Kambadahalli
Encyclopedia
Kambadahalli is a village in Mandya district of 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...

 state, in southwestern 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...

. Previously known as Kambapuri, it is one of the oldest and most important Jain religious centers in Karnataka. The monuments here were built by the Western Ganga Dynasty in the 9th - 10th century. The name Kambadahalli in the Kannada language literally means village (halli) of the pillar (Kamba)

History

Kambadahalli is located 18 km from the famous Jain pilgrim center 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...

 on the Shravanabelagola-Mandya
Mandya
Mandya is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the headquarters of Mandya district and is located 40 km from Mysore and 100 km from Bangalore.-Etymology:...

 road. The place gets its name from the Brahmadeva pillar (kamba in Kannada) that exists in the famous Panchakuta Basadi
Basadi
Basadi is a Jain shrine or temple.The word is generally used in South India, including Maharashtra. Its historical use in North is preserved in the names of the Vimala Vasahi and Luna Vasahi temples of Mount Abu...

 monument. According to historians, archaeological records date these temples back to 900
900
Year 900 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* April 21 – Namwaran and his children, Lady Angkatan and Bukah, are granted pardon by the Datu of Tondo, as represented Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pila, which released them of all their debts as inscribed in the...

 C.E and legend has it that there existed 72 basadi
Basadi
Basadi is a Jain shrine or temple.The word is generally used in South India, including Maharashtra. Its historical use in North is preserved in the names of the Vimala Vasahi and Luna Vasahi temples of Mount Abu...

s here during the time saint Ananthaveerya Muni visited. However due to lack of accurate inscriptional evidence, historians broadly date these monuments to the 10th century.

The monument presently has been excavated 10 feet below ground level and rebuilt in the manner it was found.

Panchakuta basadi

This is one of the most beautiful monuments built in dravidian
Dravidian architecture
Dravidian architecture was a style of architecture that emerged thousands of years ago in Southern part of the Indian subcontinent or South India. They consist primarily of pyramid shaped temples called Koils which are dependent on intricate carved stone in order to create a step design consisting...

, vesara
Vesara
Vesara is a type of Indian architecture primarily used in temples. The two other prominent styles are Dravida and Nagara. Vesara is a combination of these two temple styles.-Description:...

 and nagara styles by the Western Ganga Dynasty. It is built on the same lines as the Chavundaraya
Chavundaraya
Chavundraya was a military commander, poet and a minister in the court of the Western Ganga Dynasty of Talakad . A person of many talents, in 982 he commissioned the Gomateshwara, a monolithic sculpture in Shravanabelagola, an important place of pilgrimage for Jains...

 basadi in Shrvanabelagola. The temple which is oriented to the north towards the Brahmadeva pillar has five shrines (hence the name Panchakuta). Three shrines are connected to a mantapa by a vestibule and consist of the main shrine of tirthankara Adinatha flanked by Neminatha shrine to the east and Shanthinatha shrine containing a 3 m tall idol of the tirthankara to the west. The other two shrines which are disconnected and lie to the north of the trikuta cluster (three shrines) are also dedicated to tirthankaras. These are two different monuments.According to Robert J. Delbonta, who researched the monument, An article in The Hindu February 3 2006 http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2006020313510400.htm&date=2006/02/03/&prd=th& The unique feature of the statue of Mahaveera (or Gomateshwara) found here is that striking a coin at different points of the statue produces different sounds. The intricate door designs, carvings of flowers and animals, sculptures of Yakshi and the well planned mantapa (hall) are impressive. The Brahmasthamba (main pillar) holds the statue of a Brahma Yaksha. It is only recently that efforts have been made to protect and renovate this monument.Due to the efforts of Sri Bhanukeerthi Swamiji of the mutt here, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has taken up conservation measures recently, Article in The Hindu, February 3 2006, http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/03/stories/2006020313510400.htm

How to reach

Kambadahalli is 135 km from Bangalore. It can be reached by travelling from Bangalore on the NH 48 leading to Hassan. At Bellur cross (105 km from Bangalore), turn left towards Nagamangala which is 17 km away. After reaching Nagamangala, go west from here for 14 km towards Shravanabelagola, turn right and travel 1 km to reach Kambadahalli.

External links

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