The colossal Anubhava Mantapa — under construction at Basavakalyan in Bidar district and conceived as a tribute to the eponymous 12th-century concept of philosopher, poet, and religious leader Basaveshwara — seeks to recreate the spirit of what is widely regarded as the world’s earliest “spiritual and socio-philosophical Parliament”.The edifice is envisioned as a centre for preserving and promoting the egalitarian ideals, reformist philosophy, and the literary legacy of the Sharanas, or followers of Basaveshwara, in the Veerashaiva-Lingayat tradition.The Mantapa, conceived in 2017 and under construction since June 2022, is expected to be inaugurated in May 2027. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar recently reviewed the progress of the project, said P.K. Sharma, Project Manager of B.G. Shirke Construction Technology Pvt. Ltd. It will be named ‘Anubhava Mantapa — Monument of Democracy’.
The monument is expected to reinforce Basavakalyan as the cradle of the 12th-century Sharana movement of Karnataka.
| Photo Credit:
K. BHAGYA PRAKASH
Scholarship and tourismTogether with the nearby 108-foot Basaveshwara statue, the historic Akkanagamma Cave and the Allama Prabhu Math, the monument is expected to establish Basavakalyan as a major destination for pilgrimage, scholarship, and cultural tourism, while reinforcing its place as the cradle of the 12th-century Sharana movement of Karnataka, which played a key role in shaking the caste and gender hierarchies of the time. It also reshaped Kannada literature.Spread over nearly five acres and being built at a cost of more than ₹800 crore, the six-storeyed Anubhava Mantapa structure is crowned by an 183-ft. Shivalinga-shaped dome. The monument features 770 columns (pillars), each engraved with one of the Vachanas of the 770 Sharanas of the 12th century, symbolising the movement’s enduring literary and spiritual heritage, according to Babasaheb Gadde, chairman of Nurture and Nature Enterprises and the project’s consultant. The names of 12,944 martyrs of India’s freedom struggle have also been inscribed on its walls as a tribute to their sacrifice.
