Two Peaks Covered With Shrines You Have The Jain Pilgrimage Centre Of Palitana (bhavnagar District) Atop The Shatrunjay Hill. There Are 900 Temples Big And Small On The Two Summits. The Sculptures That Adorn The Marble Temples Present A Feast To The Eyes. You Need Not Be A Jain To Admire The Spectacle. Generations Of Jain All Over The Country Have Contributed Their Mite To Make Shatrunjay Hill What It Is Today. It Is Said All The Jain Tirthankars, Excepting Neminath, Had Attained Nirvan On Shatrunjay Hill. This Fact Adds To The Veneration The Devout Have For The Place. The Place Is Therefore Called Siddhakshetra Where One Attains Moksh.the Mountain Is Associated With Rishabhdev, The First Tirthankar Who Is Also Known As Adinath. The Main Temple At The Top Contains His Idol In Padmasan. He Belonged To The Ikshvaku Dynasty Of Ayodhya. So Rama Was His Ancestor. Adinath Visited The Shatrunjay Hill 93 Times. There Are More Than 1200 Temples Located On The Shetrunjaya Hills. The Main Temple At The Top Of The Hill Is Dedicated To The First Tirthankar Lord Adinath. There Are Hundreds Of Other Temples On The Shetrunjaya Hills. All Temples Are Carved In Marble. It Is Believed That Every Jain Should Visit Palitana At Least Once In His Lifetime To Get "bhavya" Status. From The Base To The Peak Of The Shatrunjaya Hill, Where The Palitana Temples Are Located, There Are, In All, 863 Temples. Sunrise Behind The Temples Is A Great Sight. One Can Enjoy Views From The Summit Of The Hills And The River Shetrunjaya. The Mount Shatrunjaya Lies Hardly A Kilometer Away From The Town, The Way, Which Is Now Thronged On Both The Sides By Sarais And Minor Temples, Including Kala Bhandars (museums). The Mountain Is Associated With Rishabhdev, The First Tirthankar, Also Known As Adinath. It Is Believed That All The Tirthankars, Except Neminath, Attained Nirvan Here.
| Area | 61.88 km2 |
|---|---|
| Population | 64,101 |
| Winter Temperature | 15°C to 28.6°C |
| Summer Temperature | 20°C to 47°C |
| Best Time To Visit | October to March |
the Nearest Airport Is Located At Bhavnagar, About 56 Kms From Palitana And Has Daily Flights With Mumbai.
palitana Is On The Metre Gauge Of The Western Railway And Has A Connection Only With Bhavnagar. The Nearest Railway Station Connected With All Parts Of India Is Ahmedabad.
palitana Is Connected By Good Motorable Roads With Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Ahmedabad, Porbandar, Dwaraka, Gandhidham, Mumbai And Delhi.
The Digamber Jain Temple On Shatrunjaya Teerth Is An Ancient Temple, Has 9 Shrines With Various Teerthankaras Idols Installed. On The Main Shrine Of Temple, The Magnificent Idol Of Principal Deity 1008 Bhagwan Shantinath Is Installed, This Is 42 Inch In Height; In Padmasana Posture Made Of White Stone & Was Installed In V.s. 1686. According To The Inscription On Idol, A Famous Businessman Of Ahmedabad Installed This. In This Temple, Beautiful Standing Idols Of Yudhishthir, Bheem And Arjun Are Also Installed In V.s. 2025, These Three Pandavas Attained Salvation From Here. Two Another Idols Of Bhagwan Parshvanath Each 24 Inch In Height In Padmasana Posture Are Installed Here, One Is Called Chintamani Parshvanath And Other Is Called Vighnaharan Parshvanath. Both Were Installed In V.s. 1734. On The Both Sides Of Northern Gate Of Temple Foot Images Of Bhagwan Adinath And Bhagwan Sambhavanath Are Installed. On The Inner Shrine With Attractive Spires, There Are Three Foot Images Of Three Pandavas Are Also Installed.
Not Only Temples, Shatrunjay Hill Also Offers A Beautiful View Of The Surrounding Scenery. From Here You Can Also See The Biggest Irrigation Project In Saurashtra. The Waters Of The Flowing Shatrunjay River Are Said To Confer Merit In The Bather As Well As Cure Various Diseases. On The Poornima Day, Large Number Of Devotees Visit This Place To Worship At This Temple. They Come From Every Nook And Corner Of The Country. On The First Day, The Number Reaches Nearly A Lakh Visitors The Gulf Of Cambay Is Also, Visible From The Hill. There Is An Immense Jain Museum In Front Of Takhatgarh Dharam-shala On Taneti Road Which Displays Various Facts Of The Jain Religion. Behind Takhatgarh Is The Temple Of Mirrors, The Dome Of Which Is Encased In Coloured Glass. At The Start Of The Stairs, On The Right Is The Circular Sameswaran Temple And Other Temples.
Chhah Gau Yatra Is A Journey Of About 16 Kms In Pilgrim Town Palitana In The Bhavnagar District. It Is Mainly A Kind Of Penance That Helps A Devout Set Off The Evil Results Of Past Deeds And Makes His Journey To Nirvana Or Salvation Faster And Shorter Say Jain Saints And Scriptures. Over The Year The Chhah Gau Yatra Is Becoming More Popular And In 2008 Year On A Single Day Palitana Had More Than 1.5 Lakh Jain Pilgrims On The Auspicious Day, 2 Days Before Holi Festival. Chhah Gau Yatra Starts From Jap Taleti On The Foothills Of Shatrunjaya And Ends On The Other Side At A Place Known As Siddhavad. The Name Siddhavad Is After A Banyan Tree Here And It Is Said Thousands Of Jains Have Achieved The Final Stage Of Life-death Cycle, Nirvana Or Salvation And Become Free From The Bondage Of Karma. The Chhah Gau Yatra Covers All Jain Temples In Palitana. Siddhavad Is Near Adipur, Known As The Birth Place Lord Adinath The First Thirthankar. There Are A Total Of 1250 Temples Located On The Shetrunjaya Hills, Exquisitely Carved In Marble. The Main Temple On Top Of The Hill, Is Dedicated To 1st Tirthankar Lord Adinath (rishabdeva). This Year, The Auspicious Day Of Chhah Gau Yatra Begins On March 8.
The Best Part About Palitana Shopping Is That They Are Very Colorfully And Brilliantly Adjusted And Decorated. These Are Replete With An Assorted Collection Of Items And The Best Buy That You Can Make Is Possibly The Excellent Weighing Scales, Harmonium Reeds And Metal Ware. These Are A High Quality Product And Lend Your Shopping An Extra Charm. This Apart, Shopping In Palitana Flaunt Colorful Handicraft Items. Some Of The Very Famous Handicraft Items That You Must Take A Pick At Include Furniture, Hand Weaved Bamboo Products, Furniture And Glut Of Others. For Best Buys In Handicrafts Items It Is Advisable To Make A Move To The Handicraft Palitana Shopping Located Near The Jain Temple Complex Atop Shatrunjaya Hill.
Across The Laneway From Hotel Shravak, Jagruti Is A Wildly Busy Thali House.
Sankalp Restaurant Is A Multicuisine Restaurant And South Indian Food Is Also Very Good.
Palitana A Pilgrimage Place For Jains Is A Difficult Place To Get Punabi Food As All Sanatoriums There Serve Only Jain Food. For Punjabi Food Sukhsagar Is The Only Major Restaurant In The City. It Also Serves Punjabi Jain Food.
