Note: This post is a brief personal record about the travels that I made; here I have not written about the history of the particular shrines and its special features much !!
At the end of this post, I have given the wikipedia links about all these places. Have a look on that !
At the end of this post, I have given the wikipedia links about all these places. Have a look on that !
How the Journey begun?
It was December, 02, 2015. I was supposed to present my research paper in the conference of a University in
Mangalore. I stayed in a pastoral institute in Mangalore as a guest. The
conference organizers arranged this guest house for the sake of the participants
of the conference.
Guest house (In fact it is a pastoral institute)
It was a sunny
morning. I woke at morning 7.15 AM.
According to me, that time was too early. I did not make any
preparations for my presentation. Generally, I don’t make much prior
preparations before giving any speech or presentation. According to me, that is
fine and it gives without any artificiality while presentation. Usually I prefer to give speech/presentation in a spacious auditorium among
substantial people. Here, it was just an average class room and
the crowd was less than 30 people. Also I did not get any good comments and
feedbacks about my paper from the spectators. I got some disappointment. Somehow,
my presentation was over. Here I must say something aboutthat University.
It does not look like an as usual state university. It seems like a central
university. Good infrastructure facilities, big and spacious auditorium, good
space for every students activities!! I am not sure about the overall quality of the
education; but I am sure that this university has good infrastructure
facilities compared to other state universities of Tamil Nadu.
Then that day was somehow over. I did not make much conversation to the people who were there in the conference. Also, I did not show much interest to make any new contacts and get to know any new people from the conference. For me, the day was sluggish. After having dinner in the hall, I went to the institute bus and sat in the last row behind window seat. I did not make any conversations with the participants over there in the bus. I enjoyed that 1 hour travel from the institute to the guest house. Mangalore looks very good at night time. The city usually gets calm down at night 9.30 itself. The traffic due to city buses were very less at night 10 clock itself. This city attracts me much.
Six years before, on 2010, I came along with my friends (only boys !!) to this city as a part of our college nature club trip. We visited to Moodbidri and Kudremukh and we also saw the bull race (cultural festival) in a small village near Moodbidri. Overall, that was a great experience. Next, on 2013, I came to Mangalore railway station to catch the train to Mumbai. I was supposed to attend the PhD interview in Mumbai. It was a visit without having a bit of pre-plans. Suddenly, in just 10 minutes, I got an idea and made a decision to go to Mumbai from my home town in Tamil Nadu. I did not have any time to thought anything. Also, I did not have any booked train tickets. I came to Mangalore at morning 8.30 by train to pick the train to Mumbai. But the departure time of my other train was in afternoon 2.30 PM. Hence I was roaming in and around the railway station :) I attended that PhD interview and got admission in that institute but I did not join there. After a small gap and some big travels, finally landed in Mumbai once again on 2014. I remember those days while having travels from the institute to the guest house.
Then I came to room without any plans. Absolutely no plans!! I went to the bed at night 11 PM and woke up at morning 7.30 AM. It was December, 03, 2015. Again a sunny and pleasant morning!!
I had good sleep in the night without having any dreams. After having bath, something suddenly sparked in my head. To have a small trip over Karnataka for the next two days. It was a risky idea because only very few participants in the conference knew about me. Also every night, they were making head count in the bus while coming from the institute to the guest house. We have to give our presence in the guest house since we had been staying in a single room in the guest house. But, still I like to make some new experiments!
At morning 8.15 AM, I was supposed to stand near the gate to pick-up the institute bus. And, at 8.10 AM, I got this idea and suddenly packed one set dress and took my ATM card. Then I went to the institute and attended two hours session.
Dr.B.M.Hegde was the chair person and he gave good speech (He is a Badma Bhushan awardee and former Vice-Chancellor of Manipal University, Karnataka). Nowadays I don't show much interest in listening the speeches of the people in the conference if the topic does not attract me. But Dr.B.M.Hegde’s speech attracted me much. He is a good speaker and his speech contains lots of new information. It seems, naturally he has skills in making criticism. He criticize medical sector through his experience and expertise and he criticize our knowledge sector with his in-depth analysis. I really listened his speech well. His language is sharp and he is master in using the words. Before some years, I have read about him in a journal. But I did not know much about him. Now only I happened to listen his speech (After coming to my institute, I searched about B.M.Hegde in google and youtube. In youtube, I have got one interesting video of Hegde. That is… He gave his voice to support Mr.Modi as a prime ministerial candidate along with other Kannadiga bigwigs! Writer S.L.Byrappa was one among them. I saw that videos and chuckled.. No comments !!)
Then came the next speaker …… Ufff !! He started with a feeble voice. A good speaker should not start his speech with a feeble voice. His voice should act an alarm to the sluggish people in the hall. I found his speech was like a lullaby. His age is approximately 60 and he has baldness in his front head. But it seems he uses black hair dye to reduce his age ! :) I was in the last row but I could able to identify the duplicity of his hair colour easily. After noticing this, somehow, I lost my interest to listen his speech..
Then I seriously started thinking to make a small journey around Karnataka. In the tea-break, I googled ‘Karnataka tourism’ in my cell phone; I got results about the good places to visit near Mysore!!!!! Oh !! my good ness… I had already got great experiences in Mysore and I hesitated to go there again. Then I typed any other worth places to visit in and around Mangalore. I got results about some "tourist spots". I have already visited many tourist spots in and around Maharashtra; Hence, it did not attract me much. Also, I wished to travel alone and I wished to make some new experiments. Visiting tourist spots (natural scenarios) will not give bountiful experiences if we happen to travel alone. We have to visit the tourist spots with a gang full of lively friends. Else, it will be very frustrating!
For the past 5 years, I have been following some unwritten rules while visiting the historical places (These rules are valid only in historical places). They are
1) The visits should not happen without any proper plans
2) Before
going to visit any historical places, I should read something about that in
prior and I should have some basic ideas about the history of the places and its
nearby locations.
3) The visits should not be a fun related trip
4) I should avoid to hear
songs while in travels. That make
me to confine from the surrounding atmosphere. So, better avoid to listen the songs. Instead, observe the people, languages, culture, houses and roads.
From the above four rules, first two rules seemed mismatch and it gave an 'alarm' to me. But, rules are meant to broken!! I decided to break my travel rules and got ready to go ahead without any itinerary. After making half an hour search in “google”, I decided to go to Belur and its nearby places and then to Shravanabelagola. Google showed it is just 150 km away from Mangalore and after making rough calculations, I thought it would take only 4 hours to reach to Belur. But, things happened differently!
And the travel starts!
I had lunch in
the session hall along with all the participants. As usual, I did not try to
initiate conversations with the participants and the key note speakers. The PhD
students of some other institutes were very much interested to get introduce
with the professors and other key note speakers. Dr.B.M.Hegde was surrounded by
many participants and he made conversations with them in humble and pleasant
manner. I silently kept on noticing all the participants while having lunch.
The other part of my mind seriously thought about the travels that I was intended
to make. The lunch was good!! It was a typical Kannadiga food. I enjoyed the
lunch. Then I simply and roughly
informed to one participant who had been staying in the same guest house along
with me and I started leaving from the campus…….
I came to the institute bus stop. Before that, I had a small roam in and around the campus for about 20 minutes. As I had said already, the institute has enough space for all the activities. The natural ambience is very nice. The town buses come directly to inside of the institute. Earlier I thought that it was the institute buses. But later I realized that it was not institute buses; but the city buses!! The campus roads are also nice and well-maintained. I was in the campus bus stop but I did not know where to go to catch the buses to Belur. At first I wished to go KSRTC (Karnataka State Bus Transport Corporation) and from there buses are easily available.
Here one thing I must say !! That is Kannadigas helping tendency. Throughout my travels, I found that Kannadigas are always ready to help the strangers with a smiling face. Since I had not been to the particular areas, I was not aware of any addressees. Hence I asked the routes, addresses to the strangers that I happened to encounter. All of them were very helpful to clarify the routes and addresses without a bit frustration.
After reaching to KSRTC bus stand, I realized that there is no direct bus to “Belur” from Mangalore. First we have to go to Hassan and from there many buses are available to go to “Belur”. I found a bus and started my travel to Hassan. After getting in to the bus, I came to know that it would take 6 hours to reach to Hassan. I was bit surprised; because in google, I found that just 170 Kms are the distance between Mangalore and Hasssan. Later I realized the nature of hectic mountainous route from Mangalore to Hassan. Hassan town is situated 934 m above sea level. Also the route from Mangalore to Hassan is very difficult; only an efficient and experienced driver can drive through this route. Otherwise many chances of accidents are there. I sat which is just three seats behind the driver seat and hence I could realize the difficulties in driving such tough mountainous route. I took two snaps while travelling. I myself feel taking snaps while travelling seems weird!! But I took snaps!!
In half the way, I came to know that my two SIMs don’t have any network service. Also I don’t have enough balance in one of my SIM. I got some signal and I made a small whatsapp message to one of my friend to recharge me. Thankfully he did that. After that I recharged my phone after calling to my home. At 10.30 PM, the bus reached Hassan. Earlier I had a picture in my mind that Hassan is a small town and so it has small bus stand. I felt astonished after seeing the Hassan bus stand. How spacious it is? What a well-planned bus stand with good maintenance. I travelled throughout Tamil Nadu and I visited almost all the bus stands in the big cities and small towns of Tamil Nadu. Also I visited many cities and small towns of Kerala and Maharashtra; I visited many small towns, villages and big cities in Maharashtra and happened to see the maintenance status of the bus stands. But none of them are comparable to the well-maintenance status of Hassan bus stand. I assume one of the main reasons of well maintenance of this bus stand is due to the less crowd and less usage of the people. Then I stayed in a small lodge in Hassan. No lodge is available near to the bus stand. I walked for about 2 Kms to find a lodge to stay.
On the way to Hassan
Spacious and well maintained Hassan bus stand !
On the way to Belur from Hassan @ morning 6.30 AM !! What a peaceful life ?!
Then I woke up in
the early morning and started travel to Belur which is about 40 Kms distance. Chennakeshava temple is very near from the bus
stand. Before going to the temple, I thought it is an as usual temple. After just entering the temple, the temple courtyard completely mesmerized me. What a
spacious place? What a beautiful architecture which completely made of stones? It has
a rich history. It was built in 12th century. Still it looks
gigantic with majestic structure. I was completely astonished and delighted to see the
Hoisala architecture and their nuance performance in the stones. The shrine outer wall, southern door, gigantic pillars,
sculptures and its nuance artistic skills… No words to express my astonishment
and delight to see the marvellous temple. It has to be enjoyed by everyone!
Do visit the temple even if you don’t have any religious beliefs and even if you are an atheist. It is the true identity of Indian architecture; It is the proud of the potential and artistic skills of our ancestors. Unfortunately, even the nearby states (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) people don’t have good awareness about the beauty and the proudness of these temples. Even though it is a Jain temple, the visitors and the devotees are mostly Hindus. I saw some foreigners who were roaming inside the temple; Also some groups of school students (may be from nearby parts of Karnataka) came there along with their school teachers. I asked the help of some school students and took some snaps of me!! :)
Do visit the temple even if you don’t have any religious beliefs and even if you are an atheist. It is the true identity of Indian architecture; It is the proud of the potential and artistic skills of our ancestors. Unfortunately, even the nearby states (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) people don’t have good awareness about the beauty and the proudness of these temples. Even though it is a Jain temple, the visitors and the devotees are mostly Hindus. I saw some foreigners who were roaming inside the temple; Also some groups of school students (may be from nearby parts of Karnataka) came there along with their school teachers. I asked the help of some school students and took some snaps of me!! :)
Chennakesava temple
Temple courtyard !
Ornate entrance ! (in the right side of the temple)
Beautiful entrance !
Since I had less time to see the nearby places
such as Halabedu and Belavadi, I spent just 2 hours in the Cheena kesava temple
and then moved to Halabedu which is just 10 Kms from Belur. I got into the bus
and sat very near to the driver seat. I saw the complete road view from Belur
to Halabedu. We crossed small villages and small roads and we travelled for
about half an hour. Road was good and I saw only very less people living in the
villages. I thought why these villages seem empty? If a foreigner happen to see
these villages, he can’t believe that India is the largest and densely
populated country in the world !! Even, I can’t believe this !!
Then I visited to Hoysaleeswara temple, which
was also built during the Hoysala empire and it is now considered as one of the best Hoisala architectures. Here, in the temple, I could see many visitors
compared to Belur. Though the town seems small, these Hoisala temples make the
town famous!! This temple is maintained by the government of Karnataka and it
is considered as protected archaeological site. The architecture is considered
one of the world’s best architecture. It was constructed during 13th
century. The sculptures are excellent and I wondered to see the nuance skills
in making the sculptures, the roofs, the gigantic black pillars in the center
of the temple and the decorative towers of top. I was mesmerized to see the
elephant sculptures and the “Nandi” sculpture which is in the right side of the
temple. I took some snaps of me by asking the help of anonymous’ spectators. I did not
wish to miss to take snaps of me at this wonderful place!!
On the outer side, there is a big spacious
garden. A museum is there in the spacious garden; but museum was in holiday on that day. Hence I missed to visit it. Many broken stone
sculptures are there in the ground. I understood it was not protected and maintained by the
government properly. Still the old sculptures were there in the ground space
without any proper shelter. But the grounds are well maintained. I had a brief
chat with the watchman who was in-charge in the main temples. We had a small
conversation in Kannada. I tried to speak with him in Kannada itself. Earlier,
mistakenly, he thought me as a Kannadiga. After knowing about my native, he got
surprised and told “How did you learn Kannada?” I
chuckled and I said that I learnt somehow. I, myself, know that my Kannada
fluency is limited and just manageable in the public places. That’s all. I thought to make a small round to all over
the area. But due to the shortage of time, I left from the temple and I started
to visit the nearby Kedareshwara Temple.
Greenish garden in Hoysalaswara temple
Gigantic pillars !!
Some broken stone sculptures
Kedareshwara Temple is a small temple compared
to the spacious Hoysaleeswara temple and it is not well known to the people who
happen to visit this place; but it has rich heritage and history like all the
nearby temples and monument sites. It is just a walkable distance from the
Hoysaleeswara temple. But it gave me a breath-taking experience.
I entered the temple at afternoon 12.15 PM. I was the only one visitor in that temple. One security and one officer was there. They saw me with a strange look. Usually people don’t come to this temple to make visits. After having visit to “Hoyasaleeswara temple” they directly to “Belavadi” which is about 8 kms from “Halabedu”. Also this temple is in the interior of the small area. No one was there in the temple except three of us. We had a brief chat and the officer asked me about my native. I said that and he got surprised. He asked me “So you are coming from Mumbai to see this small temple”. As usual, I made a small chuckle and started seeing the outside of the temple. The temple was surrounded by a small garden and four outer wall are there to protect the temple from outside land. It was also built during the mid of 12th century. Still the outer shrine and the pillars seem strong. Inside the temple the stone scupltures of ‘thirthankaras” are there…. The sculptures are very old but it is beautifully and artistically made. One bigger separate temple is there in the right end of the temple. That is marvellous one.
The big sculpture of a thirthankar (for about 6 feet) is there (may be Neminatha thirthankar or some other thirthankar. I did not notice the name of the thirthankar in the board). No one was there in the temple. I was alone and a complete silence was there in the temple. The place of the sanctum sanctorum was gloomy and I could not able to see the sculpture clearly. But I could able to see the mysterious smile of that thirthankar. I forgot to take snaps of the temple after seeing that smile of the thirthankar and I sat for some moments.
The outer wall of the temples contain ornate decorations; Each and
every stone was carefully and artistically moulded to form the beautiful
sculptures. Also I could see some Hindu deities in that temple. After seeing
the decorated outer view of the temple and the gigantic pillars in the temples,
I was astonished and delighted. I asked myself “Why much visitors are not
coming to these types of old and artistic places?”
Here I must point one thing. Throughout my
visits to all the old monuments site, I was allowed to take
pictures without any restrictions. All the visitors are allowed to take
pictures and videos without any small restrictions. I could see many visitors
took snaps inside the temple itself. I
avoided to take any snaps inside the temples.
I just covered the outer view of the places that I visit and also few of my snaps were taken by the ‘security’ and the concerned person in the places !! All the securities that I happened to meet are kind enough to guide the visitors without any small frustrations. Suppose if we happen visit some of the famous old temples and monuments in Tamil Nadu, we have to get bitter experiences!! Personally I visited some famous temples in Tamil Nadu as a spectator; not as a devotee. I got bad experiences! Usually the securities of Tamil Nadu don’t know how to guide the outside visitors; sometimes, they expect money from them. Also they impose lots of restrictions in the temples and make the visitors to get irritations. I myself has these types of bitter experiences. But I did not get any types of negative experience throughout all these visits.
I just covered the outer view of the places that I visit and also few of my snaps were taken by the ‘security’ and the concerned person in the places !! All the securities that I happened to meet are kind enough to guide the visitors without any small frustrations. Suppose if we happen visit some of the famous old temples and monuments in Tamil Nadu, we have to get bitter experiences!! Personally I visited some famous temples in Tamil Nadu as a spectator; not as a devotee. I got bad experiences! Usually the securities of Tamil Nadu don’t know how to guide the outside visitors; sometimes, they expect money from them. Also they impose lots of restrictions in the temples and make the visitors to get irritations. I myself has these types of bitter experiences. But I did not get any types of negative experience throughout all these visits.
Entrance of Kedareshwara temple
Outer view of the temple
Just outside the temple ! (A small village)
After spending sometime in the temple, I had a thought to go Shravanabelagola. But I was not sure about the route. Hence I asked
the route to reach Shravanabelagola to the security and the officer who were in
the temple. They clarified the route lucidly. Even they informed about the specific timings to
close the temples. That was very useful to me and I urged moving from there
after saying ‘thanks’ and ‘bye’ to them. It was a great experience!
It was around 2 PM when I reached the bus stand in Halabedu. Belavadi is very near to Halabedu (17 Km). Again I started moving to Hassan to catch the bus to Shravanabelagola. It was a good afternoon trip. On the way, I could able to see only less people moving around the streets. I wondered to see this. I assumed naturally those areas are less densely populated areas; but that gave me a pleasant and calm impression compared to the hectic urban atmosphere. The bus moved slowly!! I took some snaps while moving in the bus.
On the way to Hassan from Halabidu !!
After reaching to Hassan, I had lunch in the small hotel. The food was not very
tasty but it is okay to have an average lunch. After having food, I immediately
got the bus to go to Shravanabelagola. There is no direct bus to
Shravanabelagola. Instead the bus to go to Chennarayapatna, a small town which
is near to Shravanabelagola. The route to reach Chennarayapatna lies on the way
to Bangalore. Hence it is NH road. The bus moved very fastly. After 1 and half
journey, we reached a small town, Channarayapatna. After reaching to Chennarayapatna, I picked a town bus to go to
Shravanabelagola. In between, some bridges and a small river is there. I don’t
know the name of that small river; but I took snaps of the beautiful small
river while having travel in the town bus.
On the way to Shravanabelagola from Cheenarayapatna !!
It was about half an hour journey. Then I
reached Shravanabelgola. Then only I realized that the temples are situated in
the mountain!! Before that, I did not know this; since my phone did not have
sufficient battery charge, I did not search about this place in ‘google’. Also,
as I said, my travel was completely unplanned. But, fortunately it happened
well without having any pre-plans. If I had reached here at morning or
afternoon, I would have felt difficult to climb up the mountains.
Now
it has become very easy to climb the mountains to reach the temples because the
time was around 4.30 PM. Then I started moving fast to see both the temples;
one is in Chandragiri hills and the next one is Vindhyagiri hills. Before going
to start to reach the temples in the mountains, I had a brief talk with the old
man in the nearby petty shop. He was so interested to guide the visitors
without any expectations. He asked me ‘Yennappa? Are you a new visitor to this
place ? Then I told ‘yes’. Then he guided me that it is a tradition to visit
the Chandragiri hills first and then only we have to visit Vindhyagiri hills.
Entrance of Chandragiri Hills !
Entrance of Vindyagiri hills !
To reach the temples in the mountains, the
visitors need to use the stone carving steps. In between, many rocks are there to welcome the vistors! The distance is not very far to reach
the mountain. Just 10 to 15 minutes are enough to reach the temple which is in the
top of the Chandragiri hills. The temple is very old and it is one of the most
important pilgrimage sites of Jainism. The crowd was less at that time. It did not make me
to wonder because already I had seen very less crowd in the places that I
visited. Only for about 20 or 25 people were there in the temple. The temple is
big and it has separate shrines for all ‘Tirthankaras’.
No conditions or
restrictions were imposed to bring the cameras and videos. The visitors are
freely allowed to take pictures freely as they wish. There was no restrictions
at all. While entering the temple, the security asked the visitors to be
cautious and to go to the rear left side of the temple which is about nearly
500 metre from the entrance. I asked why? He made a small smile and told “Last
week, we saw three Cheetahs at that area. Moreover some forest area is there at
that side. Here all types of animals are there. They come out freely at night
time”. I realized his concern. Then I started seeing all the shrines in the
temples. Though it is a famous pilgrimage, most of the visitors I could see at
that time are Hindus. Also I had a small talk with two visitors (North Indians)
who were there. They did not know that the temple is a Jain pilgrimage!! I
chuckled and started moving to see the shrines. As I said, the temple is very
old and not well maintained. Sometimes, well maintenance of these types of old
temples automatically brings artificiality and it kills the nature and pleasant atmosphere of the shrines. Hence let it be! There is no doubt that these
temples will last in another 700 or 1000 years if humans won’t disturb its
impeccable surroundings. Humans are the greatest trouble makers to these
greatest symbols.
It seems many guys carved the names of
their ‘sweet hearts’ and their ‘phone numbers’ in the stones and the outer wall
of the temples. This is the typical disgusting attitude and non-sense behaviour of
Indians! It is our assets and it is our duty to protect them for the sake of
our future generations. Also if the
government strictly impose the conditions and restrictions to the visitors, it
will spoil the freedom and the natural calm atmosphere to see the shrines. That’s
what happening in the famous shrines of Tamil Nadu. The strict conditions and
cameras in the temples and the monument site are the great barriers to the
visitors to enjoy the beauty of the site without any restrictions. Personally I
don’t wish the same things to happen here!!! The conditions and restrictions of
the security should always be less and minimum. It is the duty of the
spectators to take care of these assets!
Staircase to reach the Chandragiri temple !
Chandragiri temple
I went to all the shrines in the temple and I
had a brief talk with the priest who are in-charge of one shrine. The shrine is
in the upper area. The way to reach that shrine is very narrow; hence the
priest helped me to go there. He was pleasant and we had a brief talk
about the history of these temples and its heritage. He clarified many of my
questions about the ‘Tirthankaras’ calmly. At that time, I was the only one
person in the shrine; hence he had time to clarify all my queries! Finally I asked him to take a small snap. He
was not aware to use my camera. I gave a brief instructions and he took a small
snap of me pleasantly!!
Jain Priest
The time was about 5 PM. I realized that I had
very less time to see another temple which is in Vindhyagiri hills. I came down
and I started climbing the Vindhyagiri hill to reach the temple which is in the
top of that mountain. Comparatively, here the distance to reach the temple is
high. We need to cross nearly 600 stone steps to reach the top of the hill.
After reaching the top of the mountain, I saw the bird view of the town. I
could see the aerial view of the town and the vehicles are moving like small
ants. It makes us to realize the power of monstrous nature and makes the humans
to feel humble. I had very less time to see the temple. Usually they close the
temple at 6 PM. Hence I was urged to go there. Already I had got tired because of
my exhaustive travels from morning 5.45 AM; I had already climbed a hill which is
nearby; also I had very less quantity of food. All these things made me to feel
tired.
But after reaching the temple, my tiredness has gone without a small evidence. It is widely referred as “Bahubali temple” among the Jain people. The
temple is widely referred as “Gommateshvara temple’ among the people of
Karnataka. After seeing the outer structure of the temple, I saw the greatest “Bahubali
statue”. I astounded to see the ‘Bahubali statue’. What an impressive statue
with gigantic size”? The height of the statue is about 58 feet and is
considered as world’s largest monolithic statue!! It stands majestically in the
top of the hill and it declares the potential of the artistic skills of our ancestors to the world!!
No words to explain the majestic nature of the statue!! One has to directly see the ‘Bahubali
statue’ and feel the astonishments!! Words are not enough to explain its impressive
nature. It was built in around 983 A.D. It has been more than 1000 years!!
Undoubtedly it is the one of the best marvellous stone statue in the human history.
At the base of the statue, two small sculptures are there. I could see many Prakrutha
inscriptions in the base of the greatest Bahubali statue. I sat near the
Bahubali statue of about half an hour and enjoyed its majestic beauty. After
that, I started seeing the sculptures of ‘Tirthankara’ in and around the statue.
I could see all the 24 Tirthankaras in the temple. At first sight, it seems
there is not much differences between the statues of ‘Tirthankaras’; But if we
notice them keenly, we could find the nuance differences among all the ‘Tirthankaras’
and no one looks same like the other !! What an impressive artistic skills!! Personally
I like the stone sculpture of “Neminatha thirthankara”. I found the divine
beauty in the sculpture of “Neminatha thirthankara”.
After spending one and hours in the temple, I
came down to the hill. The return walk was not that much difficult. I felt some
difficult to ascent the hill due to the lack of enough food and exhaustive
travels. But the ‘Bahubali statue” gave me energy and spirit to move
downwards. The time was about 7 PM. After having a small tea, I picked the town
bus to reach Channarayapatna. After reaching Chennarayapatna, I was waiting to
get the bus to go to Hassan. The travel time was about one and hour to reach
Hassan. By the time I reach Hassan, the time was about 9 PM. I took some food
in the hotel and I picked the bus to go to Mangalore. As I described earlier,
Hassan bus stand is spacious enough to all the travellers. Usually the town
sleeps at 10 PM itself. At that time, most of the complex and shops in the Hassan
bus stand were closed. I had tea twice and I was waiting in the bus stand
calmly. I sat near the entrance of a closed shop and watched all the people in
and around me. That was a pleasant experience. Some girls were there. I got the
bus at 10 PM and the bus started moving at 10.20 PM. I reached to Mangalore at
early morning 3 AM. I picked an auto rickshaw to go to my guest house. In the
entrance of my guest house, no one was there. The entrance door was opened. I
went to the room without asking any permission to the security. The time was
about 3.45 AM!! The next day, I attended the conference as usual. I found many participants
were not there in the conference. They had already gone to their respective institutes
after their work was over!! But I had to spent another two days in Mangalore !!
Aerial view of the pond
Staircase to reach Bahubali temple
Greatest Bahubali statue
Entrance of the temple (Photo was taken from inside of the temple)
After
the completion of the conference, I had one-day time to catch the train. Again
I planned to visit some more places near Mangalore. I visited St. Aloysius
church in Mangalore on that evening. Also I went to beach in Mangalore and
spent some time in the beach. Spending evening time in the beach has always
been a wonderful experience.
Entrance of St.Aloysius church !!
Mangalore beach !
In
the next day, again I made yet another travel to visit the Jain temples and
church in and around Mangalore. Moodabidri is a town in Dakshina Kannada
district. The distance between Mangalore to Moodabidri is about 55 Kms. I had
train to go to Mumbai at night 11 PM. Hence I wished to finish my travels
before evening 6 PM. Moodabidri is famous for Jain temples and Jain culture. I
picked a bus to reach Moodabidri at morning 7 AM. The route was so pleasant; It
is covered by big trees and the bus went through the small hilly areas and
slopes.
Around
one and hour need to reach Moodabidri as the route is hilly. Moodabidri, a
small town is situated in the midst of hills. After reaching to Moodabidri, I
picked a town bus to go to Jain basadi. The travel was just 15 minutes. I had a
breakfast in a very small hotel at Jain Basadi. Then at first I visited to
Saavira Kambada Basadi, which is the famous Jain Temple noted for its 1000
pillars. There I had a brief chat with the concerned people of the temple. They
asked me to buy a token to visit the temple and also they charged for about
Rs.50 to take the photos in the temple. In the temple, I could see the
surveillance cameras. It is a beautiful old temple with many stone sculptures
of thirthankaras and ornate decorations in the pillars. Gigantic pillars are
the identity of this temple compared to the other nearby Jain temples.
Decorated stone carvings and sculptures of Thirthankaras are there in the
gigantic pillars and at the walls. Some rituals were going on at that time.
The
time was around 10 AM. The concern person in the temple informed me that
usually they close all the temples at 10 AM and they reopen only at evening.
Then only I came to realize the importance of timings in visiting the temples.
Then I started moving from that temple.
Inside Saavira Kambada Basadi !!
Near Saavira Kambada Basadi
Next I visited to Guru Basadi, which is the
oldest temples of all the Jain temples in Moodabidri. The temple was in open
condition but no one was there. I stayed for some time in the temple and took
some snaps of its outer view. I had less time to visit the nearby temples and
the places. Hence I started immediately from the Jain Basadi and started moving
to Karkala which is about 20 Km from Jain Basadi. In the bus stop, I saw one
small government aided Jain school. It is a small school but it is located in
such a pleasant and calm atmosphere. It made me to remember my school days!! I
made a brief gasp and then I chucked!! I took some snaps of that school for my remembrances.
Then I got the bus to go to Karkala. The bus moved through the small hills; the big trees in both sides of the areas welcomed the visitors peacefully!! As usual, the area is less densely populated one. I could see only less number of people.
After reaching to Karkala, I had an idea to go visit the famous Gomateeshwara statue; but after having a brief talk with the auto rickshaw drivers, I came to know that the famous St.Lawrence church which is located very near to that place. Hence I decided to go there by auto. It is a very big church surrounded by hills. The public transport to reach that place is very less. We need to depend on auto rickshaw or our own vehicle only. It is about 5 Km from Karkala bus stand. As I expected, only less (below 10) people were there in the Church. This church is in the outskirts of Karakala town. It has a rich history that goes beyond 18th century. After spending some time in the church, I started moving to Gomateeswara statue which is just about another 5 Km from Attur church.
Then I got the bus to go to Karkala. The bus moved through the small hills; the big trees in both sides of the areas welcomed the visitors peacefully!! As usual, the area is less densely populated one. I could see only less number of people.
After reaching to Karkala, I had an idea to go visit the famous Gomateeshwara statue; but after having a brief talk with the auto rickshaw drivers, I came to know that the famous St.Lawrence church which is located very near to that place. Hence I decided to go there by auto. It is a very big church surrounded by hills. The public transport to reach that place is very less. We need to depend on auto rickshaw or our own vehicle only. It is about 5 Km from Karkala bus stand. As I expected, only less (below 10) people were there in the Church. This church is in the outskirts of Karakala town. It has a rich history that goes beyond 18th century. After spending some time in the church, I started moving to Gomateeswara statue which is just about another 5 Km from Attur church.
From the place near to Gomateeshwara statue, public transport facilities are easily available. From there, frequent direct buses are available to go Mangalore. Gomateeshwara statue is in the top of the hill. Just 5 to 10 minutes are enough to reach the top of the hill. It is also a protected monument site by the archaeological society of India. Gomateeshwara statue is in the top of the hill. It is also a single stone statue which is about 41.5 feet height. It is second tallest single stone statue next to Bahubali statue which is in Shravanabelagola. Like Bahubali statue, it stands majestically in the top of the hill. Around the statue, I could see many old stone sculputres of Thrithankaras. Just 5 to 10 minutes are enough to reach the top of the hill. It is also a protected monument site by the archaeological society of India. After spending some time in the temple with astonishment and delight, I decided to go back to Mangalore. The time was about 5 PM. I reached Mangalore at 6.30 PM. With this, the journey had come to a short-end with delight and complete satisfaction!!
Kodi Basadi, Moodbidri !
Jain High School, Moodbidri
Jain High School, Moodbidri !
St.Lawrence church, Karkala
Entrance of St.Lawrence Church, Attur
Greenish garden of St.Lawrence church. Attur
Stone staircase to climb the hill
Gigantic Gomateeshwara statue in the top of the hill, Karkala
So the whole day journey had come to an end; It gave many pleasant and memorable experiences. By the time I started this journey, I never
thought that I would make such an exhaustive journey. I had some mistaken ideas about the distance and the timings to reach the places. I never
visited the temples lonely. This was the first time. I deliberately chose the
temples for my visits as I was going to make all the travels lonely. Also if we happen to
visit these types of temples along with our friends, there may be many chances
to miss to see the nuance beauty of the temples and its artistic skills. I did
not make the travels to visit these temples as a devotee; but as a keen spectator. I wished to
see the temples for its antique, artistic and impressive values. Overall this
visit gave me an exhilarating and useful experiences. Now I have got some ideas
about Jainism and the influence of Jainism in Northern Karnataka.
Already I have read briefly about ‘Christianity’ ia a Tamil Book. Now I wish to read about Jainism and Buddhism and the influence of both the religions in Southern India. For that, recently I purchased two books about Jainism and Buddhism through flipkart.
Now started reading the book on Jainism and
before the end of January I will try to write a review about this book and the book that I have already read (on Christianity). Let me see!!
Some useful wikipedia links:
Some useful wikipedia links:
Belur: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belur
Hoysala architecture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoysala_architecture
Hoysala architecture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoysala_architecture
Shravanabelagola: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shravanabelagola
Bahubali: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahubali
