Tuesday,November 7, 2017 Spwww.deccanherald.comectrum From grassroots to galaxies Halakkitribe’ssinging tradition P2 TheabodesofLordBahubali

GOMMATATRAIL Evenaspreparations areonfor theMahamastakabhisheka ceremony to be held in in February 2018, SrikumarMMenon describes varioushistorical statues andsculptures of Gommateshwara in

nthe summit of atall, rocky moment of his triumph,realising the fu- outcrop, studded with mon- tility of it all.Thatinessence is , umentsofvarious kinds, is theyoung princeturned renunciate,cele- Oalarge, walled compound, brated by thesecolossal images. towering over the ramparts Bahubali wasone of the sons of Rishab- of whichisthe head and upper torsoofa hanatha, or Adinatha, the first tirthanka- gigantichumanfigure.Toilingant-like,up ra oftheJainreligion.Tradition hasitthat thehundredsofrock-cutsteps leading to when , ruler of , PERSONIFICATION OF TRANQUILLITY Gommateshwara statuesand in ,, Badami and . PHOTOSBYAUTHOR thetop,isasteadystreamofdevotees,who took to the life of arecluse, he dividedup will arriveatthe sanctuaryat thesummit, the kingdom among his hundred sons. Interestingly, to gazeinawe at the57feet(17.7m)high The eldest, Bharata, wasambitious, and statue of Bahubali —the “largest conse- coveted the territories of his brothers, in the early images crated granite monolith anywhere in the addition to whathehad annexed by con- world.” quest. In response to hischallenge, all his Unperturbedbythe hubbub of the brothersgave uptheirkingdomsandtook depictBahubaliwith crowd andthe attentions of thedevout, up monkhood, except Bahubali. Bahubali stands erect,his powerfularms To preventwarandunnecessaryblood- long locks of hair hanging loose by hissides, gazing ahead shed, it wasdecidedthat thetwo brothers through half-closed eyes,agentlesmile wouldengageinbattlewitheachother.Af- falling over his playingonhis lips, “verilythe personifi- ter tworoundsofman-to-man contests, cation of tranquillity” according to the bothofwhich ended in favour of Bahuba- shoulders. celebrated Jain poetHemachandra. This li, the final round wasawrestling match image —the tallest statueofBahubali, or between the two. Easily the strongerof Gommata as he is also known, is at Shra- the two, Bahubali lifted up Bharata effort- vanabelagola, in of Kar- lesslyand wasabouttodash himtothe despitethe practiceofsuchausterities for nataka.There areseveral otherequally ground, whenthe futilityofdefeating his awhole year.The poet relates IMPRESSIVE The Gommatastatue at near Mysuru; the rocky outcropatGommatagiri with shrine memorials to impressive statues of Bahubali at other ownbrother formaterialgain struck him. howthe sorrowofhaving humiliated his 24 ‘tirthankararas’ in the foreground. places in Karnataka. He gently loweredhis elder brother to the elder brother held Bahubali back from ground. Bharata, however, wassmarting the attainment of full enlightenment. A er,, theillustrious minister descendant of Chavundaraya,inthe 12th depictions of Bahubali with tightcurlsof Monolithic wonders from the insult of defeatinfront of his repentant Bharata visitsBahubaliatthe of the Western GangaKing Rachamalla century. hair.The 10-feet high image of Bahubali ThesecondtalleststatueofGommataisat subjectsandhurledhisdiscusatBahubali. siteofhispenancetopayhimhomage,and IV hitupon theidea of creatinganimage in Artipura, whichpre-datedthe onein Karkala, in Udupi District,standing all of Miraculously,the discuscircumambulat- this removesthe final obstacle, pavingthe atShravanabelagola,forhispiousmother Favouritetheme Shravanabelagola by afew decades, also 41 feet and 5incheshigh on agranitic hill. ed Bahubali and came to restathis feet. wayfor Bahubali’s enlightenment. KalalaDevi. It is believed that thesculp- However, the Shravanabelagolacolossus has tightcurls of hair. YetanotherGommata statueisatVenur, Bahubali embracedhis elder brother and It is believed that Bharataerected an torsoftheimagefashioneditfromanerect wasnot theearliest image of Gommata Bahubali wasanarhat,not a tirthanka- in Dakshina district, rising 35 joyfully gave up all thathehad conquered imageofBahubali at Paudanapura, the granite tor, which stood at the summitof to be carved. Earlier images, though not ra;however,hewas the first being to at- feet above the pedestal it stands on. An- toretiretoforest,seekingenlightenment. capital from which Bahubali had ruled the hill, for consecrationin981 CE. freestanding, were sculpted at Cave 4of tain in this Avasarpini Kala —the otherexquisitelycarvedmonolithicimage He stood erect, his arms hanging loose- his shareofthe kingdom bequeathed by The BahubalistatueatKarkala was the 6thcentury Jain rock-cuttemplein descendinghalf-cycle of the cosmic wheel of Gommatastandsatopasmall outcrop ly beside him,for ayear. Termite mounds .Incourse of time,thisimage installedin1432CEbyKingVirapandya Badami and the Jain cave on Meguti Hill of time, according to . It is atGommatagiriinMysurudistrict.Atonly grew at hisfeet and poisonous serpents got coveredbycreepersand anthillsand of the Kalasa-Karkala kingdom, and the inAihole,underthepatronageoftheEarly thealluring themeofhis great renuncia- 16 feet high, it is theshortest among the crawledaboutonhim.Creepersentwined graduallyevenPaudanapuradisappeared image at Venur,bythe Ajila chieftainVi- Chalukyas. ThetableauofHomage to Ba- tion which has inspiredits celebration as monolithic images of Bahubali, but the hisbody and arms. Unmindful of all this, from this worldofhumans.Centuries lat- ra-Timmaraja in 1604 CE. The date of hubaliappearstobeafavouritesculptural the tallest monolithic statue of the world, fine workmanshipand beautiful location he persevered in his quest forenlight- installation of the image at Gommatagiri theme in , often juxtaposed with and lessercolossi on severalhilltops. makesitone of the spectacular seats of enment,which howevereluded him is notknown, though locallegend attrib- ,atirthankara,asinBadami As onetakes in the sightofany of these Gommateshwara. utesittoone Changaalva—a andseveral instancesinEllora. colossistandingerectandproudunderthe But who is Bahubali, also called Interestingly, theseearlyimages depict skies, unmindful of theonslaught of the Gommata, whose images are Bahubaliwithlonglocksofhairfallingover elements, one cannot helpmarvellingat built on such colossal scales his shoulders. Someofthe early met- thatquality of thesestatues which mirror at so manyplaces in Karna- alimagesofBahubalitoodepict the serenity of the asceticinthe forest, taka? One who could have him similarly.Itisfrom Shra- unperturbed by the anthills that coverhis had it all—empire,power vanabelagola onwards that body, or the creepersthat engulf him,or and wealth, all within we see the serpents which crawl about on him. his grasp, but who (The author is with National Institute chose to throw of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru) it away in the

COLOSSUS Aviewofthe in Shravanabelagola.

FROM HERE When waterfalls comealive &THERE

he rainy spells at the end of mon- Jogimatti forest areahad sustainedtwo Tsoon have changed the landscape consecutivedroughtyears before agood of Jogimatti, 14 km away from Chi- monsoon this year.The Forest Depart- tradurga. Consideredtobeanarid area, ment hadcreatedwaterholes for wildan- Diversity is keytofarming success Chitradurga has soakedinthe magic of imals. “Wehave constructedcheckdams monsoonthis season and the Jogimatti in the forest area and these structures hivuSiddalingaswamy,aresident area,inparticular,offers avisual treat to have alsocontributed to the formation of Sof Antarasante hobli in Hegga- the visitors. The Jogimatti forestrange streams and waterfalls.This ecosystem dadevanakote (HD Kote)taluk of is spread across Chitradurga, Holalkere has provedbeneficialtocentral Karnata- Mysuru district,has been engaged andHiriyur taluks. Thisforest acts as the ka,”saysKBManjunath,deputyconserva- in farming for thelast 12 yearsnow. catchment area for the water sources in torofforests, Chitradurga division. Shivureturnedtohis village and the surrounding villages.Several rain- Likeany other forest, Jogimattihas a took up farming aftergraduation. water harvestingstructures likeKuma- rich diversity of flora and fauna.Asur- His father,who had suffered loss ranakatte, Gopanakatte, Beeramallappa veyconducted by nature enthusiasts has in tobacco and cotton cultivation, tank, Okkalikkanakatte, Kadlekatte ka- shown that thereare over 200birds in the discouraged him initially.“Since nive and Balambavi have been construct- area. Black buck, four-horned antelope, there wasnothing to lose further,I edinthisforestcenturiesago.Thoughthe leopard, bear, pythonand foxare someof decided to experiment in theland,” reasonbehind theconstruction of these the animalsseenhere.Similarly, one can Shivu says.Afterreboring, theold structures is notclear,theyare crucial to seerareherbs and endangered plant spe- borewellyielded 2.5 inches of water. maintainthe water levels in the region. cies in this forest. The forest thatisknown He started withgingerand later cul- Apart from these,one cansee dones or for its strong wind flowwas oncehome to tivatedcardamom and turmeric. By pools carvednaturallyonrocks. Allthese Siddhaand Jogi communities. In 2015, then,hehadrealisedthatwithmulti- andother waterstorage structures in the the State government declaredJogimatti plecrops,thelossfromonecropgets Jogimattiforest areaare brimming with MONSOON SPECTACLE One of the waterfalls in Jogimatti, Chitradurga. as awildlifesanctuary.So, one has to take balanced with the profit from some MIXED CROPPING Shivuinhis waterdue to generousrains this year. PHOTO BY NAGARAJ permission from the Forest Department other crop. farm in HD Kote taluk. Interestingly,water flowing out of them to enterthe forest. This motivated him to diversify throughthe rockyterrain hasled to the It is very raretosee thesewaterfalls come slide down in the waterfalls.Rainwater Ganadhalu Srikanta the crops further and start vegeta- 18-acre land. At least threetypesof formationofsmall streams and in some alive,”says trekkingenthusiastNagaraj. thatfalls on thehuge Iranna rock flows ble cultivation. Alongwith vegeta- crops canbeseen in the farm every places, water glides down formingsmall He has trekked in this area and photo- throughKadlekatte valley,Godegavi, bles he also planted banana. Crop month. but beautiful waterfalls. These ‘tempo- graphedthe waterfalls. “Water that flows Galigudda, Chiratekallu,Ankolegutti, FEEDBACK rotationhas not onlyhelpedhim get While Shivusells most of the rary’waterfallswill continuetocharm outofGopanakatte results in the forma- Seelugallu, Gavibagilu and Devarahal- asteady income, but also enriched harvest at the wholesale vegetable peopleuntil the tanksgodry. tionoffour waterfalls. Thisisalso therea- la.Water from thesesources flows to the soil. “Wecan avoidlossesifwe marketatthe RMC yardinMysuru, Thetrail of waterfalls starts from the son for thewaterabundanceinHimavat- the Doddanayakanakere near the Adu- Send your ideas andcommentsto: plan our cropsinphases,” Shivu some vegetableslikechillies, toma- better known Himavatkedara Falls. “We kedara Falls,”headds. malleshwara mini zoo in the forest sur- [email protected] or says. Nowone can see avariety to and longbeansget solddirectly at can spotsix to sevenstreams and water- Therockyterrain of this shrubbyforest roundings. Thewaterflowhas increased Spectrum, c/o DeccanHerald of vegetables, turmeric, coconut, the farm. falls as we walk further up into the forest. acts as afilter allowing pristine water to in the historical Chandravalli area too. #75, MGRoad, Bengaluru-560001 banana, maizeand cotton in his Revanna Makala