Answer

People climb Palitana 99 times as a form of intense Jain devotion and tapasya, commonly known as Navanu Yatra.

In Jain Dharma, Palitana — Shatrunjaya Tirth — is considered one of the most sacred Jain pilgrimage places. Devotees perform 99 yatras with faith, discipline, humility, and devotion to purify the soul and reduce karmic bondage.

Explanation

The 99 climbs are not merely physical exercise. They are meant to cultivate:

• Bhakti — devotion toward Arihant Bhagwan
• Tapasya — austerity and self-discipline
• Samyama — control over body, speech, and mind
• Vinay — humility and reverence
• Vairagya — detachment from worldly comforts

The repeated climbing symbolizes repeated effort to rise above worldly passions and move toward the purity of the soul.

Which karmas are shed?

According to Jain philosophy, karma is shed through nirjara — the process of removing previously bound karmas. A yatra like Navanu can support nirjara when it is done with right faith, humility, restraint, and purity of intention.

The karmas especially reduced are those connected with:

• Mohaniya karma — deluding karma, which causes attachment, ego, anger, pride, deceit, greed, and wrong belief
• Antaraya karma — obstructive karma, which blocks energy, charity, spiritual effort, and inner strength
• Paap karma — sinful karmas accumulated through careless actions, passions, violence, ego, and attachment

Through sincere pilgrimage, fasting, self-control, prayer, repentance, and devotion, the soul becomes lighter and more purified.

However, Jain Dharma teaches that karma is not shed by physical climbing alone. The inner state matters most. If the climb is done with ego, competition, anger, pride, or show, then its spiritual benefit is reduced.

Spiritual Understanding

The real purpose of climbing Palitana 99 times is:

• to bow before the Tirthankars,
• to weaken attachment to the body,
• to increase devotion and discipline,
• to practice humility,
• to awaken the soul’s journey toward moksha.

In Jain understanding, sacred pilgrimage becomes powerful when combined with:

• samyak darshan — right faith,
• samyak jnan — right knowledge,
• samyak charitra — right conduct.

Takeaway

People climb Palitana 99 times to perform Navanu Yatra, a sacred Jain tapasya of devotion and purification. It helps in nirjara of karmas, especially those related to delusion, obstruction, passions, and sinful tendencies — but only when performed with humility, self-control, and sincere spiritual intention.