Vindhyagiri, also known as Indragiri, is one of the two hills 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 ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

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 ...

. The other one being

Chandragiri Chandragiri is a suburb and outgrowth of Tirupati and located in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a part of Tirupati urban agglomeration and a major growing residential area in Tirupati It is the mandal headquarter ...

History

Vindhyagiri is first referred to as "Per kavappu" (Large - Kalbappu) in 8th Century, but its history begins with that of Gommateshwara in the Late 10th century. A century and half later the town is named Gommatapura, after the colossus, but the hill itself is not identified with a distinctive name. The present name "Vindhyagiri" is said to be derived from ''vim'', 'spirit', and ''dhya'', 'meditation', as being the spot consecrated by rishis observed in the meditation on the supreme spirit.

Geography

The hill is located about 3,288 Feet from Mean sea Level and 438 Feet above the ground.

Importance

The colossus of

Bahubali Bahubali (, ) was the son of Rishabhanatha (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of the ''Chakravarti (Sanskrit term), chakravartin'' Bharata (Jainism), Bharata. He is a revered figure in Jainism. He is said to have meditated ...

at the summit dominates the valley. Jain mythology informs us that the first colossus of Bahubali was installed by Bharata at Paudanapura, it is described to be about 525 spans (Maru - about a meter) high. The 58' 8" high Bahubali image on the Large Hill with 438' high granite mass forming its pedestal. In 981 A.D.,

Chavundaraya ''Cāmuṇḍarāya'' or Chavundaraya (Kannada ''Cāmuṇḍarāya, Cāvuṇḍarāya'', 940–989) was an Indian people, Indian Jain ruler. He served in the court of the Western Ganga dynasty of Talakad (in modern Karnataka, India). A perso ...

, a Ganga minister converted a tor standing at the summit into a colossus. Choosing a strategic opening between boulders, he also constructed a gateway (the present Akhanda Bagilu) with a large Gajalakshmi panel adorning its upper portion. Odegal basadi is the largest basadi on Vindhyagiri hill. The temple derives the name from 'Odega', i.e., soapstone used for strengthening the walls of the temple. The temple houses image of Rishabhanatha, Neminatha and Shantinatha.

Notes

References

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