From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jainism
has had a notable following in
Gujarat
.
[1]
According to the 2011 Census of India, around 0.959% of the population of Gujarat is Jain.
[2]
There are several old Jain temples that draw pilgrims from Jains around the world in places such as
Palitana
,
Taranga
,
Sankheshwar
,
Idar
.
History
[
edit
]
Jains believe that their 22nd
Tirthankara
(propagators of Jain religion)
Neminath
attained
Moksha
/
Nirvana
on
Girnar
in Gujarat. Many other monks have also got attained Moksha in Gujarat; especially on the holy mountains of Girnar and
Shatrunjaya
. The
Jain councils
were held in
Vallabhi
c. 5th century CE.
[3]
Their canonical scriptures were written down during this council. King
Vanaraja Chavda
(c. 720-780 CE) of the
Chavda dynasty
was brought up by a Jain monk named Shilaguna Suri.
Jain temples
are found in Gujarat from as early as the 6th and 7th centuries CE. It was patronized by the
Chaulukyas
and
Chavadas
.
Dhank Caves
(3rd-7th century CE) in Rajkot district has Jain Tirthankara carvings. Northern Gujarat became a principle center of Jainism in the 13th century CE.
[5]
The earliest known
Old Gujarati
text
Bharat-Bahubali Ras
, was written by a Jain monk Shalibhadra Suri.
Of the most important people in Gujarat's Jain history were the Acharya
Hemachandra
Suri and his pupil, the
Chaulukya
ruler
Kumarapala
.
Major Centers
[
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]
Major ancient Jain centers include:
Photo gallery
[
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]
See also
[
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]
Notes
[
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]
References
[
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]