Karkala

Karkala is a Jain centre among the hills of coastal Karnataka. On a rocky height above the town stands a great monolithic image of Bahubali, the prince who renounced worldly power and attained liberation through austerity. The statue, known as Gommateshwara, was installed in 1432 under the ruler Veera Pandya. It made Karkala one of the places where the Jain tradition of monumental Bahubali images flourished.

The local ruling family continued to patronise Jain buildings in the following century. In 1586 Immadi Bhairarasa Vodeya built the Chaturmukha Basadi, a temple with entrances on four sides facing images of the Jain teachers. Its stone pillars and open plan stand opposite the hill of Bahubali. Together the statue and temple preserve the work of rulers, artisans and religious communities who sustained Jain worship in this part of the western coast.