RASASIDDULA GUTTA (JAINA SITE)
RASASIDDULA GUTTA (JAINA SITE)
Konakondla (V), Vajrakarur (M), Ananthapuramu (D)
Location: Rasasiddula gutta (Lat. 15°06’56.9’’N; Long. 77°21‘54.6”E) is located in Konakondla village. It is at distance of 5 kms near Guntakal, on Guntakal – Uravakonda Road.
Brief History of Rasasiddula Gutta:
Rasasiddula Gutta is a small hillock and it denotes the Alchemy power of the monks of Jainism. This place is said to be the birth place of Kunda Kundhacharya, a famous Jain Monk (48 B.C – 40 A.D). The Mystic circle carved on a boulder of the place is identified as a rare Archaeological structure called the Jambu Dweepa Chakra (A Geographical Map).
About 500 meters, East of the village, Images of Jain Tirthankaras are carved on Granite stone slabs on the hill on a boulder. A figure of a Parsvanatha standing on Lotus in Katyavalambita hasta mudra posture and a line drawing denoting Jambudweepa are noticed. This is the earliest representation of Jambudweepa so far reported in Andhra Pradesh on a huge rock boulder, an incised line drawing of a circle, divided into two halves, intersected by horizontal lines and inverted triangles.
Continued………
It is believed as lithic representation of the Earth’s Hemisphere. comprising the island called Jambudweepa. The mystic circle carved on the boulder with Jambu Dweepa Chakra is connected with the Jain Cosmology.
On the top of the hillock is a shrine with two images of Tirthankaras in standing postures (Kayotsarga) with triple umbrellas and attended by the Sasana Devatas. The sculptures are made of red granite stone and measure about 2 ½ feet in height, datable to 13th century A.D. Behind the shrine of Rasa Siddhas or Thirthankaras, is engraved a big figure of Jaina standing on a lotus. Since this figure is standing on Padma this may be Padmanandi, which is the other name for Kunda Kundhacharya. The Jambu Dweepa Chakram, a relic Jain culture and a jewel in the crown of Ananthapuramu district, is carved on a large rock.
The Earth according to the Jains is a flat round surface formed of concentric circles separated one from other by circular seas with the continent of Jambudweepa in the center. The diagram of Jambudweepa found on the top of the hill of Konakondla is a real one. This is the earliest representation of Jambudweepa so far reported in Andhra Pradesh.