Statue of Gomateswara

The statue of Gomateswara is located 158 km away from Bangalore, at Sravanbelgola. This big statue of lord Gomateswara, the Jain saint, is carved out of granite block and stands on top of a hill. For centuries, Sravanabelagola has remained a great Jain center and thousands of pilgrims go to see the great statue of the Jain saint, Lord Gomateswara. The statue of Gomateswara shows the lord completely nude. This statue of lord Gomateswara is 17m high and is visible from far away, eexactly from a distance of 30km.

This statue is considerated one of the largest religious statues in the world. This statue of lord Gomateshwara was created around 983 AD by Chamundraya, a minister of the Ganga King, Rajamalla. The neighboring areas have Jaina bastis and images of the Jaina Thirthankaras. If you visit the statue, you will have a beautiful view of the surrounding areas at the top of the hill. At Sravanbelgola the Mahamastakabhishekam festival is celebrated once every 12 years, when the image of Gomateswara is bathed in milk, curds, ghee, saffron and gold coins. In February 2006 the Mahamastakabhisheka festival was held and the next festival was expected in 2018.

Most of the people who have visited the statue say that the climb up of hill is hard,  but made it's worth it especially for the views. India has some really magnificent architecture and a really diverse history.

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