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Basava Statue At Basavakalyan Bidar
Basavakalyan is a small town in the District Bidar in Karnataka State of India, established by Basava Dharma Peetha. This place is traditionally called Kalyan and it is popular because of a 108-foot tall statue of Basavanna, a 12th century social reformer. This tall Statue is considered as one of the very few statues of similar type in the world. The Basava Statue is standing on a hillock and at an elevation of 182 ft from the ground level.
This amazingly tall statue has been installed mainly to draw international attention to the meaningful Vachana literature, which propagates the message of equality and universal peace. This initiative was taken up by Channa-Basavananda Swamiji of Basava Dharma Peetha. It has taken eight long years of patience and endurance to skilfully sculpt this statue by eminent sculptor Sridhar Murthy of Shimoga.
This Statue is unveiled very recently by Basava Dharma Peetha and it is a spectacular piece of Sculpture which every tourist will be interested to witness.
The Project
The project of installing the Basava Statue was taken up in 2004. It has taken eight long years for sculptor Sridhar Murthy of Shimoga to complete the work. The project cost was on an estimate of Rs 1 crore, however after completing the work in about 8 years. It had taken an expenditure of Rs 6 crore according to the Basava Dharma Peetha.
The Statue is built on a platform of 24 feet height and 80 feet width, while around 60 skilled workmen have been engaged for about 2900 days to make the Statue, apart from the main Sculptors. The platform is designed as of a two storey structure and it has provisions to screen 3-D show covering 32 main events pertaining to Basavanna’s life history. This sound and light show is similar to the famous ones such as the one in Teen Murti Bhavan in New Delhi.
The material consumed for constructing this statue has been 300 tons of steel and 16,000 bags of cement other construction materials.
History
During 12th Century, Vishwaguru Basavanna had established a forum of spiritual democracy naming it Anubhava Mantapa, which is considered the first parliament of the world. This forum used to give practical solutions to day-to-day problems, taking help from the time tested and reliable experiential knowledge that Saint Allamprabhu had gained those days. The concept evolved over such parliamentary discussions was later known as Basava-Tatva and it is an everlasting inspiration to the mankind, which everyone can follow.
Anubhava Mandapa was functioning during that time under the leadership of Basavanna and 770 Shivasharanas and when they left Basavakalyan at which place this forum was held, this and other caves of this place were left unattended. To re-establish the heritage of Anubhava Mantapa, it is Mata Mahadevi who initiated the project of Basava Statue.
Along with the statue, the project includes building of a cave for Basavanna and one more for Akka Mahadevi. These caves are located 500 meters deep inside the hillock, while the construction of a Sharana Grama, which means a village of saints, is also part of the project at Basavakalyan.
Basavakalyan is a location said to be 3000 years old with its name mentioned in ancient works such as Guru Charitra. However, till very recently Basavakalyan was referred as Kalyani and it got its original name in 1956 when it was felt that the revolutionary Vishwaguru Basavanna’s name should honour the name of the place.
This location Basavakalyan was under the control of Chalukyas, Yadavas of Devagiri, Kalachuris, Bhamani Sultanate, Bijapur Sultanate, Bidar Sultanate, Mughals and Nizams of Hyderabad at different periods.
Tourism Features
- Kuknur is a nearby place where the earliest examples of the Kalyani Chalukya style architecture will enthuse visitors. It is here one can visit Kalleshvara and Navalinga temples and the nearby Jaina temple at Lakkundi.
- There are ancient temples at nearby Jalasangvi, Shivapura and Narayanpura, which have architectural treasures developed during Chalukya dynasty. Basaveshwara temple is at the centre of Basavakalyan.
- The visitor can see some of the Islamic monuments such as, Hydari Mahal, Moti Mahal and Peeran Durga around this place.
- There are few other religious places like Gachchina Matha, Sadananda Matha and Kambali Matha which are worth visiting.
- Basavakalyan Fort that was constructed by Chalukyas displays Jain images on its walls, while there is museum established in an adjacent fort exhibiting 10th and 11th century Jain idols.
- The Shiva Temple at Narayanpura situated about 4km from Basavakalyan, is another 11th Century monument which will be of interest to tourists.
How to Reach Bidar
Bidar is well connected by road, rail and air. Bidar has bus services from all destinations of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh lying about 116 km from Hyderabad.
Bidar has a Railway Station with frequent trains from Bangalore, Hyderabad, Nanded etc, while Hyderabad Airport is the nearest Airport.
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