Shravanabelagola Monolithic Gommateshwara Statue

Commissioned around 981 CE by Chavundaraya, a general and minister under the Western Ganga dynasty, the Gommateshwara (Bahubali) statue at Shravanabelagola stands 57 feet tall and was carved from a single granite outcrop atop Vindhyagiri hill. It is regarded as the tallest monolithic free-standing statue in the world and the holiest pilgrimage site of Digambara Jainism, depicting Bahubali in kayotsarga meditation posture with vines and anthills climbing his legs, symbolizing years of motionless austerity.

The site hosts the Mahamastakabhisheka, a spectacular anointment ceremony held roughly every twelve years in which the statue is bathed in milk, saffron, sandalwood paste, and gold and silver flowers, drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. The twin hills of Vindhyagiri and Chandragiri, ringed by centuries of Jain basadis and inscriptions, make the town a continuous record of Jain religious life spanning over a thousand years.

Getting there: Shravanabelagola lies about 50 km from Hassan town; the Shravanabelagola Post Office is in the village at the base of Vindhyagiri hill, near the start of the pilgrim stairway.