Mar 26, 2014

Sleeping Buddha hill, Shahapur

This spot was on my list of places to see for quite some time. We missed it during the first visit to Shahapur even though we drove by it.

November 28, 2013
The sleeping Buddha hill is seen as Mother Nature's tribute to Lord Buddha. The setting Sun and a range of untouched hills near Shahapur town create a silhouette of sleeping Buddha with a sharp nose, curly hair tied in a bun and folded hands placed on the chest. Though the hill resembles sleeping Buddha any time of the day the best time to see it is when Sun is behind the hill. These pictures were shot at dawn instead of dusk. Check out sleeping Buddha image in Wikipedia.

If there was a raised platform here, view of the hill would have been free from foreground distractions. Media has carried news about Shahpur to be developed into a tourist spot but nothing has been done so far.

Shahpur town is a taluqa place in Yadgir district of Karnataka state. Shahpur is also known for its hill fort and prehistoric sites like Bhimarayanagudi and Vibhutihalli.

Here's a rough map of the place showing Shahpur town, the hill range and the spot marked X. The spot is  near KEB substation on Shahapur-Bhimarayanagudi village.

The sleeping Buddha can be seen from a distance also i.e. from a stretch on Shahpur-Sannati road. And Sannati happens to be an important Buddhist site in Karnataka state. The only major rock edict (MRE) of emperor Ashoka in Karnataka is at Sannati-Kanaganahalli archaeological site.

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11 comments:

Pushpa said...

Nice Place Sir, wonder of nature!!!

Manjula Umesh said...

Wonderful!! must see, am awestruck. Wasn't aware of this place, nice pics.

siddeshwar said...

I'd seen rocks resembling faces, fish or animals but an entire hill looking like Buddha is something else altogether. A wonder indeed.

mustangally said...

How marvelous, Siddie! It must be amazing indeed to live close enough to gaze upon that Buddha every day.

siddeshwar said...

Such a nice thought Alexis.

Unknown said...

The image of the sleeping Budha hill truly resembles the lord and definitely looks like a natural miracle. I loved he pictures you have shared. I wish to witness the hill myself someday. Thanks for sharing the lovely bliog here.

siddeshwar said...

Thanks Raghav.

Arindra Mishra said...

This page is Beautifully written Siddheshwar. Came here searching for image of Sleeping Buddha hills, it resembles that of the Sleeping Buddha Range, visible from Sandakphu, West Bengal. Can you please throw some light on the prehistoric sites of Bhimarayanagudi and Vibhutihalli that you mentioned?

siddeshwar said...

Thank you Arindra. I'd not heard of sleeping Buddha hill at Sandakphu. Googled it, looks beautiful indeed. Thank you for sharing that spot.

Here's the link to Vibutihalli post- http://karnatakatravel.blogspot.in/2014/02/prehistoric-stone-alignment-of.html

Bhimarayanagudi is on my list, yet to check if anything remains to be seen there.

Unknown said...

This is the very beautiful natural sleeping Buddha statue in Gulbarga Dist karnatka. I am so lucky because I am belong to Gulbarga Dist.. much metta

Unknown said...

Nice