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Shravanabelagola
or the white pond of the Sravana or the Jain monk is so named with reference to
the colossal Jain image of the place and its prefix Shravana also serves to
distinguish it from other Belgolas with the prefixes Hale and Kodi. The
derivation of the word 'Belagola' appears to have been from the two Kannada
words Bel (white) and Kola (pond) in allusion to the beautiful pond in the
middle of the town. The Sanskrit equivalents Sveta-sarovara,
Dhavala sarovara and
Dhavala-saras used in the inscriptions support the derivation of this word
from the two Kannada words. Some inscriptions mention the name of the place
as Belgula, Belugula and Belagula, which have given rise to another
derivation from the plant, white gulla (Solanum ferox) in allusion to a
tradition which says that a pious old woman completely anointed the colossal
image with the milk brought by her in a gullakayi or gulla fruit. The place
is also designated as Devara Belagola (Belgola of the God) and Gommatapura
(the city of Gommata, the name of the colossus) in some epigraphs. Further,
the epithet Dakshinakasi or southern Kasi is applied to it in some modern
records.
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