________________
Shri Shatrunjay Giriraj Darshan
FOREWORD
I have great pleasure in introducing this valuable publication to the devout followers of Jainism as well as to the ardent lovers of Indian history, culture and archeology.
Mt. Shatrunjay, situated in the eastern part of the peninsula of Saurashtra, ranks as one of the most sacred sites for the Jains. It is popularly regarded to be the most outstanding Jain place of pilgrimage in Gujarat. It is also known as Siddhachala (Mount of the Siddhas) and Giriraj (King of Mounts) on account of its religious sanctity.
Mt. Shatrunjay is surmounted by a temple-city consisting of nine Toonks or groups of temples surrounded by a security wall each. They contain about one thousand temples enshrining more than eleven thousand icons in all.
Jain tradition associates the mount with the visit of several Tirthankaras, Chakravartis, Ganadharas and renowned kings of hoary antiquity. In his "Shatrunjaya Mahatmya", Shri Dhaneshwarasuri narrates sixteen renovations of sacred sanctuaries on this mount. The work dates itself in V.S. 477 (420-21 A.D.), but it alludes to renovations dating as late as V.S. 1371 (1315 A.D.)! Traditional accounts of historical character can be traced back upto the early centuries of the Christian era. The extant architectural form of the temples on the mount can hardly be traced prior to the Chaulukya period (942-1304 A.D.). The extant epigraphic re. cords in the temples date from V.S. 1587 (1531 A.D.). Prabandha works of the Chaulukya and post-Chaulukya periods contain traditional and historical accounts about the construction and renovations of temples on Mt. Shatrunjay. "Pethada-rasa" and "Samara-rasa" narrate the restorations made by Pethada and Samara Shah in 1278 and 1315 A.D. respectively. Contemporary inscriptions record subsequent restorations made by Karmashah and Tejpal Soni in 1531 and 1594 A.D. respectively. Most of the other temples on Mt. Shatrunjay are built during the modern period.
In modern times James Tod described Shatrunjay in his "Travels in Western India" (1839) and A. K. Forbes gave its brief traditional account in his "Ras Mala" (1856).
VI
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
