Kamal Basadi is a
Jain temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
located inside
Belgaum Fort in city of
Belgaum
Belgaum (Kannada ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma'', ), officially known as Belagavi (also Belgaon), is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located near its northern western border in the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters ...
,
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 ...
.
History
The Kamal Basadi was built by Birchiraja, also called Jaya Raya, an officer in the court of Kartavirya IV of
Ratta dynasty in CE under the guidance of
Jain monk Subhachandrabhattarakadeva. According to two stone tablets, now placed inside
Royal Asiatic Society
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...
branch in
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
, an inscription dating back to 1205 CE the temple was constructed by the architect Kartaviryadeva and yuvrajakumara mallikarjunadeva.
Architecture
The Kamal Basadi derives its name from the lotus carvings extending from the dome of the centre roof. The lotus has 72 petals believed to represent 24
tirthankara
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...
s of past, present and future. The walls of the temple are engraved with intricate designs, borders, and sculptures. The wall of the temple is supported by pillars with the carving of a cobra at the end of every
bracket
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their n ...
. The pillars are well-carved with decorations and neatly polished. The shrine has a richly carved doorway. There are a total of five small cells housing idols of
tirthankara
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...
s; between these cells are four
yaksha
The Yakshas (, , ) in Mythology are a broad class of nature spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Bud ...
and
yakshi in standing posture under a small canopy. The pillars inside 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 ...
are square and massive. On each side of the door, there are niches in the wall that have carvings of
Jain divinities.
The
mukhamandapa of the temple is considered an architectural masterpiece. The temple ceiling of the central features a pendant in the middle and carvings of in each corner of the pillars; eight brackets, and on the lower octagonal part of the dome are niches of Tirthankaras in and . The mulnayak of the temple is black color idol of
Neminatha. the temple also houses the idols of
Rishabhanatha
Rishabhanatha (Devanagari: ऋषभनाथ), also Rishabhadeva (Devanagari: ऋषभदेव, ), Rishabha (Devanagari: ऋषभ, ) or Ikshvaku (Devanagari: इक्ष्वाकु, ''Ikṣvāku''), is the first (Supreme preacher) ...
is
padmasan posture,
Sumatinatha in
kayotsarga
Kayotsarga ( , ) is a yogic posture which is an important part of the Jain meditation. It literally means "dismissing the body". A tirthankara is represented either seated in yoga posture or standing in the kayotsarga posture. ''Kayotsarga' ...
posture and
Parshvanatha with seven-headed serpent overhead. The temple also features a monolithic idol of
Navagraha
The navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to Hinduism and Hindu mythology. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( "nine") and ''graha'' ( "planet, seizing, laying hold of, holding"). The nine part ...
represented by nine Tirthankaras. The door of the inner hall, the original outer door of the temple, is richly carved and features an image of a seated .
The ''Chikki Basadi'' and a priest's house is located near the Kamala Basadi.
In popular culture
To commemorate the 816th anniversary of Kamala Basadi a special postal cover was released on 23rd December 2020.
Gallery
File:Belgaum. Porch of a Jain temple. -General view of second Jain temple in front of the fort, Belgaum.-.jpg, Kamala Basadi in 1855
File:Carving on Jain Temple, beside Kamala Basti, Belgaum Fort.jpg, Carvings on temple wall
File:Chikka basadi belagavi 2.jpg, Chikki Basadi
References
Citations
Sources
Books
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Web
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Jainism Topics
Jain temples in Karnataka
13th-century Jain temples