Tirthankars & Ganeshas

I arrived in Bangalore (or Bangalooru) Friday late evening. My friend Manish, his wife Minu, and their son Rishi were there to pick me up. It is a treat to be among old friends. Again, I am astonished that I have now visited Manish more times in his new Bangalore home than in his previous abode in Stamford, Connecticut. I know Hyderabad better than Jerusalem. I have spent more time in India than any other country apart from Israel, England, and the USA. We had a late night meal of freshly home-cooked uttapam and dal. Minu's mom prepared some spicy chutney for me - she knows my weak spot :)

We woke up early (~5am) this morning to get ready for a long day of sight-seeing in Western Karnataka. Our first stop was Shravanabelagola, a small Jain town about ~200km West from Bangalore where a huge 1000-year-old monolithic statue of a famous Jain figure, Bahubali (100th son of the first Tirthankara, Lord Rishabha) rests atop a hill overlooking the surrounding region. On the way, I learned about Bahubali, Tirthankaras, and Lord Ganesha (Hindu god) whose birthday was being celebrated all day today by drowning clay statues of his likeness in lakes, rivers, pools, and buckets. The car dropped us off at the bottom of Bahubali's hill. We walked up ~625 steps of varying heights to reach the summit. The temple housing the feet of the statue seats in silence fit for deep meditation, and the ~100-ft tall monolith did not disappoint in its stature or magnificence.

Getting back down was harder. When we reached the base my knees were shaking. The village has a little canteen serving Jain food (rice, dals, and curd for most part since Jains have a strict vegatarian diet bordering on fruitarianism) for free, although it is customary to leave some money as charity to the village which chips in to keep the canteen working and the monks of the temple well-fed. We ate there and then continued with the car on to Belur and its Chennakesava (handsome Vishnu) Temple.

Now, in general you've seen one Hindu temple, you've seen them all - just like visiting churches and cathedrals in every major city in Europe. The main temple structures are usually built in the center of a compound built on top of a mountain, or hill, or in the middle of a town square. Roughly speaking, the main structures are diamond shaped, with doors in 3 of the four corners, and the final corner reserved for a room housing a statue of the deity for which the temple was built (Vishnu, Shiva, Krishna, etc). Most temples I've seen are adorned by equisite carvings on almost every visible surface (both in the interior and especially on the exterior). The carvings on the front portion of the temple, where the entrance usually is, depict some secular scenes while the back carvings are more spiritual in nature. For instance, on the front you could find scenes from the two main Indian mythologies - the Ramayana, and the Mahābhārata - and from the Indian guide to lovemaking - the Kama Sutra. Usually, there are no two figures carved to look alike, even though the base might have 100's of elephants carved in series one following another. The back is reserved for carvings that tell the stories of the deity for which the temple was built as well as other gods. This temple in Belur had one remarkable scene of Narashima ripping the guts out of a man who stepped over the line, exquisite carvings of ladies performing some unnatural dance of great difficulty (balancing on one foot, turning your waist 120 degrees, etc), and a statue of a woman representing the perfect body form (like the golden ratio). Most memorable is the fact that it got really hot in the afternoon and of course you must tread barefoot inside a Hindu temple compound, so we kept running from one shaded corner to another as if the rest of the courtyard was covered in hot coals.

We rode on to Halebidu, a nearby temple built by the minister of the King who built the one in Belur to honor Lord Shiva. This temple's compund had a beautifully kept green lawn on the shore a lake, with various flower beds in bloom, and a few large trees providing much-needed shade. The carvings on this temple were not as detailed, but they were bigger in some portions so you could make out more details. I was a bit tired by now, and the guide we hired was repeating some of the same information as in the previous temple. Rishi was also bored and we decided to horse around while Manish listened intently, and Minu tried to keep focus.

We then drove about 4 hours back through rain, high beams, and bumpy roads. Tired but happy, we freshened up and ordered Domino's Pizza for dinner - paneer on one, onions and green peppers on the other, both covered in green and red chillies. People all over the country (especially in Mumbai) are wrapping up their celebrations of Lord Ganesha's birthday, the clay statues melting into the water in which they were immersed, his spirit returning back to the heavens...