The statue of Gommateshvara at Shravanabelgola dating 978-993 AD.
Bahubali was son of First Tirthankara Shri Rishabh Dev Bhagavan. In a fight with his brother King Bharat, he realised how futile was that fight, and on that moment he left his kingdom and became a monk.
The 57-feet tall monolithic statue of Gommateshvara is located on Vindyagiri Hill, near Shravanabelgola.
It is considered to be the world's largest monolithic stone statue. The base of the statue has an inscriptions in Kannada as well as the oldest evidence of written Konkani, dating from 981 AD. The inscription praises the king who funded the effort and his general, Chavundaraya, who erected the statue for his mother. Every twelve years, thousands of devotees congregate here to perform the Mahamastakabhisheka, a spectacular ceremony in which the statue is covered with milk, curds, ghee, saffron and gold coins. The next Mahamastakabhisheka will be held in 2018.
