Palitana: Shatrunjaya, the Hill of Temples

Shatrunjaya is a ridge of two crests above the town of Palitana in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, and it carries the largest cluster of Jain temples anywhere. Counts differ with the source, but the number is around nine hundred shrines on the hill, gathered into walled enclosures called tuks. The central shrine is dedicated to Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara, whom pilgrims call Dada Adishvara, “grandfather Adishvara”.

It is a Shvetambara tirth. Pilgrims come to climb, to bow to the images, and to stay in the dharamshalas at the foot. Many consider the climb itself an act of devotion.

Why it is sacred

Jain tradition holds that the hill is eternal in a way that other places are not, and that numerous monks, among them many in the early ages of this cycle, attained liberation here. Tradition links the hill closely with Rishabhanatha, said to have delivered a sermon here, and with the ganadhara Pundarika, from whom the hill takes one of its old names, Pundarikagiri. These are the stories that the community tells, and the life of Rishabhanatha on this site gives the wider account.

History where scholars agree

Most of what a visitor sees is not ancient. Shatrunjaya is mentioned in Jain literature from early centuries, but the surviving temples were rebuilt many times, after damage and decline. A major restoration of the main Adinatha temple is dated to the sixteenth century, when the merchant Karmashah is recorded as having funded it, and most of the large tuks belong to the centuries since. Merchants of Gujarat and elsewhere paid for many of them, which is why the hill is a record of patronage as much as of belief. The history of Jain temple building places Palitana beside Dilwara, Ranakpur and Shravanabelagola.

Scholars agree on the broad picture of repeated rebuilding but not on the dating of individual shrines, and the stories told about the hill’s earliest temples are traditional rather than documented.

How to reach it

• Nearest airport: Bhavnagar, roughly an hour’s drive away. Ahmedabad is the larger gateway, several hours by road.
• Nearest railway station: Palitana, in the town itself. Bhavnagar and Sihor are the larger junctions on the same line.
• Taxis and local transport run from the station to the foot of the hill, where the dharamshalas and the base of the climb are found.

Pachkhan times for the town are on the Palitana page, which uses local sunrise and sunset.

The climb

The path is a long flight of stone steps, usually given as several thousand, and people take it at their own pace, resting at the stopping places. Some pilgrims carry the load of the climb as a vow; others go up with a guide; and doli carriers are available for those who cannot walk. Carry only what you need.

There is a custom that no one stays on the hill overnight, so pilgrims plan to come down in daylight. The climb is also closed during the monsoon months of Chaumasa, and the days when it reopens are announced locally, so check with the trust before you plan a visit.

Etiquette

• Dress modestly and cleanly. Leather belts, shoes and purses are left outside.
• Do not eat or drink on the hill, other than the boiled water that is provided. Many pilgrims keep a fast or eat only before sunset on the day of the climb.
• Photography is restricted inside the shrines. Follow the signs and the staff.
• Do not touch the images unless you have been taken through the rite of worship.
• Take your rubbish down with you. The hill is cleaned by the trust and its volunteers, and the courtesy of leaving nothing behind is part of the practice.
• The town of Palitana has restricted the sale of meat, and food in the dharamshalas follows Jain rules, which is the reason the recipes on this site are the usual fare.

We have not given timings or fees: both are set by the trust that manages the hill, and change.

Related

• Tirth guides: eight pilgrim places
• Rishabhanatha: the first Tirthankara
• Akshaya Tritiya and varshitap
• Pachkhan times for Palitana
• Ranakpur

Frequently asked questions