View of the southern hilltop with the enclosure of Moti Shah in the foreground. Immense walls girdle the crest of the hill, which is Jainism’s most sacred site in the world. As a corollary, temple building here is especially meritorious, as it is a pilgrimage.
No photograph, however powerful, can capture the essence of Palitana. Because antiquity, myth and a sense of spirituality are what imbue this lonely hilltop with an intangible dimension, quite apart from the visual.
Of the 24 tirthankars (apostles) of Jainism, 22 are said to have attained spiritual awakening on the hill of Shatrunjay, a 2.3 kilometre climb from the quaint little town of Palitana which echoes to the rattle of horse drawn carts.
In Jainism, time is measured not by centuries or even millennia, but by eras, each being equivalent to 25,000 years. Palitana’s spiritual importance is several eras old, predating even the lifetime of Lord Adinath, the first of the 24 apostles. From then onwards, there was no more pre-eminent site in the world to build Jain temples; no more sacred spot for pilgrimage.
Jainism is arguably the world’s most ascetic religion, whose followers are required to abide by a rigid code of conduct. In a faith which eschews even the smallest amount of violence, the most meritorious activity is temple building. It is the one activity which allows for exuberance. Most Jain temples are made of stone or marble, and architectural details such as spires, columns and lintels are ornately carved. Within, seated in niches whose number depends on the size of the temple, are simple figures of the apostles which contrast with the richness of architectural detail.
The 863 temples that cover the hilltop today are comparatively new — the oldest being 900 years old, and the newest, mere 150. But they are a link with the past which spans several hundreds of thousands of years.
Nobody lives on the hill of Shatrunjay. Indeed, there are no living quarters atop the hill. The faithful, the priest and the temple helpers, all make the arduous climb up the stone steps cut into the hillside, early each morning, an hour before daybreak to arrive at the top in time for the opening of the immense gates that lock out the outside world. At this time of the morning, low clouds commonly swirl around the top of tile hill, obscuring the spires of the temples, then parting suddenly to reveal ornately carved secrets.
The hilltop’s 863 temples, enclosed in a gigantic stone wall, fall into nine enclosures, each bearing the name of its principal benefactor. Not all enclosures are of the same size: the largest occupies the whole of the southern hill, while the smallest enclosure has two temples in it. The temples themselves differ vastly in size and importance. Some have sprawling circumambulatory corridors and soaring spires all made of marble. The tiniest temples are just large enough for one idol.
The work force of the temples come in all ages! Water has to be carried to bathe each idol on the hilltop. These temple helpers as well as the priests are employed by the charitable trust, Anandji Kalyanji. Jains wishing to give donations towards the maintenance of the temple approach the office in the town below, which also issues written permits for photography which is otherwise prohbited. Guides for the temples can also be arranged from this office.
Spread over the temples are several tens of thousands of images of the tirthankars, each one identical to the other except for a tiny carved cognizance at the base of each statue. The tirthankars are literally those who point to the truth, after themselves crossing over to the path of enlightenment. Usually made of marble, the seated figures have prominent eyes fashioned out of mirror and black glass to emphasize the fact that they are all-seeing.
All through the day pilgrims, white-clad nuns and priests wearing yellow and red clothes throng the temples, paying homage, chanting hymns of praise, and ceremonially purifying the images. The silence is only broken by the occasional low-voiced chant and the flocks of pigeons that fly from perch to shady uphill, the temples are only visited by the devout, ensuring that the eternal silence remains undisturbed.
By far the most important temple on the hilltop is the temple of Lord Adinath, (also called the Adishwar temple). Its spire soars above all the others on the southern hill, and its courtyard perpetually throngs with pilgrims. Inside is a large statue of the first tirthankar, Lord Adinath, whose daily ritual purification is Palitana’s most important event, in much the same way as the purification of Lord Shrinathji at Nathdwara. The only of Palitana’s temples to be closed to non-Jains, there are strict rules for entry even for believers. Men are required to change into white garments or red and yellow ones provided by the temple trust, before entering the temple.
Palitana is 53 kilometres from Bhavnagar and is approachable from there by bus or taxi. Gujarat Tourism has a pleasant, inexpensive hotel in Palitana. Besides this there are two privately run hotels, and several dozen charitable institutions run lodgings primarily for pilgrims, which may also be open to people of other faiths. These range from the very spartan to fairly luxurious ones. Because of their nature, they cannot solicit money from those who stay in them, but it is in the general scheme of things that one makes discreet enquiries about how much donation is the norm, and hands it over to the office that adjoins each dharamshala as these institutions are called. The most spartan ones usually accept Rs. 30, and the most luxurious, ten times that. Meals (only vegetarian) can be had from the innumerable eating places that line the side of the road.
In the pre-dawn half light, ascending the hill are white clad nuns, silent as moths. Only a faint rustle of cloth signifies their presence. Living the life of ascetics in religious communes all over western India, nuns gather in the town of Palitana for weeks, during which they make the pilgrimage up the bill everyday.
A visit to one of Palitana large temples is only complete once a walk around the circumambulatory passage is over. The passage may contain as many as 60 niches; each with a small image of an apostle, not to speak of the main vestibule with its own share of images. Each and evety one of the thousands of statues at Palitana is ritually bathed and anointed every day. This calls for an awesome workforce for which there are hundreds of priests. Inspite of the inaccessibility of the location, all the temples are perfectly maintained. All benefactors of temples throughout history have always bequeathed a caretaking trust. All the temples at Palitana are looked after by the Anandji-Kalyanji Trust (no relation to the film music composer’) located below in the town.
The enclosure of Moti Shah with pigeons encircling the spires. Moti Shah was a rich and not particularly pious merchant in the 18th century. Until one day the realisation of his life struck him. Vowing to change, he resolved to build an entire enclosure of temples on Shatrunjay, except that there was no place. Undaunted, he surveyed the hill: between the north and south ends of the hilltop was a deep crevice. Filling it up with earth was a mammoth operation, and once that was achieved, temple construction started. Moti Shah’s story is all the more remarkable when one reflects upon the scale of the task, formidable even by today’s standards, when every drop of water has to be carried up the hill manually.
The climb up to the hill of Shatrunjay is 2.3 kilometres steeply uphill. It usually takes one and a half hours, and all but the very old or infirm do it on foot. Palanquins are available for the disabled and the lazy. Food and cigarettes are not allowed up the hill, the whole of which is considered sacred. Water is available all along the way as well as at the temples. Curd is sold at the entrance gate, as it has been for at least one century. The temples are open from 6 am to 6 pm. Most pilgrims try to arrive at the temples by 8 am to avoid the hottest part of the day. Even the fastest sight-seeing will not be less than two hours.
For several hours before forenoon pilgrims stand in line in the great courtyaard outside the Adishwar temple. Each pilgrim carries votive offerings of flowers and sandalwood paste which is cleared away periodically. An idea of how many pilgrims visit this temple can be obtained from the pile of flowers in the picture, which represents no more than one hour’s offering.
