Bahubali | One of the 7 Wonders of India

You’re gonna need your Wheaties in the morning to get up the stairs to this statue! This is one of my 8 favorite day trips from Mysore.

The statue in Shravanabelagola is the biggest monolithic statue in India (meaning it is made from one stone only) and one of the 7 wonders of India (with 47% of voters choosing this as number 1). It was built in the 10th century AD.

The man pictured is Bahubali. At one point him and his brother fought for control and Bahubali won finally after a staring contest (the Jains don’t believe in violence!) but realizing he didn’t like having conflict with a brother, he gave the kingdom over and began to meditate standing in the same place- so long that life began to grow on him as you can see in the statue.

Because he gave everything back to his brother, he is the ideal man in Jainism and even non-Jains look up to him. The place is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists each year.

This Jain temple is extremely interesting as is the Jain way of life. Some wear only white, while others wore nothing at all. They are quite extreme. Did you know Buddhism was a compromise between Jainism and Hinduism?

The Jains sweep the floor before they step to avoid squashing even a bug, they only eat fruits which fall from a tree rather than plucking them, and would never eat meat as they won’t even eat a potato that’s been dug up and removed from it’s home the ground!

They believe in punishing themselves to reach enlightenment and will pluck out their own hairs. Woah.

The Views of Shravanabelagola

This statue is about 2 hours from Mysore and is one of the many places I visited with goMowgli and recommend as great day trips from Mysore.

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2016-10-13T10:02:55-04:00

About the Author: Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones left a career in nursing and lived on the beaches of Goa, India for the five years. Now she lives in Mexico where she gives advice on the 40+ countries she’s visited in the last 10 years. She’s the author of two India travel e-books: Guide to India and Insider’s Guide to Goa. Her blog, Hippie in Heels, like its name, is a contradiction combining off-beat adventurous places with glamorous and bespoke travel. Hippie in Heels has been featured in ELLE, Marie Claire, Grazia, and Cosmopolitan magazines. She’s a writer for Bravo TV.

7 Comments

Elizabeth January 26, 2015 at 6:23 pm - Reply

That looks amazing! And it’s great to get some of the history behind it as well.
Justine January 26, 2015 at 7:55 pm - Reply

I love learning more about the history of religion in India. I’d honestly never heard of Jainism before. I’d always thought that it was a type of Buddhist that sweeps the floor in front of them so they don’t step on bugs. But now I know it’s the Jains! Your pictures are spectacular by the way :)
- Rachel Jones January 28, 2015 at 5:37 pm - Reply
  
  Thanks Justine I’ve been working on taking less photos but making sure each one is good.. saves me so much time
Slagjana Kocikj January 26, 2015 at 9:40 pm - Reply

I am fascinated that it has been build from only one stone. People did a lot of things that we admire and wonder. You say it is on of the seven wonders in India, waiting to hear more about others. :)
- Rachel Jones January 28, 2015 at 5:36 pm - Reply
  
  good idea, maybe I can write a post about all the wonders :)
Sofia January 27, 2015 at 8:14 am - Reply

The meditation itself is extreme, alright.. that is very remarkable, it’s the first time I’ve heard of that story; it’s quite interesting.
- Rachel Jones January 28, 2015 at 5:33 pm - Reply
  
  Thanks for commenting Sofia. Jains are so interesting.