The Palitana temples, often known only as Palitana, are a large complex of Jain temples located on Shatrunjaya hills near Palitana in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India. Also known as "Padliptapur of Kathiawad" in historic texts, the dense collection of almost 900 small shrines and large temples have led many to call Palitana the "city of temples". It is one of the most sacred sites of the Svetambara tradition within Jainism. The earliest temples in the complex date as far back as the 11th century CE.
Jain temples on Shatrunjaya hill near Palitana, Gujarat
General Plan of Palitana temples
The idol of Rishabhanatha inside main temple
An 1866 sketch of Palitana temples
Jainism, also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras, with the first in the current time cycle being Rishabhadeva, whom the tradition holds to have lived millions of years ago, the twenty-third tirthankara Parshvanatha, whom historians date to the 9th century BCE, and the twenty-fourth tirthankara Mahavira, around 600 BCE. Jainism is considered an eternal dharma with the tirthankaras guiding every time cycle of the cosmology. The three main pillars of Jainism are ahiṃsā (non-violence), anekāntavāda (non-absolutism), and aparigraha (asceticism).
The 58.8ft high monolithic statue of Bahubali built in 981 CE
Classification of Saṃsāri Jīvas (transmigrating souls) in Jainism
Rebirth loka (realms of existence) in Jain cosmology.
Division of time in Jain cosmology.