Preface

 

I first visited in September 1998 the magnificent ancient city of Junagadh, and climbed the breathtaking heights of the adjacent Mount Girnar, with my dear friend Sarabhanga Giri. There were many things during this brief stopover that we found captivating. As I have had a lifelong love of India, I had visited the country on numerous occasions over the previous 15 years, but nowhere else had I experienced the same combination of charm, excitement and allure as at this provincial centre in the Saurashtra Peninsula. The exhilaration of an early morning start for Girnar, the friendly gestures of ‘Jai Girnari’ by other pilgrims on route, visits to welcoming Nathji sadhus at Bhartruhari Cave and Ghoraknath Temple, and magnificent views of the surrounding forests and more distant agricultural plains when the parting clouds permitted, were just some of the highlights. Visits to the fort of Uparkot, one of the principal places of interest in Junagadh, with its ancient Buddhist caves, and step wells, provided us the fortunate opportunity to meet the late Sitaram Baba. The Sakkarbagh Zoo and the Junagadh Museum were among other sites that remain vividly memorable. Strolling the streets of central Junagadh was endlessly fascinating, and sampling the local fare at small street side ghatia restaurants, more up-market Gujarati thali places, or fresh juice and milkshake centres was always a joy.

Although my next visit to Junagadh was not until 2008, Junagadh and Girnar remained in my thoughts and interests, and I spent long hours during the interval enjoying library and internet searches for pertinent literature, no matter the topic, so that I acquired a very eclectic collection of written material and images about the area. At times I thought that the wealth of literature about the place might be overwhelming and that it could become difficult to know when enough was enough. This pleasant concern was reinforced when a distinguished Junagadh citizen, Harish Desai, expressed his view that the amount of information was monumental. Nevertheless I persevered until I reached a point where I felt content that a significant start had been made in my collection of material, especially that written in English. My aim at the outset of this project was to attempt to compile from the recorded literature a thorough and inclusive, fully referenced account of the pilgrim centre of the magnificent Mount Girnar and the ancient historical capital of Junagadh. I am already well aware that there are many important aspects and features of this large and diverse city that I have treated only briefly, and there will doubtlessly be many that I have completely overlooked. I hope that my efforts will encourage enthusiasts to look for omissions, as well as errors. This description will undoubtedly be flavoured with personal bias, but I have tried to overlook none of the noteworthy published works about the location. Throughout its very long history, the fascinating settlement of Junagadh has always been a very famous and large pilgrimage centre, so it has received a great deal of interest, written comment and research. Similarly the incomparable Mount Girnar has remained a perfect sanctuary, probably from the beginning of human occupation, and as a result has attracted an abundance of love and worship which are reflected in a wealth of poetry and prose.

Many Indian pilgrim centres, for example Varanasi (Kashi) and Allahabad (Prayag), have been so important for such a long time that they have grown into very large cities, and as a result the wealth of written comment and research about them is too overwhelming for one person to attempt to summarise the majority of the important literature. Conversely, many centres are too small, often a focus for only regional interest, to have attracted much written material. By good chance the amount of literature concerning Junagadh and Mount Girnar, although large, is manageable for one person to cover, and summarise the significant components. This type of heterogeneous and encyclopaedic presentation is therefore in some ways unique for Indian locations. I hope that it may function as a resource for those interested in Junagadh and Girnar, as well as pave the way for others to add to this collection of information. I would also like it to encourage others to attempt similar reviews of some of the other gems of India’s extraordinary and historic holy pilgrim centres.

The size, pace and expense of some of India’s larger cities can be somewhat intimidating, and the experience can be in some measure impersonal. Picturesque and appealing Junagadh, on the other hand, is very affable and easy-going, and by size manageable, yet it is suitably equipped with all the necessary facilities to make life comfortable for tourists. The city is small enough to be easily covered by bicycle and for auto-rickshaw charges to be minimal. It has plenty of guest houses and hotels to cater to all tastes. Restaurants are many and varied and invariably good. Banks and ATMs are abundant, as are internet cafes.

To an outsider, the fascination and enchantment of Junagadh and the beauty and delight of Girnar can be intoxicating and magnetic. The unique functioning ecosystem of the Girnar Compound was compelling for me as an ecologist and field naturalist. As a visitor to Junagadh I have always found the local people very welcoming, generous and affirmative. I have had enjoyable meetings and pleasant encounters with many knowledgeable and even wise people. I have established good friendships and I hope that life offers me the privilege to continue my experience of this very special place. In addition I hope that the present account of the importance of Junagadh and Girnar, and their plentiful tourist attractions, will encourage others to include them on their itinerary, as it is felt that increased tourism should ultimately benefit the city’s prosperity.

As an outsider to India, an unavoidable disadvantage is that I remain unaware of much of the cultural and social nuance that must pass as obvious and without comment by local people. That such naivety will come across as ineptitude can only be magnified by my lack of local language skills. On the other hand, in India I will not have the usual biases brought about by inherited placement in the Indian social milieu. Having no family or community relationships in India can result in no particular allegiance or favouritism to one group or another, leaving the ground open for a broad and inclusive treatment of topics. As a foreigner, my biases will have a different focus, and of course they will be determined also by my own personal disposition. Therefore, in India I can take advantage of the fact that I have no clear and predetermined place in the Indian social setting, by freely and probably often unwittingly moving across any invisible social barriers. This flexibility is of particular benefit in my account of Junagadh and Mount Girnar, given that my aim was to include all relevant and significant details, without exception.

The present account of Junagadh and Mount Girnar is primarily a summary of published material. My intention was to include as much as possible of the pertinent literature. But because the body of work about the city and adjacent mountain is so large it is inevitable that I will have overlooked some important areas of information. This is particularly true for the wealth of information written in Indian languages, particularly Gujarati, Hindi and Sanskrit, that have not yet been translated into English, and therefore sadly inaccessible to me. In addition to this there will continually be published new observations, comments and research to add to the bank of knowledge about the location. I hope that this start at documenting information about Junagadh and Girnar will stimulate others to take an interest in this very important, fascinating and beautiful part of India.