Saavira Kambada Temple (Sāvira Kambada Basadi) or Tribhuvana Tilaka Cūḍāmaṇi), is a basadi or Jain temple noted for its 1000 pillars in Moodabidri, Karnataka, India. The temple is also known as “Chandranatha Temple” since it honours the tirthankara Chandraprabha, whose eight-foot idol is worshipped in the shrine.[1]
The town of Moodabidri is noted for its 18 Jain temples, but Saavira Kambada Temple is considered the finest among them.
The Basadi was built by the local chieftain, Devaraya Wodeyar in 1430 with additions made in 1962. The shrine has a 50 feet tall monolith manasthambha (erected by Karkala Bhairava Queen Nagala Devi).
The temple complex has seven mandapas supported by beautifully carved pillars built in the Vijayanagara style and no two pillar are alike. The top two storeys are carved in wood and the lowest one in stone. The 8 ft idol of Chandranatha Swami made of panchadhatu present in the garbha griha.
Moodabidri is noted for its 18 Jain Temples mentioned as follows:[6]
Guru basadi is the earliest of the Jain monuments built in 714 AD. A black stone idol of Parshwanatha, about 3.5 metres (11 ft) tall, is installed in the sanctum of this basadi. Here the rare Jain palm leaf manuscripts of 12th century A.D. known as ‘Dhavala texts’ are preserved. These texts were brought from shravanabelagola to here during Mughal invasion. This basadi is also called Siddantha Basadi and Hale Basadi.
There is a matha at Moodabidri responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of temples in Moodabidri. It is known as the Jain Varanasi of the South.
A bhaṭṭāraka seat exists at Moodabidri responsible for administering the 18 temples at Moodabidri and the other temples in the surrounding areas. The name given to the bhaṭṭāraka of Moodabidri is Charukeerthi.
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