Soft spot: The shrine of Lord Dattatreya which has become a hotbed of religious rivalry Soft spot: The shrine of Lord Dattatreya which has become a hotbed of religious rivalry

This is a mini-Mahabharata in the making. The two warring sides are the religious heads of the Hindu and Jain communities. Their bone of contention: Mount Girnar in Gujarat's Junagarh district. The area is home to some of India's most ancient and revered religious shrines, the most famous being the one devoted to Lord Dattatreya or Datta, the three-headed trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.

According to the Jains, it is the spot where the Jain Tirthankara Lord Neminath attained nirvana. According to Hindu spiritual leaders, however, Jains are illegally constructing religious structures as part of a grand expansion plan to capture the Girnar hills. That's a motive that Jain leaders also accuse the Hindu mahants, who control the shrines across the various peaks of Girnar,of harbouring. Besides, the mahants are preventing the Jains from worshipping in their shrines, Jain leaders complain.

"The authentic history of the place and many other valid sources say that the spot belongs to Lord Datta. The Jains have absolutely no right over the place, legally or otherwise," claims Swami Muktanand, who controls the Datta shrine located on the highest peak of Girnar.

Counters Sunil Kumar Jain, the assistant manager of Bandilal Jain Karkhana, a trust which manages some of the Jain religious spots on Girnar, says, "We want Jain pilgrims to be allowed to worship peacefully. Instead, they are often ill-treated by Hindu priests."



SWAMI MUKTANAND CONTROLLER, DATTA SHRINE

Though the conflict ranges over an extensive area, the battle is essentially for two spots-the footprint of Datta at the God's shrine on Peak No. 5 and the shrine of the ancient Hindu saint Gorakhnath on Peak No. 3, which also has an imprint of the saint's footprints. The footprints of Gorakhnath are worshipped by Jains as being those of Jain saint Shambhukumarji.

Conflict between the Jains and the Hindus started over the mysterious appearance of idols in 2004. The Jains claim that they found an idol of Lord Datta at Peak No. 5, and then discovered another image, of the Hindu deity Ramdev Pir, near the footprints of Gorakhnath.

Even as they we revoicing their concern over the alleged illegal construction, a Jain sadhu was thrashed by Hindu priests at the Datta shrine for trying to remove flowers from the footprints of the deity, as according to Jain belief, flowers are alive and should not be used for worship.

Statue of Narshi Mehta, a renowned Vaishnava saint, lords over the controversial site Statue of Narshi Mehta, a renowned Vaishnava saint, lords over the controversial site

The dispute took an ugly turn when Swami Muktanand filed a case against the Jains for trying to break the idol at Datta's shrine, which he claims has been there for ages. After this, the state Archaeology Directorate also filed two cases against Jain leaders - one against Bandi lal Trust, which led to the arrest of Sunil Kumar for trying to build a temple of a Jain goddess near a protected monument dedicated to Jain heroes Vastupal and Tejpal. They have been filed under the law that prevents construction within a 100-metre radius around the protected monument.

The volley of charges from both sides continues to fly thick and fast in Mount Girnar, which is proclaimed by Hindu scriptures to be more sacred than the Himalayas. The mahants allege the Jains have been systematically trying to change the character of the Girnar hills.

According to them, many images of Hindu gods and goddesses have been replaced by Jains from the Raa Khengar Mahal, ruins of an ancient palace, with carved images of Jain gods, to give an impression that Girnar is essentially a Jain place of pilgrimage. Says Gopalanandji, a Hindu monk, "We are not going to tolerate these moves by the Jains."



SUNIL KUMAR JAIN ASSISTANT MANAGER OF BANDILAL JAIN TRUST

Ascribing cases of the so-called illegal construction on the part of Jains more to ignorance of laws than any design, Sunil Kumar says: "All we want is that Jain pilgrims be allowed to worship the footprints of Neminathji and Shambhukumarji, in keepingwith the Jain tenets, at a fixed time in the day."

They allege that Hindu leaders are building a stone dooronthe path leading to a Jain shrine to block access. "Even the district administration is partial," SunilKumar says. Adds Nirmalsagarji, a Jain sadhu, "The situation is best described by the phrase jiski laathi uski bhains (those who have power can do anything)."

Though Jain and Hindu leaders met Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in an effort to find an amicable solution to this religious crisis, nothing positive has emerged so far. In fact, attempts at mediation have been obscured in the maze of claims and counter-claims.

The conflict has assumed gigantic proportions over the years and now both sides have set their hopes on the Gujarat High Court, whose verdict in this case will be final and abiding. Among the warring leaders, however, there seems to be little concern for tolerance, judicial or otherwise.

Holy wars may be decided by a higher court, and this one, judging by the location of the disputed area, is higher than most.