[1]A 108-foot tall statue of 12th century social reformer Basavanna, which is said to be one of its kind in the world, will be dedicated to the public on October 28. The giant statue has been built at Basavakalyan in Bidar district by the Basava Dharma Peetha, headed by Mate Mahadevi.
It has taken eight long years for sculptor Sridhar Murthy of Shimoga to complete the statue, which is built on a platform 80 feet wide and 24 feet high. Besides the main sculptor, around 60 skilled labourers are said to have toiled daily for 2,900 days to create the statue. The platform is situated on a hillock and the statue stands 182 ft above the ground level.
When the work was started in 2004, the cost was estimated at Rs 1 crore, but, so far, the Basava Dharma Peetha has spent Rs 6 crore on the project. The statue is said to have consumed 300 tons of steel and 16,000 bags of cement besides huge quantities of sand and other materials.
The platform is a two-storey structure with a facility for screening a 3-D sound and light film depicting 32 main events in the life of Basavanna. This is said to have been built on the line of the one at Teen Murti Bhavan in New Delhi.
According to Channa-basavananda Swamiji of Basava Dharma Peetha, the statue has been built with a view to draw international attention to the unique Vachana literature which spread the message of equality. “During the 12th century, Basavanna and 770 Shivasharanas lived at Basavaklayan and set up the first parliament of the world –Anubhava Mantap. After the Kalyana kranti, the Shivasharanas left Basavakalyan and most of the caves, including the Anubhava Mantap, are in a dilapidated state. With a view to restore the past glory, Mate Mahadevi has undertaken the project”, the Swamiji explained.
Besides the statue, there is also a cave built for Basavanna, another for Akka Mahadevi, which are 500 meters deep inside the hillock, and a Sharana Grama (village of saints) at Basavakalyan.
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