Palitana

Palitana stands below Shatrunjaya, one of the holiest hills of the Jain tradition. Hundreds of temples and shrines crowd its summit and ridges, reached by a long ascent from the town. The principal temple honours Rishabha, the first Tirthankara, and generations of pilgrims and merchants have supported worship and construction on the hill. Carved gateways, courtyards and towers make the sacred complex a remarkable expression of Jain devotion.

The temples were rebuilt and renewed repeatedly after damage and periods of disruption. In 1593 the Jain leader Hiravijaya Suri led a major pilgrimage to Shatrunjaya, associated with renewed patronage of the shrine. In 1656 the Mughal prince Murad Baksh granted the sacred site to the merchant Shantidas Jhaveri. From the eighteenth century the Anandji Kalyanji trust oversaw the shrines and supported further construction. The hill’s many temples thus preserve the gifts of merchant families and religious leaders across centuries.