Hubli (Karnataka): The 58-feet statue of Bahubali in Shravanabelagola has competition. It may no longer be the tallest monolith.
Another Jain Tirthankara statue in Hubli boasts of being three feet taller.
And this is no tall claim. Weighing 185 tons and 61-feet-tall, the monolithic statue of Parshwanath Teerthankar standing on top of a 48-foot pedestal is no doubt the tallest monolith in the world.
Says a priest, Gunadhara Nandi Bhattaraka, "There are some differences. Bahubali was a great warrior so his body has been made like that of a wrestler. Parsvanath attained enlightenment when he was 16 years old so his statue bears a child-like countenance."
The work on the statue began almost a year ago and even though it was ready, its weight had made it difficult to prop it up.
Some of the cranes that had been brought to the place for the purpose could not hold the load and were sent back.
It was finally an American company called Petron, which came to the rescue. They used a crane with a capacity to lift 800 tons of load to make the statue stand upright.
Says a visitor of the statue, Amruth Joshi, "Hubli city will once again be on the world map for it's biggest monolithic statue. It's a matter of great pride not only for the people of Hubli but for entire Karnataka."
Hubli may have won over Shravanabelagola when it comes to the height advantage but as far as antiquity goes, the statue of Bahubali still reigns supreme.
(With inputs from Priyanjana Dutta)
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