Qualla: Girnar

Girnar: Introduction

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit E. Hultzsch, Public domain. Ten thousand steps. That is the traditional pilgrimage to the summit of Girnar, a cluster of ancient peaks rising from the plains near Junagadh in Gujarat. For Jains, this is among the holiest places on Earth - the mountain where the 22nd Tirthankara, Lord Neminath, attained omniscience and later nirvana at the highest peak, alongside 533 other enlightened sages. For historians, the mountain's significance begins even earlier: at its base sits a boulder bearing fourteen of Emperor Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts, inscribed around 250 BCE in Brahmi script, marking the beginning of Junagadh's written history.

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Image: E. Hultzsch | Public domain

Girnar: Words in Stone

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0. On the Girnar Taleti road, about two kilometers east of the ancient Uperkot Fort, an uneven boulder with a circumference of seven meters and a height of ten stands inside a small protective building. Etched into this rock with an iron pen, in a language similar to Pali, are Ashok...

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Image: Bernard Gagnon | CC BY-SA 3.0

Girnar: Sixteen Temples Above the Clouds

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Nileshbandhiya, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Jain temples of Girnar sit atop the mountain in a series of peaks called Tunks. The first Tunk holds a black granite temple dedicated to Lord Neminath, constructed in 1128 CE, its pillars dense with intricate carvings and colored mosaics. The second Tunk houses a temple to th...

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Image: Nileshbandhiya | CC BY-SA 3.0

Girnar: The Long Climb and the Quick Ride

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Piyush Jnd, CC BY-SA 4.0. For centuries, pilgrims reached Girnar's temples the only way possible: on foot, ascending ten thousand stone steps from the base. The fifth Tunk, with its foot-idol of Bhagwan Neminath, requires the full climb. It is an act of devotion measured in sweat and altitude, each step a...

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Image: Piyush Jnd | CC BY-SA 4.0

Girnar: Where Faiths Converge

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Bhautik Parshottambhai Lakhani, CC BY-SA 4.0. Girnar is not exclusively Jain. Hindu temples share the mountain, and the broader landscape around Junagadh layers Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist histories atop one another. The Ashoka edicts at the base are Buddhist in origin. The Rudradaman inscription reflects the syncretic culture...

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Image: Bhautik Parshottambhai Lakhani | CC BY-SA 4.0