LORD HOYALESWARA OF HALEBIDU

THE JAIN BASADIS

Halebidu without Jain monuments looks like a pond without water. In the beginning, Jain basadis outnumbered Hindu shrines. According to inscriptions there were 720 basadis and the oldest among them is Parsvanatha basadi and is the largest too. All of them were dedicated to thirthankaras - Parsvantaha, Adinatha, Santinatha etc., but now only three are remaining. These are kept in an enclosure in a place called Bastihalli. The Parsavantah basadi was built by general Boppa, the trusted general of Bittideva. The basadi enshrining Adinatha is small in size, and was built by Heggde Mallimayya, and the third one is dedicated to Santinatha. They bear an eloquent testimony of Jainism existing side by side with Hinduism. Even though they are in ruins, they beckon veneration and visitation. With such marvellous sculptural wealth, Halebidu justifies the impartial verdict of Fergusson - "One of the most marvellous exhibition of human labour to be found in even Patient East".

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