page_title: Shravanabelagola
section_title: Photo gallery
hierarchical_section_title: Shravanabelagola / Photo gallery
caption_attribution_description: English: The Chandragiri Temple Complex at Shravanabelagola. Technical: This panorama was combined from three separate photographs taken on a Nikon D5000 DSLR camera, using the standard kit-provided Nikkor 18-55mm zoom lens, via software post-processing. Story: The individual source images were captured after climbing the hill and exploring the area around the peak at dawn, during my descent to investigate the temple complex. The sun came out through the clouds and suddenly lit the complex in a beautiful, vivid light. Other than the Jain monks and nun, I was almost the only person on the mountain. There were plenty of animals though, particularly red caterpillars and various types of lizards preparing to bask in the morning sun. I discovered these critters to the sounds of a simple stringed instrument that an old local man played who had apparently climbed the hill to add a musical dimension to the Jaina sangha's morning offerings. (PS. Excellent vegetarian food and lodgings in the town, very peaceful, lots of history, and great architecture. Definitely one of my favourite places in all of India.)
context_page_description: Shravanabelagola is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is 144 km from Bangalore. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas in Jainism, one that reached a peak in architectural and sculptural activity under the patronage of Western Ganga dynasty of Talakad. Chandragupta Maurya is said to have died here in 298 BCE after he became a Jain monk and assumed an ascetic life style.
caption: Panoramic view of Chandragiri Temple Complex
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Panorama of Chandragiri Temple Complex, Shravanabelagola, Karnataka, India", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Artist": "Walter Stanish", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Copyright": "This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License."}