The Great Gujarat Road
Odyssey – Day 16: Palitana
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| The beautifully maintained Dharamshalas in Palitana |
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| The amazing view of the town of Palitana from Shatrunjay Hill |
You wake up late
from the Diu hangover. You are still not done with repenting all these years. You should have stayed back in
Diu for one more day. What is done can’t be undone.
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| Another wonderful day on the road in Gujarat |
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| Traffic gridlocks like this made the journey to Palitana slow and enjoyable |
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| The first view of Shatrunjay Hill in Palitana |
Unlike the
dusty, dug-up tightly packed up towns of Gujarat, Palitana is clean, planned,
and has these great looking dharamshalas on either side of the paved
boulevards. Looking at the colourful facades of these rest-houses, you are
reminded of these Sidhpur havelis that you visited a week ago. Rich and
influential Jains and the trusts would have built these dharamshalas over the
years where the devotees could stay when they arrived in the town for their once
in a lifetime pilgrimage.
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| Palitana: Anandji Kalyanji Trust run Dharamshala. The trust looks after Jain temples and dharamshalas |
Anandji Kalyanji trust was
initially founded to take care of the Shatrunjay temples. Later it would manage
several temples and teerths. The trust was founded by Shantidas Jhaveri (1580s
to 1659), an influential and rich jeweller and money lender from Ahmedabad,
originally a Marwari from Osian, who was also a court jeweller of the Mughals. During Shah Jahan’s time, the village of
Palitana was granted to him. It is his family of nagar-seths who till this day
manage the trust which probably takes its name from Anand and Kalyan – joy and
welfare. Lalbhais of Arvind Mills trace their ancestry to Shantidas.
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| Map of Palitana and Shatrunjay Hill |
Palitana is
situated on the southern bank of Khari stream, a tributary of Shatrunjay river.
A kilometre to the south of Palitana is the solitary hill of Shatrunjay rising
gently and where Lord Adinath, the first Jain Tirthankar, walked. Interestingly,
Palitana is world’s first vegetarian city. In the British times, it was a Nine Gun salute princely state,
ruled by Thakur Sahibs who were Rajput Gohils and paid tribute to Baroda and
Junagadh.
Shatrunjay,
1977 feet high, is the most sacred hill of the five hills for the Jains. The
summit has two peaks and the valley in between, has a dense foliage of temples.
The other four sacred Jain hills are Girnar, Taranga (both in Gujarat), Abu (Rajasthan)
and Sammet Shikhar (Jharkhand). Cousens describes it as a sacred city in
mid-air. There are about 863 temples here and forms the largest cluster of Jain
Temples anywhere.
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| Photo Credits - British Library |
The
construction of the temples took place in two phases. First in 11th
& 12th Century during the reign of Kumarapala (r 1143 – 1172),
the celebrated Solanki King with his capital in Patan. Most of these temples
were destroyed by the invasions of the iconoclasts. Temples were again constructed
in the 16th and 17th century when the attacks subsided
and it was relatively peaceful during Mughal times. Cousens mentions presence
of miniature Idgahs on the temples which the Jains themselves installed to protect
the temples from the ruthless hands of the Muhammadans. This was to prevent the
destruction of the temples as had happened earlier.
Mr Kinloch
Forbes describes the Shatrunjay hill as the ‘first of all places of
pilgrimages, the bridal hall of those who would win everlasting rest.’ Because
of the sanctity of the hill, all Jains want to construct temples here and once
in a lifetime, want to climb the hill and perform pilgrimage.
Forbe’s Ras
Mala describes Shatrunjay eloquently:
'There is hardly a city in India, through its length and breadth, from the river of Sind to the sacred Ganges, from the Hemala's diadem of icepeaks, to the throne of his virgin daughter, Rudra's destined bride, that has not supplied at one time or another contributions of wealth to the edifices which crown the hill of Palitana; street after street and square after square, extend these shrines of the Jain faith with their stately enclosures, half palace, half fortress, raised in marble magnificence, upon the lonely and majestic mountain, and like the mansions of another world, far removed in upper air from the ordinary trend of mortals.'
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| Four-Men Palki |
You have a nice
feeling this evening. It is almost 430 pm and the portals close at six. There are
about 3950 steps to climb and a distance of about 3.5 kms to the top. The
breeze is getting cooler as you climb. The steps are well designed and which
you can climb rhythmically at a nice click. You are not sure if you can make it to top in
time in time but there is this vibe you feel and the feet feel light and happy
and it seems there is a force that is propelling you up effortlessly. Yes you
are going to go up all the way.
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| Shatrunjay Hill: Looking back towards Palitana |
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| Two-Men Palki |
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| Now this is a surprise - women carriers |
At every
landing on the way up, there are trees, pavilions and small shrines and masonry
tanks that in the past would have provided shade, a pit-stop and drinking water
to the devotees in the mid-day heat. Cousens has described all this so
beautifully. Those Britishers knew how to document their findings and
observations so diligently.
Henry Cousens goes romantic:
'Before we have time to make even a mental note of the dresses and beating of those passing us, many more come flitting by, amidst merry laughter, animated conversation, and tinkling of anklets and bangles; and as they pass us, in groups or singly, treading their way over the rough stone steps - men, women and little ones all mixed up together - the eye gets almost bewildered with the combination of colours. It is very noticeable how the colours chosen - I am speaking of the women - are generally becoming; rich bright colours, too, that would drown the fairer European complexion, but which set off the stronger and darker tints of our Indian sisters.'
'Next comes a partly covered doli, whose inmate is screened from the hot sun by a shawl or light muslin cloth thrown over the pole. As it approaches we see folds of delicately coloured silks and a fair round arm, and , just as it passes, get a glimpse of a pretty face, whose curiosity has prompted it to peep out from its silken shrine.'
Wow - now that's some travel writing!
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| Portal to the Temple Complex of Shatrunjay Hill |
It is nearing
six and now you are bounding up the steps two at a time. You have been on the
road for a fortnight and eating irregularly. You should be tired and out of
energy and panting but you strangely feel refreshed and joyous. The climb
actually has been a breeze. There is always something about these Buddhist and
Jain places.
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| First view of the temple complex - photography is banned inside |
You have few
minutes left. Most of the temples have fallen silent as the priests close their
doors. The views leave you gasping. You have not seen such a great number of temples
all bunched up together and that too this high on a hill and they are all
beautiful. The large temples have their own complexes guarded with
fortifications giving them the look of these fortresses. You are trying to
recall if you have seen other temple complexes in such a fort like setting.
The southern
summit has the medieval temples built by Kumarapal and Veemal Sha with a pond and
a gigantic statue of Rishabh. The northern elevation has the oldest temple Chaumukha (idol has four faces in the cardinal directions - just like the one you saw in Karkala, Udupi) built by a prince Sampriti Raja. Cousens is surprised that in this whole
complex there is not a single dwelling which is so unlike the temples that are
seen on the plains.
Not to mince words, Henry Cousens is brutally honest when describing the clean Jain Temples:
'The extreme cleanliness of the place, the total absence of all that squalid dirt which so often environs Hindu sanctity, the pure whiteness of the corridors and the chaste marble interiors, produce a pleasant sensation in those who have been accustomed to seeing the red-lead and griming monstrosities of the temples below.'
The setting
rays of the sun turn the shikhars of the temples into gold. It is all quiet as
you run from one complex to another. How would you love to photograph these
moments. But like everywhere else in Jain places, photography is not allowed
inside here. Golden hues are being cast
everywhere. This could be the Swarn-Nagari.
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| View of the Shatrunjay river |
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| The guard who accompanies the last devotee down into the town. In the town you will mention your details in the register |
You are the
last one to come out of the main gate of the complex. An armed guard will come
down with you. This is the standard operating procedure. Below the lights are
coming on in the town. You are descending at a leisurely pace. The elderly
guard keeps looking over his shoulder. You are enjoying this gentle walk down
the Shatrunjaya.
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| Back in Palitana, Gujarat |
Palitana has been a joyous and pleasant surprise. You were hardly inside the temple complex for more than 15 minutes. But the entire experience of climbing the hill was extraordinary and out of the worldly. It was different from whatever you have experienced so far. Maybe it was His presence.
Day's
Stats
- Route
Taken – Una to Palitana is about 170 kms and 4 hours away. These are state
highways and progress is slow and then to Shihor 40 kms away
- Distance
covered today – 187 kms
- Total
Distance covered so far - 3577 kms
References
Cousens
provides a beautiful account of the ascent of the hill and a colourful
description of people and their costumes:
Somanatha and
Other Mediaeval Temples in Kathiawad by Henry Cousens, 1931, Satrunjaya - Page
73
Gazetteer
of the British Presidency, Vol VIII, Kathiawar, Palitana – Page 603-605
The
History of Kathiawad: From the Earliest Times by Capt. H. Wilberforce-Bell
Ras
Mala: Hindoo Annals of the Province of Goozerat, in Western India by Alexander
Kinloch Forbes
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