Mount Girnar

Mount Girnar, called Raivata or Ujjayanta in ancient texts, rises above Junagadh in southern Gujarat and has drawn Jain pilgrims since before 250 BCE. It is sacred to Neminatha, the twenty-second Tirthankara, who is said to have gained omniscience in the Sahsavan grove and attained nirvana on the mountain's highest peak.

Some sixteen temples stand near the summit, reached by thousands of stone steps; most belong to the Svetambara sect, though Digambara Jains also venerate the hill. The principal Neminatha temple was rebuilt in 1129 by Sajjana, governor of Saurashtra, and the Chudasama ruler Mandalika I covered it with gold plates in 1364.

Other shrines include the Vastupala-vihara, completed in 1232, and the Adabadji Adinatha temple, with a slab carved with the twenty-four Tirthankaras in 1442. Girnar numbers among the five great Svetambara pilgrimage mountains of India.