Mangalore India - March 3rd

We toured a Jainist temple and visited the 58 foot monolithic sculpture of a major Jainist prophet. Jainists split off from Hinduism 2500 years ago and believe in non-violence towards all living things. They are vegetarians. Ghandi was not a Jainist but was heavily influenced by them.

The temple we visited is known as the temple of 1000 pillars. This is a figurative term; there are nowhere near 1000 of them. But they are beautiful and very intricately carved:

There are 2 major Jainist sects. The first are known as white Jainists and cover their entire bodies with pure white gauzey cloth, even the mouth so as to ensure non-violence towards anything upon which they might breathe. The second sect believes in achieving harmony with nature by wearing no clothes at all. Statues of their prophets leave nothing to the imagination:

Jainists believe that animals in general and especially elephants may be more inherently good than human beings:

The Jainist monument that we visited is known as the monument of 220 steps, which is how many there are to the top of the hill where the 58 foot monolithic (single rock crystal) statue of Bahubali, second son of the first Jainist prophet, is set:

The statue is cleansed once every 12 years. Perfect timing on our part.

It is believed to be good luck to place hyacinths between the toes of the statue. Look closely at the squared off ends of the small toes. Rumor has it centuries ago a local ruler had them cut in order to test whether the statue truely embodied the living sprit of the prophet. Acccording to legend, the statue bled for days.

The next picture is dedicated to my brother Jack, as it is a picture of the "Jack fruit," commonly grown in this part of India and many other parts of south Asia.

Tomorrow we tour the "Tranquil Backwaters of Kerela" outside the port of Cochin before disembarking and flying to Delhi to see the Taj Mahal. We re-embark in Yangon (Rangoon) on March 8. Let the adventure begin!