Jain Temples in Sravana Belagola Chikkabetta (Chandragiri) Part-1

Sravana belagola is a prominent Jain piligrim center about
150 kms from Bangalore. It is famous for the 58 feet tall monolythic statue of
Bhagavan Bahubali Gomateswar. There are two hills in Sravana belagola, one is
big (Doddabetta) called Bindhyagiri and another is small (Chikka betta) called
Chandragiri. The huge statue of Bahubali is there on Bindhyagiri hills. After
visiting the Bahubali statue in Bindhyagiri we went to see other Jain temples
on Chandragiri.

Most people just visit Bahubali statue on Bindhyagiri and come
back. It is not possible to climb both the hills on the same day. Although I
had visited Bahubali four times, it was my first visit to chandragiri.
Chandragiri is a hidden treasure. It is full of beautiful Jain temples.
Visiting Sravana Belagola will not be complete without visiting
Chandragiri. 

Chandragiri is a smaller hill than Bindhyagiri and hence is
called Chikka (small) betta (hill) in Kannada language. The whole hill is like
a single stone and the steps are cut in the rock of the hill. While climbing
Chandragiri hill we could see the temple tank “Kalyani” and statue of Bhagavan
Bahubali on “Bindhyagiri” hills.

The temples on Chandragiri are about 1000 years old. We
first visited “Kund Kund Charan” or the foot prints of Saint Kund Kund. We visited
the temples of Adinath, Santinath, Neminath, Parswanath, Suparswanath,
Chandranatha, Chandraprabha, Chavundaraya and many more. We also saw the statue
of Bharata who was the brother of Bahubali. The style of the statue of Bharata
is similar to that of Bahubali. We also visited the Bhadrabahu cave,
Chandragupta Paduke and many more interesting points.  The whole hill is like a film city. You can
get beautiful pictures everywhere. It is a spiritual dreamland and a must visit
for every higher soul.