The colossal image of Gommateshwara standing erect on the summit of the large hill is nude and faces north. The shoulders of the image are very broad and the arms hang straight down the sides with the thumbs turned outwards. The waist is small. From the knee downwards, the legs are rather short and thick. Thie figure has no support about the thighs. Up to that point, it is represented as surrounded by ant hills from which emerge serpents and a climbing plant (Madhavi) twines itself round both the legs and arms terminating at the upper part of the arm in a cluster of berries or flowers. The pedestal is designed to represent an open lotus. The image is carved in fine-grained light-grey granite. It looks as bright and clean as if it had just come from the chisel of the artist. It is probable that this image was cut out of a great rock which stood on the spot as it would have been an impossible task to transport a granite mass of such huge size up the oval hill-side. The statue of Gommata is more impressive both on account of its position and size than the statues of Rameses in Egypt and is bigger than any other monolithic statue in the world. Four more Gommata images are known to exist. They are the ones at Karkala and Venoor in South Canara district, Gommatagiri in Mysore district and Basthihalli in Mandya district.
Measurements: The measurements of the different parts of the image which were taken recently by the department of archaeology are as follows: Total height of the image – 58′-0″

  • Total height of the image – 58′-0″
  • Total height to the bottom of the ear – 51′-0″
  • From the bottom of the ear to the crown of the head (about) – 6′-6″
  • Length of the foot – 8′-3″
  • Length of the great toe – 2′-9″
  • Half girth of the thigh – 10′-0″
  • Breadth across the pelvis – 13′-0″
  • Breadth at the waist – 10′-0″
  • Breadth across the shoulders – 23′-7 1/2″
  • From the base of the neck to the ear – 2′-6″
  • Length of the fore finger – 3′-9″
  • Length of the middle finger – 5′-0″
  • Length of the third finger – 4′-8″
  • Length of the fourth finger – 3′-2″