Bahubali

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About: the legendary figure in Jainism

For other uses, see Baahubali (franchise).


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Template:Infobox deity Template:Jainism Bahubali (Template:IAST3, Template:Lit) was the son of Rishabhanatha (the first tirthankara of Jainism) and the brother of the chakravartin Bharata. He is a revered figure in Jainism. He is said to have meditated motionless for 12 years in a standing posture (kayotsarga), with climbing plants having grown around his legs. After his 12 years of meditation, he is said to have attained omniscience (kevala jnana).

Bahubali's other names are Kammateshwara and Gommateshwara, the namesake of the Gommateshwara statue dedicated to him.

Legends

The Adipurana, a 9th-century Sanskrit poem, deals with the ten lives of the first tirthankara, Rishabhanatha and his two sons Bharata and Bahubali. It was composed by Jinasena, a Digambara monk.Template:Sfn

Family life

File:भरत-बाहुबली युद्ध.jpg
Depiction of Bharata-Bahubali fight

According to Jain texts, Bahubali was born to Rishabhanatha and Sunanda during the Ikshvaku dynasty in Ayodhya.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn He is said to have excelled in studying medicine, archery, floriculture, and the knowledge of precious gems. Bahubali had a son named Somakirti (also known as Mahabala).Template:Sfn When Rishabhanatha decided to become a monk, he distributed his kingdom among his 100 sons. Bharata was gifted the kingdom of Vinita (Ayodhya) and Bahubali got the kingdom of Asmaka from South India, having Podanapur as its capital.Template:Sfn After winning six divisions of earth in all directions (digvijaya), Bharata proceeded to his capital Ayodhyapuri with a huge army and divine chakra-ratna—spinning, disk-like super weapon with serrated edges.Template:Sfn But the chakra-ratna stopped on its own at the entrance of Ayodhyapuri, signalling to the emperor that his 99 brothers had yet not submitted to his authority.Template:Sfn Bharata's 98 brothers became Jain monks and submitted their kingdoms to him. Bahubali was endowed with the final and superior body of extraordinary sturdiness and strength (vajra-ṛṣabhanārācasaṃhanana) like Bharata.Template:Sfn He hurled open defiance at the chakravartin and challenged him to a fight.Template:Sfn

The ministers on both sides gave the following argument to prevent war; "The brothers themselves, cannot be killed by any means; they are in their last incarnations in transmigration, and possess bodies which no weapon may mortally wound in warfare! Let them fight out the issue by themselves in other ways."Template:Sfn It was then decided that to settle the dispute, three kinds of contests between Bharata and Bahubali would be held. These were eye-fight (staring at each other)(drishti-yuddha), water-fight (jala-yuddha), and wrestling (malla-yuddha). Bahubali won all the three contests over his elder brother, Bharata.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Renunciation

File:Badami, Höhle 4, Bahubali (1999).jpg
Sculpture depicting Bahubali's meditation in Kayotsarga posture with vines enveloped around his body (Photo: Badami caves)

After the fight, Bahubali was filled with disgust at the world and developed a desire for renunciation. Bahubali abandoned all possessions—kingdom, clothes, ornaments—to become a monk, and began meditating with great resolve to attain omniscience (kevala jnana).Template:Sfn

He is said to have meditated motionless in a standing posture (kayotsarga) for a year, during which time climbing plants grew around his legs.Template:Sfn However, he was adamant and continued his practice unmindful of the vines, ants, and dust that enveloped his body. According to the Jain text Ādi purāṇa, on the last day of Bahubali's one year long fast, Bharata came in all humility to Bahubali and worshipped him with veneration and respect. A painful regret that he had been the cause of his elder brother's humiliation had been disturbing Bahubali's meditation; this was dispersed when Bharata worshipped him.[1] Bahubali was then able to destroy the four kinds of inimical karmas, including the knowledge obscuring karma, and he attained omniscience (kevala jnana). He was now revered as an omniscient being (Kevali).Template:Sfn Bahubali finally attained liberation (moksha) at Mount KailashaTemplate:Sfn and became a pure, liberated soul (siddha).Template:Sfn As per texts, he was one of the first Digambara monks to have attained moksha in the present half-cycle of time.(Avasarpiṇī).Template:Sfn

Statues

Karnataka

There are five monolithic statues of Bahubali measuring more than 6 m (20 feet) in height in Karnataka:

Maharashtra

Tamil Nadu

Shravanabelagola

Template:Main The monolithic statue of Bahubali at Shravanabelagola, located Template:Convert from Bangalore, was carved from a single block of granite. The statue was commissioned by the Ganga dynasty minister and commander Chavundaraya; it is Template:Convert tall and is situated above a hill in Shravanabelagola, in the Hassan district of Karnataka. It was built in and around 981 CE and is one of the largest free-standing statues in the world.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn The statue is visible from Template:Convert away. Shravanabelagola has remained a centre of pilgrimage (tirtha) for the Jains.[6] The statue is bathed at an interval of every 12 years and this event is celebrated as Mahamastakabhisheka.[7]

Karkala

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File:Gomateshwara Statue, Karkala.jpg
Bahubali monolith of Karkala

Karkala is known for its Template:Convert monolithic statue of Gomateshwara Bahubali, which is believed to have been built around 1432 and is the second-tallest statue in the State.[2]Template:Sfn The statue is built on an elevated platform on top of a rocky hill. It was consecrated on 13 February 1432 by Veera Pandya Bhair Arasa Wodeyar, scion of the Bhair Arasa dynasty, feudatory of the Vijayanagar Ruler.[2][8]

Dharmastala

File:Gomateshwara of Dharmasthala.jpg
Bahubali monolith of Dharmastala

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A Template:Convert high statue with a Template:Convert pedestal that weighs about Template:Convert is installed at Dharmasthala in Karnataka.[2]

Venur

File:Venur - Bahubali.JPG
Bahubali monolith of Venur

Template:Main Venur is a small town in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka state, situated on the bank of the Gurupura River. Thimmanna Ajila built a Template:Convert colossus of Gommateshwara there in 1604.Template:Sfn[2]Template:Sfn The statue at Venur is the shortest of the three Gommateshwaras within Template:Convert around it. It stands in an enclosure on the same pattern as that of the statue at Shravanabelagola. The Kings of Ajila Dynasty ruled here from 1154 to 1786.[9]

Gommatagiri

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File:Statue of Bahubali at Gommatagiri, Mysore.JPG
Bahubali monolith of Gommatagiri, Mysore

Gommatagiri is an acclaimed Jain centre. The 12th-century granite statue of Bahubali, also known as Gomateshwara, is erected atop a Template:Convert tall hillock called 'Shravana Gudda'.[3] The Jain centre attracts many pilgrims during the annual Mahamastakabhisheka in September.[3]Template:Sfn The statue at Gommatagiri is very similar to the Template:Convert Gommateshwara statue in Shravanabelagola, except that it is smaller. Historians attribute the statue to an early Vijayanagar period.[3]

Kumbhoj

File:BahubaliKumbhoj.JPG
Template:Convert-high monolith of Bahubali at Kumbhoj

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Kumbhoj is the name of an ancient town located in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. The town is about eight kilometers from Hatkanangale, about twenty seven kilometers from Kolhapur. The famous Jain pilgrimage centre where a Template:Convert-high statue of Bahubali is installed is Template:Convert from the Kumbhoj city.Template:Sfn

Aretipur

There is a Template:Convert-high statue of Bahubali at Aretipur, Near Kokrebellur Village of Madur Taluk Mandya district.[10]

In 2016, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) excavated another Template:Convert-high statue of Bahubali made in the 3rd – 9th centuries in Aretipur.[11] ASI has also excavated an 8th-century statue of Bahubali in Aretipur, Maddur, Mandya, Karnataka, that is Template:Convert wide and Template:Convert tall.[12]

Uttar Pradesh

Greater Noida

File:Bahubaleshwar.jpg
Bahubaleshwar

The Bahubaleshwar Temple in village Gharbhara has a 23 ft (7.0 m) high Statue of Bahubali in granite.

Built with sustainability in mind, the temple boasts a Miyawaki forest with 5,000 trees, a pond, fountains, mud cottages, and 90% green coverage.

In literature

File:Poetic old Kannada inscription of Bopanna dated 1180 CE at Shravanabelagola.jpg
Poem by Boppanna

The life-story of Bahubali has been discussed in many works.

Sanskrit

Prakrit

  • Gommatesha-thudi, a religious hymn in praise to Bahubali, was composed by Nemichandra in 10th century CE.Template:Sfn
  • Gommatasa-sara, composed by Nemichandra, mentions the story of construction of the Gommateshwara statue by Chavundaraya.Template:Sfn

Kannada

  • A 10th-century Kannada text based on the Sanskrit text was written by the poet Adikavi Pampa.[13][14]
  • Gommata-stuti is a poem dated 1180 was composed by a Jain poet named Boppanna (also known as Sujanottamsa), in praise of Bahubali.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
  • Karkala Gommatesvara Charitre, composed by Chadura Chandrama in 1686 CE, is poem describing the mahamastakabhisheka at Karkala.Template:Sfn

Rajasthani

  • Bharateshwara Bahubali Ghora composed by Vajrasena Suri in 1168, is a poem with 48 verses describing the battle between Bharata and Bahubali.Template:Sfn

Gujarati

Images

Pictured below are some of the images depicting Bahubali that are located at various places in India.

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See also

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References

Citations

  1. ↑ Ādipurāṇa{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Bharatiya Jnanpith. ISBN 978-81-263-1844-5
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 12-year wait ends, all eyes on 42-ft-tall Karkala Bahubali(21 January 2015).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Gommatagiri statue crying for attention(22 January 2006).
  4. ↑ Lord Bahubali of Kumbhoj [Statue]. KolhapurTravels.com. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  5. ↑ Lord Bahubali of Mumbra [Statue].
  6. ↑ March of Mysore. University of California(1966).
  7. ↑ Bahubali Mahamastakabhisheka Mahotsav: Here is the history of the Jain festival PM Modi attended today(19 February 2018).
  8. ↑ Bahubali abhisheka from today(21 January 2015).
  9. ↑ 10-day Mahamastakabhisheka at Karkala from today(21 January 2015).
  10. ↑ Bahubali of Aretipur(29 April 2016).
  11. ↑ Another Jain centre under excavation in Mandya district(23 February 2016).
  12. ↑ Eighth Century Jain Temple Discovered in Maddur(7 January 2015).
  13. ↑ History of Kannada literature.
  14. ↑ Students' Britannica India, Volumes 1–5. Popular Prakashan.

Sources

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