Overview
A forty-two foot granite monolith of Bahubali on Gommata Betta hill at Karkala, the second tallest of Karnataka's four Bahubali colossi. Sect: Digambara.
History
Consecrated on 13 February 1432 CE, commissioned by Veera Pandya Bhairarasa Wodeyar of the Santara dynasty. The date rests on an inscription published in Epigraphia Indica, which is unusually firm evidence.
Spiritual Significance
Karkala is the most precisely dated of the colossi, and it sits within a dense Jain landscape: eighteen basadis surround it, including the Chaturmukha Basadi, a four-faced temple. The site is governed by the Karkala Jain Math and receives its own Mahamastakabhisheka.
Pilgrimage Information
Getting there and getting in. The statue stands on a hill roughly 300 feet above the surrounding land. Jain temples of this rank commonly prohibit leather articles, restrict photography, and expect bathing before worship. Where this page does not state a restriction, it is because no source documented one for this particular site, not because none applies. Confirm on arrival.
Preservation
Protection status. A Monument of National Importance under the Archaeological Survey of India.
Sources
About this page
Researched and written by YatraBeyond from published sources, and not yet confirmed by the temple. Facts here are cross-checked against at least two independent sources, never written from memory, and every source is listed above.
Last reviewed by us: 2026-09-17. Timings, entry rules and access can change without notice; treat anything time-sensitive as a starting point and confirm before you travel.
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