Shatrunjaya
Hill - Palitana
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The Shatrunjaya hill is
located at a height of 591 metres. It takes about 2
hours to climb the 4 km. of
steps to Shatrunjaya (place
of victory over
worldliness). There are
about 863 white marble Jain
temples located on the hill,
each with its own enclosure.
You can reach this place
either in Doli or lift
chairs or by walking.
Hundreds of white-robed
pilgrims trek their way up
to the hill. The rich
persons visit this place on
richly caparisoned
elephants. The area is
filled with the scent of the
jasmine trees. All the
temples are enriched with
gold, silver and jewels
donated by rich merchants.
There is a stunning view
from the top of the hill.
The most sacred temple or
the Shatrunjaya temple is
devoted to the first
Tirthankar, Shri Adishwar.
If anyone gives a donation
of Rs. 900 then he is given
the honour of dressing the
deity with jewels. The donor
also gets a pass from the
priest in which he is
provided a free breakfast of Iadoos (sweets) and steaming
sweet tea.
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Another important temple is
the Chaumukh or Four-Faced
Temple. The Chaumukh temple
is the biggest temple, which
was built by a wealthy
merchant in 1618 to save his
soul. This temple has an
image of Adinath which face
out in the four cardinal
directions. On the top of
the hill a Muslim shrine is
located where the childless
women offer tiny cradles in
the hope of conceiving. The
are various other temples
like Kumar Pal, Vimal Shah
and Sampriti Raj. |
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