Bhandara Basadi or Chaturvimsati Tirthankar Basadi is a

Jain temple A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings ge ...

(basadi) built in located in

Shravanabelagola Shravanabelagola (pronunciation: ) is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is from Bengaluru. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas ...

, a town in

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, India.

History

The temple was constructed in 1159 CE by ''Hula Raja'', a general and ''bhandari'' () during the reign of King

Narasimha I Narasimha I () (r. 1152–1173 CE) was a ruler of the Hoysala Empire. His main legacy is his victory over his overlord Western Chalukya Empire King Tailapa III, which paved the way for the declaration of independence by his successor. He howe ...

Hoysala Empire The Hoysala Kingdom was a kingdom originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka, parts of Tamilnadu and South-Western Telangana between the 11th and the 14th centuries Common Era, CE. The c ...

, giving temple the name Bhandara Basadi. According to inscription, dating back to 1159 CE, inside the temple gave grants for the temple and gave the name ''Bhavya-Chamundi'' temple. One inscription inside the temple records a major dispute between

Vaishnav Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Sh ...

and Jain and its resolution by King Bukka of

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

Architecture

Bhandara Basadi is the largest temple in Shravanabelagola measuring . The temple is dedicated to 24 Tirthankaras and is hence also known as ''Chaturvimsati Tirthankar Basadi''. The

garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' () is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples, often referred to as the "holy of holies" or " sanctum sanctorum". The term ''garbhagriha'' (literally, "womb chamber") comes from the Sanskrit words ''garbha'' for ...

houses idols of 24 Tirthankaras in kayotsarga posture with a ornate pedestal. There are idols of Padmavati and Brahmdev outside the garbhagriha. The central part of navaranga (hall) floor contains a monolithic slab which popular in

Hoysala architecture Hoysala architecture is the building style in Hindu temple architecture developed under the rule of the Hoysala Empire between the 11th and 14th centuries, in the region known today as Karnataka, a States and territories of India, state of Indi ...

. The temple also includes a monolithic

manasthamba In Jainism, a ''manastambha'' () is a pillar that is often constructed in front of Jain temples or large Jain statues. In North India, they are topped by four Tirthankara images. According to the ''Digambara'' Jain texts like '' Adi Purana'' ...

with ''chaturmukha'' idol facing four cardinal direction.

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