Real and Reel Baahubali
Real and Reel Baahubali

Baahubali means a man with strong arms and the title of the SS Rajamouli-directed movie is inspired from the name of the first tirthankara of Jainism, who is a much revered figure among Jains.

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1. Baahubali, who was born in the Ikshvaku dynasty in Ayodhya, was one of the 100 sons of Rishabhanatha and Sunanda. Rishabhanatha had distributed his kingdom among his 100 sons after deciding to become a monk. Bharata was gifted the kingdom of Ayodhya, while Bahubali got the kingdom of Asmaka from South India.

2. Bharata went on expedition and won six divisions of Earth in all directions. After seeing his victory, his 98 brothers submitted their kingdoms to him and became Jain monks. Bahubali was endowed with the superior body of extraordinary sturdiness and strength and challenged Bharata. The two had a fight and Bahubali won it over his elder brother Bharata.

3. Bahubali was filled with disgust at the world after the fight and decided to go for renunciation. He abandoned his clothes and kingdom to become a Digambara monk. He began meditating with great resolve to attain omniscience.

4. Baahubali meditated motionless in a standing posture for a year and climbing plants grew around his legs during this period. But he was adamant and continued his practice unmindful of the vines, ants, and dust that enveloped his body.

5. On the last day of the year, Bharata came to Bahubali in all humility and worshiped him with veneration and respect. Bharata regretted for disturbing Bahubali during meditation.

6. Bahubali was then able to destroy the four kinds of inimical karmas and attained omniscience. His soul was liberated from the cycle of births and deaths and he is now revered as an omniscient being.

7. Bahubali is also called Gommateshwara because of the Gommateshwara statue dedicated to him. The statue was built by Ganga dynasty minister and commander Chavundaraya.

8. The Gommateshwara statue is a 57-foot (17-metre) monolith situated above a hill in Shravanabelagola in Karnataka's Hassan district. Built in 981AD, it is one of the largest free-standing statues in the world.

9. Tall statues of Baahubali are also situated in other places like Karkala, Dharmastala, Venur, Gommatagiri, Kumbhoj, Arthipura

10. When SS Rajamouli announced the title of his movie, some Jain groups had raised objects against the title. They said that the movie would hurt religious sentiments of peace loving Jains as the title was used for a violence-based movie. But the director was able to convince them and usea it as the title.