The Jain Temples of Shatrunjaya

Paid a visit to Shatrunjaya first thing in the morning today. This place is about 2 kms away from Palitana, where my hotel is. Shatrunjaya is an important place for a jain piligrim. The main temple, and 41 other small temples, are located on the top of a hill. And how to get there? Well, you have two choices: either climb the 3600 or so steps up the hill, or take a doli . A doli is carried by two or people depending on the kind of comfort you want. I chose to walk up, kind of obvious right?

There are periodic places to rest, and one place that serves water as well. The hot sun makes the climb a difficult proposition. I took about two hours, including rests and photo shoots. Most of the time, I was with a Rajasthani couple who have settled in Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. The young and energetic wife was trying to get her husband moving fast. Devout jains climb up and down without drinking water. Being barefoot makes their task that much more challenging. You won't get anything on the hill to eat, so ensure you eate before going up. Else you risk suffering from hunger, like I did!

One interesting thing about the temple complex is that it has a shrine dedicated to a Muslim Baba, green flag on top. This baba apparently protected the temple from Aurangzeb's troops, which were coming with the express intent of destroying the temples.

The temple complex has 42 temples. A major restoration work is underway on many temples. An irritant in some of these places is the lack of boards in any language other tha Gujarati. I went up till the main temple and then got to know that I had to buy a permit for my camera. Expensive, at 100 rupees. As always, no permission to let the light from the idols of dieties into the lens of your camera. A lot of other temples are worth more than a click. Getting a good angle can be a pain due to the sheer number of temples and their proximity to each other. Some pictures below. The 'green' temple is under construction.

One thing I've observed about Gujarat is the relatively large number of temples and religious places. There seems to be a considerable number of babas and sadhus around. Perhaps I should stay in an ashram one of these days.

Climbing down the hill is slightly easier compared to going up. I did not find any hotels around the entrance. There are any number of Bhojanalays . A lady suggested I go to a particular place where they serve tasty food for one rupee(yeah, one rupee). So there I went. The person at the ticket counter asked me to recite some mantra, which I did not seem to know. Nice way to filter out the non-jains, I say! The food turned out be a rip off for the thirty rupees I paid them... PS: can anybody tell me the name of this manta, "brahmaarpanam brahmahavir. brahmagnp branhmanahutam..." ? I suspect that is the mantra I was asked for. Thanks in advance!

I was quite tired by the time I reached back the hotel room. Evening was a time of good tidings - IT RAINED !!! And the weather cooled off for some time after that. I am just hoping for some cooler climes from tomorrow... Will be off towards Diu tomorrow morning.