Statue of Ahimsa

Statue of Ahimsa
Statue of Ahimsa The tallest Jain statue in the world
Religion
District	Nashik
Location
Location	Tahrabad
State	Maharashtra
Country	India
Architecture
Creator	Gyanmati Mataji
Elevation	1,324 m (4,344 ft)
Website
www.mangitungi.highestjainidolinworld.com/en_US

The Statue of Ahimsa is located at Mangi-Tungi, near Nashik in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the tallest Jain statue in the World. The statue depicts the first Jain Tirthankara, Rishabhanatha. The statue is 108 feet (33 m) tall. The statue has been carved out of the Mangi-Tungi hills, which are considered to be sacred by the Jains.

The statue has been built under the guidance of Jain nun Aryika Shri Gyanmati Mataji, and under the guidance of Aryika Sri Chandanamati Mataji. The chairman of the project is Swami Raveendra Kirtiji. The construction of the statue was started in 2002 and was completed on 25 January 2016. The Chief engineer of the project was shri C.R. Patil.

History

The inspiration of the idol was given by Gyanmati Mataji in 1996. Shilapujan was done in 2002. More than 10,000 truck load of rock material was carved out for the purpose.

The Mangi Tungi hills are one of the four siddha kshetras for the Jain community in Maharashtra, the others being Gajpantha, Kunthalgiri and Muktagiri. The hills are an important pilgrimage for the Jain community, especially the local population of Marathi Jains and Kannadiga Jains. There are several Jain temples at the pinnacles and at the base of the hills. It is believed that 99 crore Jain Munis have attained salvation from the hills.

Statue

The idol of Lord Rishabhanatha, carved out of a single rock, is 108 feet (33 m) tall and 184 sq feet in size, and is said to be the world's tallest Jain idol. It is located 4,343 feet (1,324 m) above from sea level, near Mangi-Tungi hills in Baglan taluka.

Panch Kalyanak Mahotsav

The Panch Kalyanaka Pratistha Mahotsav of the statue will be held from 11 February 2016 to 17 February 2016 at Mangi Tungi. A number of measures were taken by the local administration to deal with the expected rise in pilgrim numbers.

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra had promised several development initiatives, that were likely to be undertaken by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation. There were challenges getting water from the Haranbari dam at estimated cost of ₹3 crore (US$360,000).

The Bhartiya Janata Party persident, Amit Shah & Maharashtra's Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with Maharashtra's Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde visited the festival on 13 February 2016.

Around 5000 Indra-Indrani and their family members participated in the rituals of the Panchkalyanak Mahotsav. More than 100 Jain Munis and Aryikas participated in the event.

Mahamastakabhishek

The first Mahamastakabhishek of the statue was held on 18th February 2016. The first Abhishek was performed by Shri Kamal Kumar from Lucknow, followed by Shri Suresh Jain of Teerthankar Mahavir University and Padma Bhushan Shri Veerendra Heggad of Dharamsthali. Other devotees like Shri Pannalal ji Papdiwal, Shri Binod Kumar Sethi of Dimapur and many more also got the privilege of performing the Abhishek on the first day. Panchamrit Abhishek was performed using milk, flowers, orange juice, sugar cane juice, water, saffron etc.

Gallery

• Statue of Ahimsa, Rishabgiri Mangi Tungi
  Statue of Ahimsa, Rishabgiri Mangi Tungi
• Gyanmati Mataji adressing the media about the significance of Mahamastakabhishek
  Gyanmati Mataji adressing the media about the significance of Mahamastakabhishek

See also

• Gommateshwara statue
• Bawangaja
• Jainism in Maharashtra
• Jainism in north Karnataka

External Links

• [1] Official website

Statue of Ahimsa