The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: May twenty-eighth, surveying the land of the Jains.

Jainism is a rigorous religion, which like Buddhism, emerged from India about six centuries before Christ. Recognizing no supreme deity, this austere creed preaches detachment from earthly enticement and reverence for all life forms. Pacifists and strict vegetarians, many Jains will not even eat root vegetables, as insects may be killed in the digging. About four million Jains live around the world, most in the country where it originated.

Sravanabelgola, a small city set in the dry, rolling landscape of Southern India has been a center of Jainism for a millennium. A great festival held every 12 years draws thousands of pilgrims, but otherwise, the town remains a placid mecca. Even its marketplace vendors and motor scooters seem calmer than elsewhere in India.

Sravanabelgola's shrines and temples are adorned with superb carvings. Its supreme creation stands at the crown of Indragiri, a 500-foot-high hill. The statue of Gomateshvara, one of Jainism's two dozen holy men, towers 60 feet tall. Cut from a single slab of native granite, the broad-shouldered, stiffly- standing, delicately-carved colossus radiates both raw power and subtle humanity.

Devout Jains believe a barefoot pilgrimage up the slope's 700 steps to lay an offering at his great feet is one stage on the road to enlightenment. That may be, but the commanding view of the rocky cityscape of Sravanabelgola, with its giant reservoir, temple towers, rice paddies and tree tops, is no small reward in itself.

FMI For information contact Indian Government Tourism at 212-751-6840 or www.tourismindia.com or www.karnatakatourism.com. For photos of Gomateshvara see www.jainworld.com

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