Palitana
| Palitana | |||
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| State : |
 India
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| State : | Gujarat | ||
| District : | Bhavnagar | ||
| Sub-district : | Palitana | ||
| Location : | 21 ° 31 ′ N , 71 ° 49 ′ E | ||
| Height : | 66 m | ||
| Residents : | 64,497 (2011) | ||
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Palitana is a city in the Indian state of Gujarat with a population of around 65,000 (2011 census) , which is particularly known for the Jain temple complex on the nearby Shatrunjaya Hills .
location
Palitana is about 70 m above sea level. d. M. located plain, which is overlooked in the south by an approximately 600 m high mountain range, the Shatrunjaya Hills . The distance to the north-eastern capital Ahmedabad is almost 220 km (driving distance).
population
The city's population is about 65% Hindus, 20% Muslims, 10% Jains , 3% Sikhs ; other religions (Buddhists and Christians) account for about 2%. They speak Gujarati and Hindi . As is common with Indian censuses, the male population is around 10% higher than the female population.
economy
The city acts as a regional trade, craft and service center for the agricultural villages in the area. A constant source of income is pilgrimage tourism, which has led to the settlement of numerous hostels and hotels as well as tea rooms, restaurants and souvenir shops.
history
How far the history of the city goes back has not yet been researched - however, the nearby Shatrunjaya Hills have been a sacred place ( tirtha ) of the Jains since ancient times , as Rishabha (or Adinath ), the mythical founder of their religion, is said to have meditated here.
In the Middle Ages, Palitana was the capital of the princely state of the same name , founded in 1194 , which, however, was exposed to recurring attacks by Islamic armies and was eventually absorbed into the Mughal Empire . In 1656, the Mughal governor Murad Bakhsh , a son of Shah Jahan , placed the administration of the city in the hands of the wealthy Jain merchant Shantidas Jhaveri . Around the time the British came to power , the Anandji Kalyanji Trust , which still exists today, took over the management of the temples.
The city was declared a vegetarian city in 2014 because Jains went on a hunger strike for it.
Attractions
- The city itself has few attractions, but because of the crowds of pilgrims who arrive and depart every day - except in the monsoon season - who also have their meals and buy souvenirs here , it offers the impression of an Indian pilgrimage city, similar to that of Lourdes and Fátima corresponds.
- Of great interest is the one and a half hour ascent over 3500 steps to the approximately 600 m high temple complex, which is surrounded by a fortress-like wall and which occupies an entire mountain peak and consists of around 850 individual temples. Most of the temples that already existed at the time were destroyed by the Islamic conquerors, but rebuilt afterwards; new temples were also added. All buildings are looked after and, if necessary, repaired by the trust. Since new temples are still being donated and built, there is a unique spectrum of Jain art and architecture from the last 500 years in terms of architecture and art . Most of the buildings are based on the more or less closed construction of the Hindus; they are divided into a vestibule ( mandapa ) and the actual core structure with the cella ( garbhagriha ) and a Shikhara tower above it. The main temple ( Adinath temple ) is - next to its namesake in Ranakpur ( Rajasthan ) - a prime example of the airy construction of the Jainas, which respects all living things (including birds and insects) and does not block any paths.
literature
- Aruna Deshpande: India. Divine Destination. Palitana. Crest Publishing House 2005. ISBN 81-242-0556-6 .
- Kristi L. Wiley: The A to Z of Jainism. Orient Paperbacks, New Delhi 2014, ISBN 978-81-7094-690-8 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ www.census2011.co.in
- ↑ Weltspiegel, 2015: Place of pilgrimage for the Jains: Palitana - the city of vegetarians. ( Memento from September 14, 2015 in the Internet Archive )