At a time when the stage is set for 88th Mahamastakabhisheka of Bahubali in Shravanabelagola, former Chief Minister and writer M. Veerappa Moily has completed his third epic work ‘Sri Bahubali Ahimsa Digvijaya’. The 600-page work will be released on Wednesday by Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade and Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Mahaswami of Shravanabelagola.
Sri Bahubali Ahimsa Digvijaya was “an exhausting, but fulfilling experience,” said Mr. Moily. This work encompasses Bahubali’s renunciation of kingdom, his spiritual quest and preaching peace.
According to Mallepuram Venkatesh, former Vice-Chancellor, Karnataka Sanskrit University, Jinasenacharya, a Digambara monk; Pampa, regarded as the ‘first poet’ of Kannada language, and poet Rathnakaravarni have told the story of Bahubali from the perspectives of their period. Though influenced by these, Mr. Moily’s epic has a resonance with the events of the contemporary world riddled with issues such as terrorism, exploitation and 21st century greed, he said.
About what inspired him, Mr. Moily said: “During an interaction in February 2014, Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swami asked me to write about Bahubali to mark the 88th Mahamastakabhisheka. Though I hesitated initially, I agreed later.” It took him over three years to complete the work. It has preface by several scholars.
