The chief Jain holy place of the south, with the Gommateshwara colossus raised in the Ganga age (the 980s on the usual account) on the Vindhyagiri, and the basadis on the lesser hill.
The Hoysala kings, a house with Jain ancestors in the tradition, patronised it (Wikipedia's temple table dates the Akkana Basadi, for Parshvanatha, to 1181 under Ballala II); Hoysala generals (Gangaraja under Vishnuvardhana) rebuilt its shrines. Jain merchants of Shravanabelagola and Lakshmeshwar are bankers to half the north (see Ayyavole and Nakara guilds).
Who holds it
- Title
- The Jain bhattaraka (head of the matha) of Shravanabelagola
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Confidence
- low
No head is named in any source we read.
Overlord
Veera Ballala II
What it holds
- village grants for the basadis
- the colossus and the matha
Allies and rivals
The Jain merchants; the Santaras of Humcha.
How things stand that morning
A great Jain centre under Hoysala patronage; the Jain community is rich and respected.
Wealth
Merchant gifts and royal endowments; no figure.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The monuments and the Jain role are firm; the head and the estates are not named.
Primary sources for Hoysala kingdom
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Epigraphia Carnatica: inscriptions of the Mysore country, Various (Hoysala chancery and temple scribes), edited by B. Lewis Rice and R. Narasimhachar (inscriptions of the 4th to 19th centuries; the series ran from 1886 to 1905, revised from 1972). The Hoysala kingdom of Veera Ballala II (reigning 1173 to 1220) is documented almost wholly by the inscriptions in this series, arranged by district and taluk with full English translations. Read online
- Inscriptions of the Silaharas, Various (Silahara chanceries), edited by V. V. Mirashi (inscriptions of the 9th to 13th centuries; edited 1977). Collects the records of the three Silahara houses: North Konkan (Thana), South Konkan, and Kolhapur.
- Sanskrit and Old Canarese Inscriptions relating to the Yadava Kings of Devagiri, Various (Yadava chancery), edited by J. F. Fleet (inscriptions of the 12th and 13th centuries; edited 1876). The first collected edition of the Yadava (Seuna) records, with texts and translations, from the Indian Antiquary. Read online
- South Indian Inscriptions (Archaeological Survey of India), Various (Chola, Pandya and other chanceries and temple scribes), edited by E. Hultzsch, V. Venkayya, H. Krishna Sastri and successors (inscriptions of the 7th to 17th centuries; the series ran from 1890). The temple inscriptions printed here are the primary record of the Tamil country in 1200. Read online
Sources and studies
- Hoysala Empire, Wikipedia (read for this sheet)
- Veera Ballala II, Wikipedia (read for this sheet)
- Hoysala architecture, Wikipedia (read for this sheet)
- OMNIA board notes for the place (a lead, checked against the other sources)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.