Gomateshwara monolith at Shravanabelagola (982-983 CE)

Chavundraya (Kannada: ಚಾವುಂಡರಾಯ) (or Chamundaraya, 940 - 989) was a military commander and a minister in the court of the Western Ganga Dynasty of Talakad (in present day Karnataka). A person of many talents, in 982 he commissioned the Gomateshwara, a monolithic sculpture in Shravanabelagola, an important place of pilgrimage for Jains. He was devotee of Jain Acharya Nemichandra and Ajitasena Bhattaraka and was an influential person during the reign of King Marasimha II, Rajamalla IV and Rachamalla V (Rakkasa Ganga). A courageous commander with a title of Samara Parashurama, he found time to pursue his literary interests as well and became a renowned writer in Kannada and Sanskrit.^[1][2] He wrote an early prose piece called Chavundaraya Purana (also known as Trishasthi Lakshana Purana) in Kannada (978) and Charitrasara in Sanskrit. In his writing, he said he was from the Brahmakshatriya Vamsa (Brahmin and converted to the Kshatriya caste).^[3] He patronised the famous Kannada grammarians Gunavarma and Nagavarma I and the poet Ranna whose writing Parusharama Charite may have been a eulogy of his patron.^[1] Because of his many lasting contributions, Chavundaraya is an important figure in the history of medieval Karnataka. Image File history File links The image shows the 58 foot, 8 inch statue of the Jain prophet Gomatheswara. ... Image File history File links The image shows the 58 foot, 8 inch statue of the Jain prophet Gomatheswara. ... Gomateshwara is a monolithic statue standing at 60 feet above a hill in a place called Shravanabelagola in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. ... The statue of Gomatheswara dates from 978-993 AD. Shravanabelagola is a city located in the Hassan district, in the Indian state of Karnataka. ... Kannada - aptly described as sirigannada (known to few as Kanarese) is one of the oldest Dravidian languages and is spoken in its various dialects by roughly 45 million people. ... Events Births Brian Boru, high king of Ireland Abul-Wafa, iranian mathematician Deaths ar-Radi (Caliph of Baghdad) Athelstan, who was succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund Categories: 940 ... For the video game developers, see 989 Studios. ... The Gangas of Talakad, like the Kadambas of Banavasi, rose to political eminence in the middle of the fourth century A.D., and ruled over the southern parts of Karnataka, in southern India. ... Talakad is a scenic and spiritual center located in Mysore district, near T. Narasipura. ... Karnātakā   (Kannada: ಕನಾ೯ಟಕ) (IPA: ) is one of the four southern states of India. ... Gomateshwara is a monolithic statue standing at 60 feet above a hill in a place called Shravanabelagola in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. ... Something that is monolithic is something created in one piece, resembling a monolith such as an obelisk. ... The statue of Gomatheswara dates from 978-993 AD. Shravanabelagola is a city located in the Hassan district, in the Indian state of Karnataka. ... JAIN is an activity within the Java Community Process, developing APIs for the creation of telephony (voice and data) services. ... JAIN is an activity within the Java Community Process, developing APIs for the creation of telephony (voice and data) services. ... Nemichandra Siddhanta Chakravarty, was the celebrated author of Gomattasara (Jivkand and Karmakand), Triloksara, Labdhisara and Kshapanasara. ... Kannada - aptly described as sirigannada (known to few as Kanarese) is one of the oldest Dravidian languages and is spoken in its various dialects by roughly 45 million people. ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is an old Indo-Aryan language from the Indian Subcontinent, the classical literary language of the Hindus of India[1], a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... A Brahmin (anglicised from the Sanskrit word IAST ; Devanagari ), also known as Vipra, Dvija, Dvijottama (best of the Dvijas), (god on Earth) is the highest caste in Indian caste system within Hindu society. ... Kshatriya (Hindi: , from Sanskrit: , ) is the title of the princely military order in the Vedic society. ... Nagavarma I was a great Jain writer who prospered under the paronage of the Ganga kings. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Necromancer_bells. ...

Commander

As a commander for the Western Ganga feudatory of the Rashtrakutas, he fought many battles for their Rashtrakutas overlords, beginning in the days of the Rashtrakuta king, Khottiga Amoghavarsha. In fact, the Gangas supported the cause of the Rashtrakutas till the very end.^[4] During the last years of the Rashtrakuta rule, the Gangas were also under constant threat of civil war and from invasions of the increasingly powerful Chola Dynasty. When a civil war broke out in 975, Chavundaraya supported the cause of Prince Rachamalla IV and installed him on the throne.^[5] The Rashtrakutas were a dynasty which ruled the Deccan during the 8th-10th centuries. ... The Rashtrakutas were a dynasty which ruled the Deccan during the 8th-10th centuries. ... Khottiga Amoghavarsha (967 - 972) C.E. The decline in the Rashtrakuta empire had set in. ... The Chola dynasty (Tamil: , IPA: Chola pronounced Sola) was a Tamil dynasty that ruled primarily in southern India until the 13th century CE. The dynasty originated in the fertile valley of the Kaveri River. ...

An inscriptional eulogy of Chavundaraya on the Tyagada Brahmadeva pillar at Shravanabelagola (which has beautiful engravings representing Chavundaraya and his guru Nemichandra at the base) praises him thus,

The 10th century Algodu inscription of Mysore district and Arani inscription from Mandya district provide more information on the family genealogy of Chavundaraya. It states that Chavundaraya was the grandson of Govindamayya who is praised for his knowledge and Dharma and was the son of Mabalayya, a subordinate of King Marasimha II. Mabalayya and his brother Isarayya are praised for their prowess in the inscription.^[7] It is believed that their political position under King Marasimha II may have led to a gradual adoption of Kshatriya status by this Brahmin family.^[8] For South Indian actress, see Laxmi (actress). ... Mysore District (Kannada ಮೈಸೂರು) is an administrative district located in Karnataka, India. ... Mandya District (Kannada ಮಂಡ್ಯ ) is an administrative district located in Karnataka, India. ... Dharma (Sanskrit: धर्म) or Dhamma (Pāli: धमा) (Natural Law) refers to the underlying order in Nature and human behaviour considered to be in accord with that order. ...

Writings

Chavundaraya's writing, Chavundaraya Purana, is the second oldest existing work in prose style in Kannada and is a summary of the Sanskrit works, Adipurana and Uttarapurana, written by Jinasena and Gunabhadra during the rule of Rashtrakuta Amoghavarsha I. The prose work, composed in lucid Kannada, was meant mainly for the common man and avoided any reference to complicated elements of Jain doctrines and philosophy. In his writing, the influences of his predecessor Adikavi Pampa and contemporary Ranna are seen. The writing narrates the legends of twenty-four Jain Tirthankaras, twelve Chakravarti's, nine Balabhadra's , nine Narayana's and nine Pratinarayana's – narrations on 63 Jain proponents in all.^[9][10] Amoghavarsha Nripathunga, or Amoghavarsha I was the king of Rashtrakuta from 814 to 878, and is widely considered the greatest. ... Pampa born in 902 C.E., also known as Adikavi Pampa, is one of the greatest Kannada poets of all time. ... In Jainism, a Tirthankara (Fordmaker) is a human who achieved enlightenment, became a Jiva, and whose religious teachings have formed the canon of Jainism; although not Gods, statues of Tirthankaras are found in temples. ...

Builder

The Gomateshwara monolith, a statue of the Jain saint, Gomateshwara, was commissioned by Chavundaraya and built on the Indragiri hill (also known as Vindhyagiri Hill) is an unique example of Western Ganga sculpture. Carved from fine-grained white granite, the image stands on a lotus. It has no support up to the thighs and is 60 feet tall with the face measuring 6.5 feet. With the serene expression on the face of the image, its curled hair with graceful locks, its proportional anatomy, the monolith size, and the combination of its artistry and craftsmanship have led it to be called the mightiest achievement in sculptural art in medieval Karnataka.^[11] It is the largest monolithic statue in the world.^[12] The Chavundaraya basadi also in Shravanabelagola and built on the Chandragiri Hill is credited to him by some scholars while others argue it was built by his son Jinadevana.^[13] However by the 12th century additions to the shrine were made by a later King Gangaraja by which time tradition held that the shrine was built by Chavundaraya. However another view holds that the original shrine itself was consecrated in the 11th century and built in memory of Chavundaraya.^[14] Vindyagiri (Kannada:ವಿಂಧ್ಯಗಿರಿ) is one of the two hills in Shravanabelagola in the Indian state of Karnataka. ... Ellora Jain cave basadi basadi (also basti) is a Jain shrine or temple. ... Chandragiri (Kannada:ಚಂದ್ರಗಿರಿ) is one of the two hills in Shravanabelagola in the Indian state of Karnataka, the other one being Vindhyagiri. ...

Notes

References

• Sastri, Nilakanta K.A. [1955] (2002). A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar. New Delhi: Indian Branch, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-560686-8. 
• Kamath, Suryanath U. [1980] (2001). A concise history of Karnataka : from pre-historic times to the present. Bangalore: Jupiter books. LCCN 809-5179. OCLC 7796041. 
• Adiga, Malini [2006] (2006). The Making of Southern Karnataka: Society, Polity and Culture in the early medieval period, AD 400-1030. Chennai: Orient Longman. ISBN 81 250 2912 5. 
• Narasimhacharya, R [1988] (1988). History of Kannada Literature. New Delhi, Madras: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-0303-6. 
• Keay, John [2000] (2000). History of India. New York: Grove publications. ISBN 0-8021-3797-0. 

The Library of Congress Control Number or LCCN is a serially based system of numbering books in the Library of Congress in the United States. ... OCLC Online Computer Library Center was founded in 1967 and originally named the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC). ...

External links

Chamundaraya and Shrvanabelagola