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A 2.2-metre sculpture of Bahubali stands on Shravana Betta just a kilometre from the Kanakagiri hills. The statue predates the statuesque Bahubali at Sravanabelagola. Another beauty is a sculpture of Parsvanatha, the 23rd Tirthankara in the Jain pantheon, standing on a lotus pedestal under the hood of a snake.
Between the ninth and 14th centuries, the ancient site of Tipruru, now Aratipura, surrounded by the Kanakagiri hills, had been one of the most important Jain religious complexes in this part of Karnataka and even the whole of South India. Twelve Jain Basadis (temples), Maths (monasteries), edicts, idols of Tirthankaras and Lanchanas, and sculptures of Kubera, Ambika, Chamara bearers and Dwarapalakas have revealed themselves here — the artefacts of the Ganga and Hoyasala dynasties that ruled this region. On the hilltop is a tank designed to supply water for drinking and rituals — perhaps a lesson in water conservation in these times of drought. The masonry wall of the tank has now been restored.
