In the Belagavi district of Karnataka, a team of local historians has discovered the ruins of a 9th-century Jain Basadi (temple) hidden within a private farmland near the Western Ghats. The shrine, built during the Rashtrakuta period, features rare Tirthankara statues with crystal-inlaid eyes, a decorative technique intended to create a life-like, luminous effect in the dim interior of the sanctum during torchlit rituals.
The basadi's pillars are adorned with intricate carvings detailing the lives of the Jain saints and include inscriptions in Old Kannada recording grants from local merchant guilds for the temple's upkeep. This discovery underscores the flourishing of Jainism in northern Karnataka under the patronage of the Rashtrakuta monarchs. Local authorities are working to declare the site a protected monument to prevent encroachment.