Palitana

 Palitana
Country : India
State : Gujarat
District(s) : Bhavnagar
Population : 51,934 (2001)
Time zone : IST (UTC+5:30)

Palitana is a religious Jain city, Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is located 50 km South-West of Bhavnagar city and is a major pilgrimage centre for Jains. Palitana is the place where millions and millions of Jain sadhu and muni got salvation.

Jain Temples :  The Palitana temples are considered the most sacred pilgrimage place (tirtha) by the Jain community. There are more than 1300 temples located on the Shatrunjaya hills, exquisitely carved in marble. The main temple on top of the hill, is dedicated to 1st tirthankar lord Adinath (Rishabdeva). On the top the Shatrunjai Hill is a cluster of Jain temples, built by generations of Jains over a period of 900 years, from the 11th century onwards. The temples are managed by the Anandji Kalyanji Trust of the Kasturbai Lalbhai group. From the foot of the hill to the top there are 3,800 and odd stone steps cut to facilitate climbing.

Getting there :

By Air : Bhavnagar, the nearest airport lies at a distance of 51 kilometre from Palitana, but it connects only with Mumbai. For people coming from other places, a more convenient airport would be Ahmedabad which has an international airport or Vadodara a.k.a Baroda as it is connected through regular flights to many important cities of the country like Mumbai and Delhi.

By Rail : Palitana is a small railway station and has connection with Songadh and Bhavanagar. Best way is to take a train to Songadh and go by road to Palitana using local transport. The railway station at Palitana is improving and it is going to soon have direct trains from Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

By Road : There are buses for Bhavnagar from Palitana. Regular buses are also available from Ahmedabad, Talaja, Una, and Diu. Taxis are also available on hire for Palitana from Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad or Vadodra. The bus stand is situated 800 meters away from the Palitana railway station. Since Palitana is an important destination for a lot of people who follow Jainism, and the fact that there are a lot of people in Mumbai (Bombay ), there are buses that run daily between Mumbai and Palitana.

History : As a "Second Class" princely state, founded in 1194 (one of the major states in Saurashtra, where there were many smaller states), Palitana covered 777 km² and had 58,000 inhabitants (in 1921) in 91 villages, generating a 744,416 Rs revenue.

It used to be a native state of India in the Kathiawar agency of the Bombay presidency. Area, 289 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 52,856, showing a decrease of 15% in the decade. The chief was a Gohel Rajput, with the title of Thakur Sahib. Gross revenue, £42,000; tribute jointly to the Gaekwar of Baroda and the Nawab of Junagadh, £700. The capital of the state is Palitana; pop. 12,800. It was ruled by a Thakore sahib (also spelled Thakor Saheb), enjoying a 9-guns salute, of the Hindu Gohil dynasty, which received a privy purse of 180,000 Rupees at the state's accession to independent India on 15 February 1948.