Worlds Oldest, Only Sitting Bahubali at Moodabidri

Venur (Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka), January 28, 2012: His Holiness Swasti Sri Charukeerthi Bhattarakha Swamiji, the pontiff of Digambar Jain Mutt, Moodabidri revelaed a very interesting facts to the audience present at the inaugural function of Mahamasthakabhisheka of Lord Bahubali. He said that the worlds oldest and the only sitting idol of Lord Bahubali is found at Moodabidri. He said that the idol made out a very unique precious stone is preserved safely in a strong room besides the Guru Basadi at Moodabidri. He further said that the idol will be shown only to Jains as it has been a tradition in Moodabidri and the idol constitutes a part of the vast collection of precious Jain idols stored in the strong room. It can be recalled here that the idols stored in the strong room is shown to Jains in a completely secure setup and is called as Siddhanta Darshan. Further, any kind of photography of the idols is prohibited due to security reasons. He further mentioned that the head of the institution having Bahubali idol in sitting posture will always be in continuous movement and that is the reason for his and his predecessors frequent tours across India and the world. – Jain Heritage Centres News Service