The city of Shravanabelagola is located at the foot of two hills, Chandragiri (Ciccabetta) and Vindhyagiri which are sacred to the Jains. One of the most sacred places for the followers of Jainism is the temple of Shravanabelagola, located on the hill Vindyagiri, height of about 120 meters.
The unique complex of Shravanabelagola is characterized by incredible stone carving, like many Indian temples. These structures are not one hundred years, and maybe not one thousand, and judging by the incredible technology of stone processing, created their obviously not ancient Indians.
Temples abound in the complex for the execution of columns of jagged circles. It seems that they were created on giant lathes or cast in shape.
But the main attraction of this place is a huge stone statue of the Jain Saint has Bahubali - Gomateshwara, erected in the period from 978 to 993 a year Chamundaraya. This statue is carved from a monolithic block of white granite, which is not, not only nearby, but also in the surrounding area. The height of the statue is more than 17 meters high and 12 meters wide, and it is the tallest monolithic stone sculpture in the world.
The weight of the finished statue is more than 1000 tons, i.e. it weighs more than any of the trillions in Baalbek that shock humanity. But at least there is box here incredible quality stone carving is a work of fiction.
You can imagine the weight of the untreated monolith, which should be at least twice as large. The question arises: how these enormous millions of kilograms were delivered to the top of the hill. Historians cannot answer it, and suggest that the stone was already on the hill. Of course, it would be easier if the stone was in the right place at once, and sculptors could only cut the statue without transporting it.
Is it possible that this monolithic stone appeared on the top of the hill in a natural way before the statue was carved out of it? Definitely not. Experts confirm that the statue of Gomateshwara made of white granite, a material which is completely different from other stones on the hill. In fact, as already mentioned, there is no white granite on the hill or even in the surrounding area.
The statue of the famous Gomateshwara another very interesting feature: it has no human errors. Ie, no chips, irregularities and cracks. If you draw a line in the middle, it is absolutely symmetrical divide the figure of the deity across the height of 17 meters, into two identical halves. Today, this symmetry is achieved only by means of machine processing, and on much smaller objects.
Of course, India is a country of sculptures, and we can find millions of amazing statues, more than in any other country in the world. But this statue is different. Because of the huge size it should show everything, even the smallest details and features of the human body.
The whole temple complex with the established statue is perfectly visible from afar and is an excellent landmark. Most likely, this was the main purpose of creating such a monumental structure. The first research in this direction showed that this place simply could not be not designated, and, undoubtedly, it is one of the most important points in the system of Ancient Monumental structures -
SAMS.