Girnar Jain Tirth
Girnar Jain Tirth History Part -1 (Bharat Maharaja)
GIRNAR YATRA AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TEMPLE BY KING BHARAT
In this Avsar-pini (the descending cycle of time), the first Sangh to Shatrunjay and Girnar was organised by son Of Lord Adinath, Bharat Maharaja. After completing his Yatra at Shatrunjay, Bharat Maharaja, in order to gain more good merit, started his journey towards the eternal Tirth Girnar along with the Sangh.As the Sangh was proceeding towards Girnar, they saw the Raivatachal mountain (Girnar) shining like Gold, glittering like pearl and beautiful like a diamond. At that time, Girnar was bestowed with enchanting trees that shone like a five-coloured precious stone. Covered with Blue rocks on all the sides and bright marble like stone at the center, the mountain shone like a sky path lit with bright stars. Resplendent with the bright light gleaming from Chandrakant-Mani(a type of precious stone) and other divine herbs, the mountain wore an incredibly beautiful look even at night.
BOOK DHARAMSHALA
This mountain housed many saints who would be meditating in an absolute still posture for days, months and year together. Many Dev, Yaksh, Apsara and Vidhyadhar (types of demi-Gods) used to provide their services to the mountain in order to fulfil their own desires. Even mighty celestial beings like Sun and Moon used to offer their prayers to the Mountain out of devotion. Upon seeing such glory of Raivatachal from a distance, King Bharat fasted that day and stayed there along with the Sangh. With the blessings of the Sadhus in Sangh, Bharat Maharaja did Puja of Girnar with great pomp alike to what he did at Shatrunjay. To ease the mountain climb during Yatra, King Bharat facilitated the creation of a 4-step path right from Taleti (bottom of the mountaion) to the top. He also established a new town nearby harbouring trees, forests, lakes, rivers and a beautiful temple. With great Enthusiasm, King Bharat started his Yatra to Raivatachal and upon learning that this was the same mountain where 3 Kalyanaks of Neminath Bhagwan would take place, he decided to build an equally magnificent temple to commemorate the mountain’s beauty and named it as ‘Sursundar’. This temple was adorned with 4 main entrances with 11 halls on each side. He also designed an all-season garden in the temple ground. The temple was studded with diamonds and precious rocks housing Neminath Bhagwan Idol made from Neelam Stone (a precious stone). With unprecedented devotion, King Bharat got the Pratishtha of the temple performed at the hands of Gandhar Bhagwant.
After bathing from waters of Gajapad Kund, King Bharat did Puja per the prescribed code, performed Aarti , sang devotional songs in the praise of Lord, distributed alms amongst the needy and finally came back to his to abode and had a a sumptuous meal.
Upon seeing the beauty of the hill and after offering his devotion to the Lord, King Bharat’s joy knew no bounds. With a heart overflowing with devotion, he said to the erstwhile king of Saurashtra, King Shaktisingh that: ‘Girinar Hill is the recreational place of Goddess Lakshmi. This hill is a repository of many precious stones, divine medicines and sensory filling fragrances.’ When King Bharat momentarily stopped after uttering this, King Shaktisingh too said in the glory of Girnar that: ‘O Great Emperor! The supreme Lord has called this Girnar as the 5th hill of Shatrunjay and it is rightly said so because it is the giver of the 5th knowledge i.e. Keval Gyan.‘. Giving the details of the size and the names of this mountain in all the 6 epochs (of the time cycle), he said that: ‘This mountain is the destroyer of all sins. Innumerable Tirthankars have graced this mountain with their presence and will continue to do so in the future too. Innumerable souls have attained enlightenment here and will continue to do so in the future too. ’ After exchanging such delightful talks on the glory of Girnar, King Bharat accomplished many good deeds such as undertaking the renovation work of Tirth, Puja of the Lord, Indra-utsav and more. After distributing alms to the poor and needy people in plenty, and after spending a whole month atop of Girnar, he finally came down. Nonetheless he had left his soul and mind with Neminath Bhagwan and Girnar. Upon persistent requests from his nephew, King Shaktisingh, Bharat Maharaja organised an 8 day festival in the nearby town of GiriDurg and then proceeded to his next journey. King Shaktisingh continued governing Saurashtra with deep devotion towards the Lord and Tirth.
