Bawangaja
Encyclopedia
Bawangaja is a famous Jain pilgrim center in the Barwani
Barwani
Barwani , also known as Badwani, is a city and a municipality in Barwani District in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The city is situated near the left bank of the Narmada River, and is the administrative headquarter of Barwani District. It has served as the capital of the former princely state...

 district of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....

 in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Its main attraction is the world's tallest statue,(carved out of mountain) of the first Jain Tirthankara (saint) Adinatha. The statue is 84 feet (25.6 m) high, and was created early in the 12th century. The statue is supported from the back unlike one at Shravanabelagola
Shravanabelagola
Shravana Belgola is a city located in the Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is 158 km from Bangalore. The statue of Gommateshvara Bahubali at Śravaṇa Beḷgoḷa is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Jainism, one that reached a peak in architectural and sculptural...

 in Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, India. The center is located in the Satpura ranges and is 8 km from a Barwani
Barwani
Barwani , also known as Badwani, is a city and a municipality in Barwani District in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The city is situated near the left bank of the Narmada River, and is the administrative headquarter of Barwani District. It has served as the capital of the former princely state...

town.

In the heart of India , stands Madhya Pradesh and in the heart of Madhya Pradesh is Malwa, known for its glorious cultural and historical backgrounds. The region of Malwa has charming natural locations between the Satpura and the Vindhyachals. This land is made holy by the water of the Narmada , the Kshipra and the Chambal. The mountains of Satpura had been the favorite place of great ascetics and preceptors for practicing penance. The land of Bawangaja had been the land of penance for several great religious dignities. In the middle of the Satpura, at the height of 4000.6 ft (1,219.4 m). is the idol of the founder of Jainism the first Tirthankar Rishabh Dev, carved on single stone, with height of 25.6 metres. (84 ft). This place is known as Bawangaja. The idol here is the highest in the world and rich in art. For hundreds of years this captivating idol, standing in the posture of meditation, exhibits the heights of detachment, quietness, art and expressions.
The huge magnificent tallest idol of India established on Chulgiri Siddha Kshetra is made by cutting rock of one single mountain only. This 84 feet (25.6 m) high Khadgasan idol of Bhagwan Adinath is made in brown stone. As no written evidence is available regarding its construction it is very difficult to say anything about its construction period. The idol of Bhagwan Adinath (Rishabhdev) stands on base of mountain just like the idol of ‘Gomteshwar Bahubali’ of Shravanbelgola. The hands of idol are not joined with legs but are made separate. The structural art & style of this idol is unique and it is in perfect proportion. The various parts of idol are quite symmetrical. There is balanced image of all emotions like joy, mercy & separation on the face of this idol. On the left side huge idol of Bawangaja Bhagwan Adinath the 4 armed ‘Gomukh Yaksha’ & on the right side the very artistic idol of 16 armed ‘Yakshi Chakreshvary’ is established. Because of the large size of idol one can not got complete view of idol by standing on feet of this idol. Therefore in order to get complete view one has to stand a little distance away from the idol.
MEASUREMENT OF THE IDOL (Details of the idol)
Total height. 84 feet.
Expansion between two hands 26 feet.
Length of hand. 46'-6 "
Length between waist and heel 47'
Circumference of head. 26'
Length of foot. 13'-09 ”
Length of nose. 03'-03 ”
Length of eye. 03'-03 ”
Length of ear. O9'-08 ”
Distance between the two ear. 17'-06 ”
Width of foot. 05'
Image http://bawangaja.com/bawangaja/e/images/Bawangaja_front.gif


The idol of Bhagwan aadinathji carved artistically on a stone slab present here is also quite worth seeing.
The Chulgiri temple is also situated on the Hilltop & this temple is also called as Siddha Bhoomi. The Indrajeet, Kumbhakaran & various other scholars attained emancipation through the self-meditation. This is ancient & spired temple whose construction & restoration according to inscription was done in Samvat 1116, 1223 & 1508. The 3 ancient foot images of Indrajeet, Kumbhakaran & the other are present in this temple. Except foot images the 2 idols of Bhagwan Mallinath & Chandraprabhu are installed in the main alter. Moreover the several idols are installed on both sides in the main assembly hall (Mahamandap).
In the heart of India , stands Madhya Pradesh and in the heart of Madhya Pradesh is Malwa, known for its glorious cultural and historical backgrounds. The region of Malwa has charming natural situation between the Satpurra and the Vindhyachals.The land being made holy by the waters of the Narmada , the Kshipra and the Chambal. The mountains of Satpura had been the favourite place of great ascetics and preceptors for practising penance. The land of Bavangaja had been the land of penance for several great religious dignities. In the middle of the Satpura, at the height of 4000.6 ft. is the idol of the founder of Jainism the first Tirthankar Rrishabh Dev, engraved on single stone, with height of 25.6 mts.(84 ft.). This place is known as Bhvangaja. The idol here is the highest and rich in art in the world. For hundreds of years this captivating idol, standing in the posture of meditation, exhibits the heights of non-detachment, quietness, art and expressions.
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