Bahubali

The Story

When the first Tirthankara, Rishabhanatha, renounced the world, his sons Bharat and Bahubali divided the kingdom. Bharat sought to unify all under his rule, and Bahubali — though content — accepted the challenge of his brother. Their duel of arms, wrestling, and gazing reached its climax, and Bahubali was on the point of victory.

In that instant, compassion flooded him: he saw his brother's pride and his own, and he stepped back, renouncing the very kingdom he had won. He went to meditate — and stood so still, so absorbed, that creepers grew over his legs and anthills rose around him. Only his sister Brahmi's call could stir him, and in that moment he attained enlightenment.

Jain tradition honours him as a karmayogi of unmatched detachment. At Shravanabelagola in Karnataka stands the 18-metre Gommateshwara statue — carved from a single rock, his serene face turned south — where every twelve years the Mahamastakabhisheka ceremony anoints him with milk, saffron, and flowers.