ADISHWARA TEMPLE
AT
BHAVNAGAR
Adishwara temple is one of the great Jain Temples
situated in city of Palitana in Bhavnagar district of the Gujarat State. It is dazzling temple with excellent
architecture, situated on shetrunjaya hill, which is about six kilometer near
the Palitana city.
This Adishwar Temple
took 65 years for the construction and is the largest Jain temples. Temple has
three storeys, 80 domes, and 29 halls.
Visitors get surprise by seeing the pavilions
of the temple which are supported by 1444 pillars. The innermost part of the
temple is adorned with a four faced image of Lord Adinath or Rishabhdev.
. It is
very complex and is considered to be one of the five most important holy
shrines of Jains, in India.
Devotees visiting the
famous Adishwara Temple in palitana desire to climb to the mountain top at
least once in their lifetime, because of the holiness associated with the
temple.
The journey is exhausting. The walk up the
stone stairways comprising of around 4000 steps takes about an hour and a half.
Dolis are available those who prefer to avoid the steps.
Dolis are held by two
men at both ends of a stick in the middle of which are a base to sit on. Food
is avoided or carried on the way. The journey must begin prior to the sunset as
no one can stay stop during the night.
Adishwara temple,
palitana has many beliefs associated to the temple monuments. One such belief
states that if you manage to squeeze yourself through an exceptionally small
opening in a particular room, you are regarded to be a person without any sins.
Before setting your foot down to leave, don’t
miss out to pamper your taste buds with masala dahi.Climbing up the hill of the
palitana adishwara temple successfully and returning with the blessings of Lord
Aadeshwar is believed to be a great reverence and a matter of pride.
It is seen that at various stretches while
getting down many people wash the feet of the devotees and apply a tilak on
their head. And some others give out sweets to all. It is believed that by
doing this deed they mean to suggest and indicate that please make us a part of
the good deed you have done by worshipping the holy temple.
By Air
Bhavnagar to Palitana - the nearest airport lies at a distance of 51 kilometer.
But the most convenient airport is Ahmedabad to Palitana as it is connected
through regular flights to many important cities of the country like Mumbai and
Delhi.
