INDİA - THE BAHUBALİ FESTİVAL OF THE JAİNS.

When I heard that the most important festival of the Jains was in 2018 I decided I had to be there. As this festival takes place every 12 years, ''God knows what will happen to me until 2030 so I have to go now'' I thought. And thus I flew to India, Bangalore, in February 2018, going to Hassan from there. 

Where does this festival take place ? İt takes place in Sravanabelagola, a dusty town lying 50 km from Hassan, between two barren and naked hills , Chandragir Hill and Vindhyagir Hill. '' For more than 2.000 years, this Karnatakan town has been sacred to the Jains. It was here, in the 3rd century BC, that the first emperor of India, Chandragupta Maurya, embraced the Jain religion and died through a self-imposed fast to the death, the emperor's chosen atonement for the killings for which he had been responsible in his life of conquest. 1.200 years later the largest monolithic statue in India was commissioned here'' (from William Dalrymple in his book Nine Lives). The emperor died on Chandragir Hill and the statue was commissioned on Vindhyagir Hill. 

Before coming to the festival per se, I believe I have to explain who ''Jains'' are and what is Jainism. 
Jainism is one of the world's most ancient religions, a non-theistic religion that appeared in India in the 6th century BC as a reaction against Brahmanical caste consciousness and the readiness of the Brahmins ( the highest caste of priests in Hinduism) to slaughter huge quantities of animals for temple sacrifice. The word Jain derives from ''Jina'', meaning liberator or spiritual conqueror. The Jinas or ''Tirthankaras'' were a series of 24 human teachers who each discovered how to escape the eternal cycle of death and rebirth  (from William Dalrymple in his book Nine Lives) by perfecting human nature. 
So Jains believe that their faith has come down to them from almost pre-history ( the first Tirthankara is believed to have lived a million years ago)  through the 24 Tirthankaras of which the most recent is Mahavira ( a prince turned ascetic - 599-527 BC). Mahavira (the last of the Tirthankaras) was not the founder of Jainism but a monk who systematized the doctrine and shaped the modern faith. 

Jains believe that to escape the cycle of life and death and to achieve the immortality of the soul , you must embrace a life of renunciation of all earthly goods , non-attachment to people comprising family and friends since this brings suffering,no untruth, no stealing, no sex and an extreme form of non-violence (ahimsa).  

The understanding and implementation of ''ahimsa'' is more radical and more comprehensive than in any other religion- you must not kill any living creature. As such, observant Jains do not eat, drink or travel after sunset and always rise at sunrise. They need the day light to see that they are not accidentally killing a bug or an ant while walking. Water must not be drunk after dark since you might swallow some small insects. They are vegetarian , of course, but they do not eat any plant that grows beneath the earth such as onions, potatoes, carrots, garlic and all root vegetables as you kill the plant when you uproot it. They can eat only plants, such as rice , that can survive the harvest of their grain. Some Jains wear masks over their mouths and nose to avoid any possibility of breathing in tiny insects. Due to ahimsa, Jains must avoid professions involving violence to self or other living beings and thus cannot be soldiers, cannot deal in agriculture or animal husbandry and the like. Consequently many Jains are involved in commerce and have become some of the richest people in India.

Jainism has two sects , the Digambara ( those who Wear the Sky meaning they literally go naked since they have renounced even their clothes) and the Svetambara ( those who Wear White)  though Digambara nuns also wear white since a woman cannot go around stark naked, can she ? (!). The rule of being naked or wearing white applies only to the highest monks and not the people at large. 

In conclusion, Jainism is a religion of love and compassion but at the same time it is a very austere and harsh religion. 

Since we are the Bahubali festival, who is Bahubali ? 
The first Tithankara had two sons, Bahubali and Bharata, who fought for control of their father's kingdom. But in the very hour of his victory, Bahubali realised the folly of greed and the transience of worldly glory and decided to search for divine peace. He renounced his kingdom and embraced instead the path of the ascetic, spending many years in meditation and penance. He stood for so long that anthills formed on the ground where he stood, snakes lay coiled at his feet and  the vines of the forest curled around his legs and tied him to the spot. In this state he conquered what he believed to be his real enemies - his passions, his desires, his ambitions and his pride- and so became, according to the Jains, the first human being to achieve ''moksha'' or spiritual liberation .

The monolithic statue of Bahubali (also know as Gomateshvara) was erected in 981 AD by the then king Chavundaraya to honor his mother. And since that date this stone prince has been the focus of pilgrimage by Digambara or Sky Clad Jains. 

COURTESY OF THE İNTERNET SİNCE THE STATUE CANNOT BE SEEN İN İT ENTİRETY
DURİNG THE FESTİVAL DUE TO THE SCAFFOLDİNG ERECTED AROUND İT FOR THE OCCASİON.

This granite idol is quite imposing with a height of 17,38 m  but is minimalistic advocating the philosophy of Jainism. It must have been a colossal effort in the 10th century to create it. The face of Bahubali with curled locks exudes nothing but tranquility.

The festival is the tradition of anointing this huge statue every 12 years with religious rituals. Thousands of Jains  attend this festival as well as some tourists such as us. Finally we happened to be the only tourists on the grounds since the opening day requires a special permission which was obtained for us and we were surrounded by mostly Jain protocol. 

The fun starts at the village itself. The statue being at the top of the holy Vindhyagir Hill , you first have to climb up. And to reach the stairs you have to pass a cordon of police and strict controls. Only then can you start ascending the 647 steps that lead you to Bahubali himself. 

I stayed a bit at the foot of the stairs since a lot was going on there . 

There are chairs carried by four porters who take older people up the stairs. But there are not too many of them and when one comes down there is a fight to get hold of it for your old parent. Since all the times I went to India (and that is my 13th time in this country) , I have never seen such a fight. Indian people who, I always say, never fight, did so here. There were shouts, people pushing each other quite strongly and even some sticks came out but luckily were not used. I sat on a wall and watched the whole scene with my mouth wide open. And all this to go up to a statue. I have to admit I was a bit shocked. 

I said above that the Jains are traders and thus quite a few of them are quite rich. What I did not know is that here you can buy spirituality. I saw people with different kind of strange paper head gears and I wondered what that could be. İt was explained to me that you can give money to have the honor of anointing Bahubali's head  and the person who has given the most is chosen as the King and the Queen of the event. This year the King and his Queen gave USD 50.000.- Wow... Others have given between USD 10.000.-  and USD 40.000.- Those people have the honor of wearing those strange head gears. And there goes all spirituality. 

THE KİNG- ALWAYS GİVİNG ORDERS TO THOSE AROUND HİM
OR THOSE AT THE OTHER END OF THE LİNE. 

THE QUEEN

THEY GAVE MONEY TOO. 

THİS İS MY FAVORİTE RİCH JAİN (!)

 I am still down and lots of people are coming. Students and groups wearing the same uniform type clothes who seem to be from an association or from a specific locality. 

All kinds of people are still down the hill waiting to go up. It is so colorful .

THOSE TWO MUST BE PRİESTS

A NUN WİTH HER MOUTH COVERED

This is definitely a Digambara monk who was a bit shy to go around all naked. The peacock fan in his hand serves the following purpose : as he climbs the steps, he will gently wipe each step with the fan in order to make sure he doesn't stand on, hurt or kill a single living creature during his ascent. My belief is that this is true in theory since all monks (even those not so shy) still carry a peacock fan, but I have not seen a single one of them wiping the steps. You will see here only one picture of a Digambara high monk Wearing the Sky since I do not want to offend sensibilities. 

I AM FİNALLY UP. 

OTHER JAİN TEMPLES AROUND AND THE PEOPLE GOİNG UP CHANDRAGİR HİLL

THE HOLY POND AND A VİEW OF SVARANABELAGOLA TOWN. 

It is another colorful circus up here, extremely hot under the blazing sun, and the only thing you can do is to watch the people until the anointing ceremony starts. 

EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE NOT, SOME MEN LOOK LİKE PRİESTS İN THE WAY THEY DRESSED. 

OTHER MEN LOOK AS İF NOT HAVİNG KNOWN WHAT TO WEAR ,
THEY HAVE BORROWED THEİR WIVES'S SARİ.

MY FAVORİTE JAİN. 

 It is a privilege of Jain monks to wash the feet of Bahubali before the anointing ceremony begins. 

PİCTURE TAKEN BY MY FRİEND HÜLYA. 

Finally, around 4:00 in the afternoon, the anointment ceremony begins. But until that time  (we have been here since 10:00 in the morning) I thought several times I was going to faint so hot it is with a blaring sun and not an ounce of shadow to which is added a big crowd. They do not even sell water up here and I have finished the one I carried a long time ago. 

The bath of Bahubali begins. I am now watching ''Mahamastakabhisheka'' or the Great Head Anointment. Bahubali is first bathed with pure water and then milk, sugarcane, tender coconut water, water with mixed herbs, rice flour, sandalwood paste, saffron paste, turmeric paste ending with the sprinkling of fresh flowers. These are poured from 1008 ''kalashas'' or pots carried by devotees up a scaffolding set up behind the statue on each day for about two weeks. 

THE FİRST POT OF WATER İS POURED. 

FOLLOWED BY ALL SORTS OF WATER ( COCONUT, HERBS)

  Only the water part (pure, with herbs and coconut water) of the anointment having lasted almost two hours , it does not seem I will be able to wait for the completion which at that speed is going to take hours. I anyway got the idea.  So I give up and leave (as many others do too by the way). So the next 4 pictures are not mine but taken from the Internet. 

THE MİLK

THE RİCE  FLOUR

THE SAFFRON PASTE

The next day we return to the small town where all this is taking place. We have other things to see.

THE CROWD HERE İS THE LİNE TO GO UP CHANDRAGİR HİLL WHERE EMPEROR CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA  FASTED TO DEATH. 

The line to go up Vindhyagir Hill is much worse. It is good we were able to come yesterday because there is absolutely no way we could have gone up today, especially that you have to wait for hours under the blazing sun, a sun that is too much even for them, let alone us. So what are newspapers for ? 

We walked the streets of Sravanabelagola . 

WOMEN AND SHOPPİNG....

THE FLOWERS İN THE HAİR ARE BEAUTİFUL. 

DURİNG THE BAHUBALİ FESTİVAL ALL SHOPS CARRY ORANGE AND YELLOW WEAR.

We are now going to visit two Jain temples, right next to one another. There is a resting place between the two where people have taken refuge from the blazing sun. 

Inside the temple, rice and various types of nuts are being offered . Some people are praying. It is crowded, hot and humid, but it is to be seen. 

READİNG PRAYERS

ANOİNTİNG THE BELİEVERS 

THE TİRTHANKARAS 

I SHOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN THİS PİCTURE SİNCE İT WAS FORBİDDEN. 

FORBİDDEN BECAUSE THİS İS THE HOLİEST OF HOLLIES. 

THE JAİN PRİEST. 

From there we pass to the second temple of which some of the exterior carvings can be seen despite the crowd . In fact all Jain temples ( except for some rock temples) are always marvelously carved, inside and out. 

THE ENTRANCE TO THE TEMPLE - ONLY İN INDİA CAN YOU SEE SUCH BEAUTİFUL DECORATİONS MADE WİTH FRESH FLOWERS.

THE HOLY RİCE

I WAS CURİOUS TO SEE WHAT THİS LADY HAD BROUGHT AS AN OFFERİNG. 

HER SON WAS NİCE TO SHOW İT TO ME. 

I spent two whole days in Sravanabelagola , one day paying my respects to Bahubali and the second visiting the town. It was very hot, noisy, crowded , sometimes quite tiring especially when you have to climb hills, but it was all worth it. Not very many tourists have the chance to see the ''Great Head Anointment'' since it takes place every 12 years. I was one of the lucky ones. I participated to this ''carnival''. I have to admit that for the thousands of Jains and others gathered at Bahubali's sacred feet, it was a spiritual journey. For a tourist like me, it was a visual fantasy.