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JAIN WAVES
ShwetambarSiddhakshetraWell sourced

Shatrunjaya

Also known as: Palitana · Siddhachal · Siddhagiri · Pundarikgiri

The hill on which, by tradition, Rishabhanatha delivered his first sermon and his ganadhara Pundarik attained liberation along with five crore sadhus. Successive generations built temple upon temple until the summit became a walled city of shrines — the article counts run from 108 large temples to 863 to "almost 900", depending which figure you read. Nobody lives on the hill: at dusk the last pilgrim descends and the gates close.

Shwetambar
Tradition
Siddhakshetra
Kind of kshetra
Palitana
Nearest town
Yes
Staying there
How to reachContacts
WhatsApp

Why this place

The hill on which, by tradition, Rishabhanatha delivered his first sermon and his ganadhara Pundarik attained liberation along with five crore sadhus. Successive generations built temple upon temple until the summit became a walled city of shrines — the article counts run from 108 large temples to 863 to "almost 900", depending which figure you read. Nobody lives on the hill: at dusk the last pilgrim descends and the gates close.

Associated with

  • Rishabhanatha (Adinath)
  • Pundarik Swami

Tradition

One of the most sacred sites of the Śvetāmbara tradition. Managed by the Anandji Kalyanji Pedhi, which took over the temples in 1730.

Getting there

By rail
Palitana has its own railway station; Bhavnagar is the larger railhead.
By air
Bhavnagar is the nearest airport; Ahmedabad is the nearest major one.
By road
Reached by road from Bhavnagar, and from Ahmedabad via Bhavnagar.

Best season

Winter, roughly November to February. The hill closes during the monsoon months.

Contact

  • Anandji Kalyanji Pedhi

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We will remove it without asking why, and promptly. You do not have to give a reason or a name.

Managed by

Do you know the pedhi office number?

We could not find a telephone number for Shatrunjaya anywhere we could stand behind. If you know it — or you have rung the pedhi yourself — tell us, and it helps every pilgrim after you.

Give us the number

The form arrives already filled in with this tirth. The only thing you have to type is the number.

Is this your institution? Claim or correct this listing

Community-sourced contacts

From jaintirthkshetra.com, a community directory. These are not published by the trusts themselves, and most are the personal mobiles of named office-bearers rather than office lines — so please confirm before you travel, and be considerate about when you call.

Managing body, as the directory names it

Shri Palitana Dasha Humad Digambar Jain Mandir Trust.

★ A Digambar mandir trust in Palitana town, NOT the body that manages the hill. The Shatrunjaya temples are under the Anandji Kalyanji Pedhi. We list it because a Digambar pilgrim at Palitana will want it.

Directory record: Shri Digambar Jain Sidh kshetra Shatrunjayaji, Palitana At post Palitana, District - Bhavnagar, Gujrat, Pin code -364270 · SRI SHATRUNJAY MAHA TIRTH PALITANA DI · Bhavnagar, Gujarat · jaintirthkshetra.com · 2026-08-16

Is this your number, and you would rather it was not here? Tell us and we will remove it.

We will remove it without asking why, and promptly. You do not have to give a reason or a name.

The climb, and what to expect

The climb is the pilgrimage. It is a stone stairway of roughly three and a half kilometres from the base, rising to about 580 m. Doli (palanquin) bearers work the route for those who cannot walk it. Start before first light — the stone is punishing once the sun is up, and the hill must be cleared by evening.

Staying there

Palitana town at the foot of the hill is built around pilgrim accommodation, with a large number of dharamshalas and bhojanshalas run by Jain trusts. The Anandji Kalyanji Pedhi, which manages the temples, is the place to start for arrangements.

Sources disagree

We publish both figures rather than pick one.

  • approximately 3,750 stone stepsWikipedia, "Shatrunjaya"
  • around 3,500 stone stepsWikipedia, "Palitana temples"

Two Wikipedia articles about the same staircase give figures 250 steps apart. We publish both rather than choose. Either way it is a long climb.

  • 863 templesWikipedia infobox, "Palitana temples"
  • almost 900 shrines and templesWikipedia article text
  • 108 large temples, the rest small shrines in chauvisi groupsWikipedia article text

Counts vary with what is being counted — a chauvisi group can be read as one shrine or as twenty-four.

Festivals

  • Kartik Purnima yatra
  • Chaitri Purnima yatra
  • Fagan Sud Teras

Festival dates follow the Jain calendar and move every year against the Gregorian one. We name the festivals and do not print dates — check with the trust before you travel.

Sources

Every entry says where its facts came from. Community directories are often the only place a dharamshala or a landline is written down, so we keep them — and label them.

Other tirths in the same region

All tirth kshetras
Dharamshalas & Tirth StaysTemples and derasars recorded nearby