Photoessay:Agreatanointmentinthe21stcenturyEvery12years,thousandsofpeoplegatherintheSouthernIndianstateofKarnatakatowitnesstheMahamastakabhishekaorthe‘GreatHeadAnointment’ofthe57-foothighstatueofBahubali.Thisphotoessaycapturesthenearlythousandyearoldceremony,whichhasbeenembellishedwithsome21stcenturyadditionsintheformofmaterialandtechnologicalchanges.TextbySwetaDagaandDhruvaGhosh.PhotosbyRajivRathod,SwetaDaga,andDhruvaGhosh.

InFebruary2018,thousandsofpeoplelineduptheslopesofVindhyagiriatShravanabelagolainKarnatakawaitingpatientlyforaglimpseofgrandcelebrations.Shravanabelagola(meaning‘whitelakeofthesramanas’),isapilgrimageforalldigambaraJains.

JainsandBuddhistsarethetwosurvivingschoolsoftheancientsramanatraditionsoftheIndiansubcontinent,andthedigambarasareoneofthetwomajorsub-sectsoftheJaincommunity.TheKannadigaJainsofKarnatakaarehistoricallyapartofthedigambaratradition.Jainsaccountforlessthan1percentoftheIndianpopulation,andKannadigaJainsareasmallgroupwithintheJaincommunity.Historically,Jainshavehadgreatinfluenceintheregion,andtheearliestrecordedliteratureandcultureofKarnatakabelongstotheJaintradition.

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Date originally posted: 2018-05-04

Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/05/04/digambara-jainism-photo-essay-karnataka-shravanabelgola-bahubali/

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Top:Devoteesclimbhundredsofstepstogettotheidol.Below:Theatmosphereischeerfulandpeoplesway,clap,dancetodevotionalmusicplayingonloudspeakers.

AtSharavanabelagola,agiantmonolithofamanstandinginmeditationisbathedinsacredsubstancesonceevery12years.ThestatueisofBahubali,oneofthemostpopularcharactersinJainmythology.Locally,thismonolithisalsoknownastheGomateshvara.Coconutwater,sugarcanejuice,milk,turmeric,perfumes,medicinalherbs,sandalwood,vermillion,etc.arepouredontheheadoftheidolfrompotscarriedbydevoteesupascaffoldingsetupbehindtheidolwhichismorethan57feethigh.Thesesubstancesaretypicallypouredfrom1008kalashasorpotsoneachdayforabouttwoweeks.

ThisceremonyisknownastheMahamastakabhisheka,ortheGreatHeadAnointment.ThoughithappensinKarnatakathisisnotjustafestivalofKannadigaJains,digambaraJains,orevenjustJains.Peopleofallreligionsfromallpartsofthecountry,andperhapsacrosstheworldvisitShravanabelagoladuringthefestival.

Fromtopleft,clockwise:1.BahubaliisoneofthemostpopularfiguresinJainmythology.Hisnamemeans‘onewithstrongarms’.2.Theritualsoftheabhishekamdependontraditionalmemory.3.Sincethefestivalissosignificant,peoplepaylargeamountsofmoneytopoursacramentalfluidsontotheidol’shead.4.Monksofthedigambarasectdonotwearclothesatthehighestlevelsoftheirpractice;clothingisconsideredtobeakindofattachment.5.ThoughJainismdoesnotbelieveinacreatorgod,thereisoftenastrongsenseofdevotiontowardstheliberatedsouls.6.LikeBahubali,Jainpractitionershopetodefeatallinnerenemiesandattaineternalbliss.

Traditionsandtransformations

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Date originally posted: 2018-05-04

Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/05/04/digambara-jainism-photo-essay-karnataka-shravanabelgola-bahubali/

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ThemonksofthedigambaraJainsgonakedasaperformanceofextremeausterity,buttechnologicaladvancementandmaterialcomfortdoesinformtherestofthecommunity,whichlivesawell-integratedlifewithinIndia.Jaintemplesandsitestoocontinuetoincorporatemodernamenities.

Thisyear’sMahamastakabhishekawasalsoaugmentedwithlotsofmoderntechnology.Forexample,themetallicscaffoldingemployedGermantechnologyinsteadofwoodenlogs.Guestswereallocatedcomputerisedpasses,andloggedatentrygatesusinghandhelddigitalscanners.Policeandpersonneldeployedforsecurityhadalladvancedcommunicationdevicesandsoonavailabletothem.Awebsite,Facebookpage,mobileapp,Twitteraccount,etc.werealsosetupforthisiterationoftheceremony.Multiple360-degreevirtualreality(VR)livestreamsoftheeventwerealsoavailableforviewersacrosstheglobe.ThisisabigleapconsideringthatJainasceticsthemselvestypicallyonlytravelwithindefinedgeographicalboundaries,andonlyasfarastheycantravelonfoot.

Sucheventsareoftenresourceintensive.Forexample,bysomeestimates,about8000litresofmilkhavebeenusedforconsumptionandfortheritualsoneachdayofthefestival.TheIndianRailwaysran12specialtrainservicesforthisfestival.ThelocalgovernmentearmarkedRs175crore(€21.79million)fordevelopinginfrastructureinandaroundthesiteforthisfestival.

Changesarenotjustofamaterialandtechnologicalnature.ForthefirsttimesincetheMahamastakabhishekastartedathousandyearsago,thefestivalcommitteeisbeingheadedbyawoman.

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Date originally posted: 2018-05-04

Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/05/04/digambara-jainism-photo-essay-karnataka-shravanabelgola-bahubali/

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Fromtopleft,clockwise:1.SomeJainorganizationsencourageyoungJainstoservepeopleandcauses.Onesuchgroupisseenherenexttoadigamabaramonk,whoissupposedtorepresentanidealtostrivetowards.2.Therearelongqueuesformedthroughthedayofpeopleenteringandleavingthevenue.3.JainmonkstendtocarryasenseoftraditionalauthorityinareaswhereJainsareknown.Theyarerespectedfortheircommitmenttowardsahinsa(non-violence)andtapas(psychosomaticpractice).4.Ayoungvolunteertakesapictureofanancienttraditionusingthelatesttechnology.Hist-shirtsays‘VeerSevaDal’,or‘BraveServiceTeam’.Jaincultureprizesthenotionofthecouragetofaceone’sselfanditalsoencouragesservicetoothers.

Accordingtoanecdotes,thefirstiterationoftheMahamastakabhishekawasconductedunderthepurviewofChavundaraya,ageneraloftheGangadynasty(whichruledtheregionapproximatelybetween350CEand1000CE),whoisalsocreditedwithhavingcommissionedthemonolithsometimebetween981CEand983CE.AbhishekamisnotuniquetoJainism,andisaritualinmanyIndicreligions.Otherdigambaraidols,especiallyofBahubali,havetheirownabhishekamceremonies.

Alonesomeliberation

Jainsdonotbelieveinacreator-god,butdobelievethateverybeinghasanindependentsoulwhichcanattainliberation,ormoksha,fromthecyclesofdeathsandrebirths.Mokshaisprecededbyenlightenmentwithinaperfectedhumanform.Bahubalidepictssuchanideal.

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Date originally posted: 2018-05-04

Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/05/04/digambara-jainism-photo-essay-karnataka-shravanabelgola-bahubali/

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AccordingtoJainmythology,BahubalialmostovercamehisbrotherBharatainafight,butduringanepiphanicmomentinthefinalstagesofbattle,decidedtogiveupthematerialworld.Hestoppedfighting,gaveuphispossessions,andenteredmeditationinthekayotsargaposture,whichthestatuedepicts.Itisthoughtthatvinesgrewaroundhislegsduringhislongandintensemeditation,andthattherewasafinalimpedimenttohisenlightenment.Inoneversion,theimpedimentwashishesitationthathewasstillstandingongroundthatbelongedtohisbrother.Inanother,itwashisregretthathewasthecauseofhisbrother’shumiliation.Inyetanotherversion,itwashisownegoathavingsacrificedeverything.Thattoo,hegaveupthemomentherealisedit.

WhilethesoulthatwasoncecalledBahubalihasdepartedfromthechurningworlds,itsstorystillremainswithus,asdoitsidols.Bahubalistandstallandsteady,instoneasinmythology,strippedbareofallworldlythings,testamenttothefinal,indescribableblissofthetranscendentalcosmicabsolute.

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AboutThePhotographersandAuthors

RajivRathod,SwetaDaga,andDhruvaGhosharemembersofJainism.com,andareworkingonafeature-lengthdocumentaryfilmonJainism.

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Date originally posted: 2018-05-04

Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/05/04/digambara-jainism-photo-essay-karnataka-shravanabelgola-bahubali/

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