Art and faith on hills yonder

Chandragiri is a lesser-known hillock near Shravanabelagola in Hassan, replete with historical and architectural monuments dating back to the 8th century.

A majority of the 800 inscriptions from 600 CE to 1800 in Sharavanabelagola town are found in Chandragiri. These inscriptions provide insights into the life of ascetics of the era and comprise texts in Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil, Marathi, Marwari and Mahajani languages.

They also refer to the rise of various dynasties including the Gangas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas, the Vijayanagar rulers and the Wodeyars of Mysore.

The hill itself is known by various names like Chikka Betta, Thirthagiri, Rishigiri and Katavapra or Black Hill. The hillock is 3000 ft above sea level and is believed to have become sanctified by the visit of Acharya Bhadrabahu, the spiritual teacher of Chandragupta Maurya.

Pillars of strength

The Kuge Brahma Sthamba also called Marasimhana Manasthambha, a neatly embellished free-standing pillar with the idol of an east-facing Brahmadeva at its top, welcomes us to the complex.

The pillar commemorates the Ganga king Marasimha II. This structure reflects the importance of Brahmadeva in the Jain cult. In fact, the brahmasthambas and manasthambas, two types of Jain pillars, can be seen in all Jain temples.

Manasthambas, also called Indrasthambas, comprise a pavilion at the top which contain figures facing the four cardinal directions, whereas the brahmasthambas hold aloft the figure of a seated Brahma at their top.
A unique statue of Bharata, the elder brother of Bahubali, stands within an iron railing.

The statue, damaged below the thighs, carved out of soft soapstone, closely resembles the Bahubali statue on the Vindhyagiri Hills and was sculpted by the artisans of the 10th Century Gangas. Sasana, Yeradukatte, Majjigana, Bhandari, Savanthigandharvana are some of the other basadis here.

The seated idol of Suparshwanath in the Basadi is sheltered by a canopy of a serpent with five hoods, flanked by male chamara-bearers.

A temple chariot-like structure called mandara stands in front of the Terina Basadi that is also known as the Bahubali Basadi. The mandara is sculpted on all four sides with lion figurines and that of people, supposedly merchants during the period of King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala dynasty.

Of the several basadis on the hilltop, the most prominent are the Chamundaraya, Kattale, Chandragupta Basadis. The two-storeyed, 68 ft long, 36 ft wide Chamundaraya Basadi with a Dravidian shikhara, is one of the largest Jaina shrines in Shravanabelagola, and boasts of a distinctive decorative style with ornamental niches having figures of yalis and Jina rishis in sitting postures.

We find one of the most ornate and intricate stone sculptures in this edifice in two perforated stone screens which can be treated as lattice windows. The screens, veritable poetry in stone, narrate the story of the migration of Bhadrabahu. The carvings are attributed to Hoysala artist
Dasoja.