KOCHI: On the occasion of Fagun Sudh Teras in the Gujarati month of Falgun, thousands of members of the Jain community ascend the sacred Palitana hill in Gujarat every year. The pilgrimage commemorates the attainment of moksha by over 8 crore Jain monks on the hill centuries ago. For those who are not able to visit the 800 plus temples on the hills, a replica of the Palitana hill was created for prayers in the Kuruwa Hall in the Jain Temple at Mattanchery. Over 400 families of the Jain community in the area were present to offer their prayers on Tuesday.
At 9.30 am, a procession led by priest Prakash Bhai circumambulated the temple. Subsequently, the hall, in which the replica of Palitana hill was installed, was thrown open for poojas. Resembling the ascent, the devotees went around the mountain before the poojas. “Lakhs of people visit the Palitana temples, which is a major pilgrimage centre for Jains, every year. Because the climb to the temple is difficult, not a lot of people are able to go there. That’s how the practice of building a replica of the mountain began,” said Parul Mehta, a devotee.
The poojas soon began and went around till 12.45 pm, followed by ‘seva’ during which 11 to 12 stalls provided food and water to devotees. “The poojas are the same ones performed during the pilgrimage to the temples,” said Parul.
For the first time since the tradition began over 12 years ago, a group of 13 women played a major role in the creation of the replica at the temple. “Usually, the men’s group does the work. However, due to external technical issues, the young women’s group called ‘Prerana’ did the honour,” said Praveen M Shah, a trustee member of the temple.
The construction of the centuries-old temples in Palitana began in the 11th century. “There are over 3,800 steps to the temple on the top of the mountain, which is the Adinath temple. On the way to the top, there are smaller temples. All these temples have their own stories and narratives,” said Parul, who is also a member of Prerana.