Gommateshwara statue, Karkala

Gommateshwara
(Bahubali)
Gommateshwara; (Bahubali)
ಗೊಮ್ಮಟೇಶ್ವರ ಪ್ರತಿಮೆ ಕಾರ್ಕಳ '
	The 42 feet (13 m) high monolithic statue of Bahubali
Religion
Affiliation	Jainism
Deity	Bahubali
Festivals	Mahavir Jayanti, Das Lakshana
Governing body	Karkala Jain Math
Location
Location	Karkala, Karnataka
	Shown within India Gommateshwara statue, Karkala (Karnataka)
Geographic coordinates	13°12′13.6″N 75°00′20″E / 13.203778°N 75.00556°E
Architecture
Creator	Veera Pandya Bhairarasa Wodeyar
Date established	1432 C.E.
Temple(s)	18

Gommateshwara statue, Karkala (ಗೊಮ್ಮಟೇಶ್ವರ ಪ್ರತಿಮೆ ಕಾರ್ಕಳ) is located at Karkala in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the second tallest statue of Bahubali in the world with the largest statue located at Shravanabelagola.

History

Gommateshwara statue at Karkala was built in 1432 CE by Veera Pandya Bhairarasa Wodeyar of Santara dynasty on advice from Lalitakirti, the Bhattaraka of Karkala Jain Matha.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] The statue was inspired from the larger Gommateshwara statue at Shravanabelagola built in 983 CE.^[6]

'Kalkuda' was a great sculptor who built the Gommateshwara statue in Karkala. After he completed building beautiful temples and monumental statues, the ruler of Karkala cut off his left arm and right leg so that he could not create such beautiful sculptures for any other king.

Karkala Gommatesvara Charitre, composed by Chadura Chandrama in 1686 CE, is poem describing the mahamastakabhisheka at Karkala.^[7]

Statue

The idol of Lord Bahubali, carved out of a single rock of granite,^[8] is 42 feet (13 m) tall,^[9] 10.33 feet (3.15 m) wide and is said to be the second tallest statue of Bahubali in the world.^[10]^[4]^[11] The idol is placed on a 5 feet (1.5 m) pedestal and enclosed by cloistered prakaram. In the entrance room, a few sculptures of Tirthankaras are displayed. In front of the temple is a manastambha with image of Yaksha within a niche. The statue is depicted in kayotsarga posture with curly hair ringlets, large ears and palms stretching up to knees.^[5] The idol weighs over 80 tonnes.^[12]^[13] It is located 300 feet (91 m) above sea level.^[14]

Gommateshwara statue at Shravanabelagola, Dharmasthala, Venur, Gommatagiri along with the one in Karkala are the five monolithic statues of Bahubali in Karnataka.^[11] The monolithic colossal statues of Bahubali at Shravanabelagola, Karkala and Venur are considered as wonder of the world.^[8]

Mahamastakabhisheka

Mahamastakabhisheka is organised every 12 years. As the Mahamastakabhisheka begins, consecrated water is sprinkled onto the participants by devotees carrying 1,008 specially prepared vessels (Kalashas). The statue is then bathed and anointed with libations such as milk, sugarcane juice, and saffron paste, and sprinkled with powders of sandalwood, turmeric, and vermilion. The event has been attended by multiple political personalities including D. B. Chandregowda & V. S. Ramadevi in 2002, Vajubhai Vala in 2015.^[15]^[16]

Other temples

Neighbouring areas have 18 Jain Basadis including Chaturmukha Basadi, Karkala, and Kere Basadi, Anekere. Moodabidri is another important Jain centre near Karkala.