Saavira Kambada Basadi

Saavira Kambada Basadi, also called Tribhuvana Tilaka Chudamani or the Chandranatha temple, is the finest of the 18 Jain temples in Moodabidri, Karnataka. The temple is dedicated to Chandraprabha, the tirthankara whose eight-foot image is worshipped in the shrine. The local chieftain Devaraya Wodeyar began it in 1430 and it took 31 years to finish, with further additions in 1962. Queen Nagala Devi of Karkala raised the 50-foot monolithic pillar in front.

The name means thousand pillars, and the columns, carved to look like octagonal wooden logs, are said to be all different. Seven mandapas in Vijayanagara style lead through the complex, the main one made of two linked pillared halls. The lowest storey is stone and the upper two are wood, and copper-clad sloping roofs over the verandas recall Nepali temples. Wooden panels inside show tirthankaras with elephants, guardians and attendants holding flowers.