Mount Girnar, Junagadh
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Mount Girnar is one of the
hill in Ahmedabad which is
most sacred to the Jain
community (the other hill is
the Shatrunjaya hill located
in Palitana). This hill
rises to a height of more
than 600 m, a climb marked
by 10,000 stone-steps. On
this hill various Hindu and
Jain temples are located.
Among these temples, five
temples are the Jain
temples.
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One of the largest and the
oldest Jain temple is
dedicated to the Neminath,
the 22nd Jain Tirthankar.
There is an image of
Neminath in each of the
courtyard colonnade’s 70
cells. This temple was built
in the 12th century. The
temple of Mallinath, the 9th
Jain Tirthankar, is also
another attraction on this
hill. Besides this various
Hindu temples are also
located on this hill like
the Bhavnath temple and the
Amba Mata temple. The
Bhavnath temple is dedicated
to the Lord Shiva. The Amba
Mata temple is located on
the top of the hill. The
newly weds came here and
worship in order to ensure a
happy marriage. When a
traveler to Gujarat, Joss
Graham, climbed up the hill
for the festival of
Shivaratri, he slept there
overnight. He woke up on
hearing the praying murmurs
of the great mass of
devotees, about 100,000 of
them in their communities
and tribal groups. This
sacred hill is visited by
millions of Hindus and Jains.
The Mahashivaratri fair held
here is attended by
Nagasadhus and pilgrims from
all over India.
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Ashoka's Rock Edicts
Ashoka's Rock Edicts are
located on the route to the
Mount Girnar hill. This rock
edict is a huge boulder that
is housed in a small
roadside building. On the
rock edicts the fourteen
Edicts of Emperor Ashoka are
inscribed. The inscriptions
carry Brahmi script in Pali
language and belongs to 250
BC. On the same rock the
inscriptions in the Sanskrit
language are also inscribed.
The Ashoka's Rock Edicts
incorporate moral lectures.
The emperor Ashoka began the
stone written history of
Junagarh on this boulder.
His 14 edicts in Pali states
that he, the Beloved of the
Gods, looks after all his
subjects.
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Damodar Kund
Damodar Kund is a holy water
reservoir that marks the
ascent to the Girnar
temples. It is surrounded by
a well-built ghat. It is
believed that here Lord
Krishna placed a flower
garland around the neck of
the great poet and saint
Narsinh Mehta.
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