?

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

This website or its third-party tools use cookies, which are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the cookie policy. By closing this banner, scrolling this page, clicking a link or continuing to browse otherwise, you agree to our Privacy Policy

Loading . . .
Quiz
Question:

Answer:

Quiz Result
Total QuestionsCorrect AnswersWrong AnswersPercentage

Explore 1000+ varieties of Mock tests View more