About
About Odegal Basadi
- Year of establishment
- 10th century
- Established by
- Traditionally attributed to Chavundaraya, commander of the Gangas
- Main deity
- Bhagavan Adinatha, Bhagavan Shantinatha, and Bhagavan Neminatha
- Timings
- Usually open from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
- Location
- Open mapSearch link - exact pin to be verified
Odegal Basadi, a beautiful Jain shrine built without a conventional foundation on Vindhyagiri hill, is a major attraction. It is the first monument seen inside the fort after climbing the hill. Because the site is on a slope, a level platform was constructed, and supporting stones were placed on the higher side to prevent the foundation stones from slipping. The Basadi was built directly on the rock, supported by stone pillars leaning around it rather than by a laid foundation; hence it is called the 'Odegal Basadi.' The platform is higher at the front and lower at the rear.
This north-facing Basadi is built of hard stone on a high, level platform. Its architectural features and impressive flight of steps are particularly striking. The building measures 72 x 72 feet and has a four-pillared entrance hall. The exterior walls are very plain. After climbing 26 steps at the front, one reaches three attractive sanctums arranged in a trikuta, or three-shrine, plan. The interior is illuminated by 44 pillars; all the pillars of the navaranga are circular. A pendant lotus bud adorns the ceiling of the navaranga.
The Basadi has three sanctums, each with an antarala, or vestibule. The central sanctum contains a 4-foot-6-inch image of Bhagavan Adinatha, the first Tirthankara, with fly-whisk bearers carved on either side. The right sanctum contains an image of Bhagavan Shantinatha, the 16th Tirthankara, and the left one an image of Bhagavan Neminatha, the 22nd Tirthankara. These seated Tirthankara images, shown in padmasana, were carved from soapstone in the Hoysala style. The thrones and pedestals are beautifully carved, and the ornate halos above the enthroned Tirthankaras captivate the viewer.
Tradition holds that the Basadi was built in the 10th century by Chavundaraya, the commander of the Gangas. An 18th-century poem calls it the 'Trikuta Basadi.' Every year, on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Magha, Jinaratri is observed to commemorate Adinatha's liberation, with an elaborate Panchamrita abhisheka ceremony.
