Karnataka - Mysore   

`Oldest Bahubali' in ruins

R. Krishna Kumar

It is said to be prototype of Shravanabelagola statue

MYSORE: It is a study in contrast. One is basking in glory and the other is languishing. The former is an historian's delight and marks the culmination in the field of sculpting while the latter represents the beginning in the evolution of art. One stands tall and the other is diminutive and almost inconspicuous.

They are two images depicting a single subject. Both are statues of Bahubali or Gomateshwara. They are at Shravanabelgola in Hassan district and near Bastitippur in Mandya district. The four-foot statue at Bastitippur is a picture of neglect. With floral scrolls and creepers winding up its leg, it is reckoned to be a prototype of the one at Shravanabelagola.

N.S. Rangaraju, Professor of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore, told The Hindu that the statue is crude and unfinished. But this could have been a prototype and a precursor to the statue of Gomateshwara at Shravanabelagola. "The statue is located on a small hillock, adjoining which is another hillock. A setting that is similar to the one at Shravanabelagola. The local villagers believe that this is a prototype of the famous statue and was left incomplete because Chavundaraya found a bigger hillock at Shravanabelagola", he added.

Prof. Rangaraju, who has studied seven Bahubali statues in the State, said the one at Bastitippur could be the oldest. Prof. Rangaraju, who is a member of the Mysore Area Heritage Task Force and is in-charge of the Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion, drew attention to another 18-foot statue near Basadihalli in Mandya district. Even this village does not have a Jain family and it is now better known as Kurubara Basti.

The Bahubali statue at Kurubara Basti too is in a state of ruin.

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