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A Jain temple near the top of Girnar (Hashim Badani)
Forty Jains were sitting on the floor in neat rows, their legs crossed in the lotus position. The women wore fresh saris they'd carried up the mountain for the occasion. The men were dressed in all white. I wedged into a spot in the back.
We faced a dark, tunnel-like space lined by two sets of columns. At the far end, candlelight illuminated a black marble statue of a seated male figure. Its barrel chest was inlaid with gemstones, as were its eyes, which appeared to float, serenely,
