A 108—feet tall idol of Lord Rishabhdeva, the first Teerthankar of Jains, carved out of a single rock, has entered the “Guinness World Records” as the world’s tallest Jain statue. The impressive statue is located atop Mangi Tungi mountain near Teharabad village of Baglan tehsil in this North Maharashtra district.

The idol was consecrated last month during a grand ceremony where rituals were performed for several days. BJP President Amit Shah, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and several Ministers had visited the ceremony on different days.

Swapnil Dangikar, an adjudicator from “Guinness World Records”, presented a certificate designating the statue as the world’s tallest Jain idol. Till now, the 57 feet idol of Lord Bahubali in Shravanabelagola in Karnataka was considered the world’s tallest Jain statue. After locating the single rock atop Mangi Tungi, the carving work, that involved more than 300 sculptors, started in 2012.

Did You Know?

• Jains control 60 per cent of the diamond trade in the world.
• Jains believe that all living beings, from plants to animals to bacteria, have souls, and that, theoretically, all souls have the potential to attain nirvana.
• Jain doctrine holds that Jainism has always existed and always will exist. There is no creator god or a god as judge, and Jains do not “worship” any particular being, but admire and aspire to be like the liberated souls that have attained nirvana.
• Jainism maintains that there are multiple universes. We live in Bharat Kshetra, which is one of the three universes that has the potential for religion. It is possible for us to be reborn in any of the universes.
• A small number of Jains in India voluntarily fast to the death, a practice known as santhara, which is the strongest example of Jain extremism. These individuals give up their own physical existence to avoid causing suffering to other beings (plants). This practice is not illegal in India but there’s quite a bit of controversy around it.