| Sammet Shikharji | |
|---|---|
 Jain Temples at Shikarji | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Jainism |
| Deity | Tirthankar |
| Festivals | Paryushana |
| Location | |
| Location | Giridih,Jharkhand,India |
  Location within Jharkhand Show map of Jharkhand Shikharji (India) Show map of India | |
| Coordinates | 23°57′40″N86°8′13.5″E / 23.96111°N 86.137083°E /23.96111; 86.137083 |
| Elevation | 1,365 m (4,478 ft) |
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Shikharji (Śikharjī), also known as Sammet or Sammed Shikharji, is one of the holiest pilgrimage sites forJains, inGiridih district,Jharkhand. It is located onParasnath hill, the highest mountain in the state of Jharkhand.[1] It is the most importantJain Tirtha (pilgrimage site), for it is the place where twenty of the twenty-four Jaintirthankaras (supreme preachers of Dharma) along with many other monks attainedMoksha. It is one of the seven principal pilgrimage destinations along withGirnar,Pawapuri,Champapuri,Dilwara,Palitana andAshtapad Kailash.
Shikharji means the "venerable peak". The site is also called Sammed Śikhar "peak of concentration" because it is a place where twenty of twenty-fourTirthankaras attained Moksha through meditation.[2][3][4] The word "Parasnath" is derived fromLord Parshvanatha, the twenty-third Jain Tirthankara, who was one of those who attainedMoksha at the site in 772 BCE.[5][6][7][8]
Shikarji is located in an inland part of rural east India. It lies on NH-2, the Delhi-Kolkata highway in a section called the Grand Trunk road Shikharji rises to 4,480 feet (1,370 m) making it the highest mountain inJharkhand state.[4]
Shikharji is the place where twenty of the twenty-four Jaintirthankaras including Parshvanatha along with many other monks attainedMoksha.[6][3][9][10] This pilgrimage site is considered the most importantJain Tirtha by bothDigambara andŚvētāmbara.[11][12] Shikharji along withAshtapad,Girnar,Dilwara Temples ofMount Abu andShatrunjaya are known as ŚvētāmbaraPancha Tirth (five principal pilgrimage shrine).[13]
Archaeological evidences indicate the presence of Jains going back to at least 1500 BCE. The earliest literary reference to Shikharji as a tirth (place of pilgrimage) is found in theJñātṛdhārmakātha, one of the twelve core texts of Jainism compiled in 6th century BCE by chief disciple ofMahavira. Shikharji is also mentioned in thePārśvanāthacarita, a twelfth-century biography of Pārśva. A 13th century CE palm-leaf manuscript ofKalpa Sūtra andKalakacaryakatha has an image of a scene of Parshavanatha'snirvana at Shikharji.[14]
Modern history records show that Shikharji Hill is regarded as the place of worship of the Jain community.Vastupala, prime minister during the reign of king Vīradhavala andVīsaladeva ofVaghela dynasty, constructed a Jain temple housing 20idols of Tirthankaras.[15][16] The temple also housed images of his ancestors andSamavasarana.[17] During the regime ofMughal's rule in India,EmperorAkbar in the year 1583 had passed anfirman (official order) granting the management of Shikharji Hill to the Jain community under the leadership of Harivijaya Suri to prevent theslaughter of animals in the vicinity.[18][19] Seth Hiranand Mukim, personal jeweller of Mughal EmperorJahangir, lead a party from Agra to Shikharji for Jain pilgrimage.[20] In 1670, a Jain merchant from Agra named Kumarpal Lodha financed construction of temples at the site. In 1725, the area came under the control of theJagat Seth family ofMurshidabad. In 1825, Jagat Seth Kushalchand spent a substantial amount of money in consecrating the exact sites of liberation of all 20 tirthankaras, a Jal mandir,dharamsalas & shrines to subsidiary deities at the site, under the guidance ofTapa Gaccha monk Devijayji, with divine intervention from the JainŚāsanadevī [hi]Padmāvatī. After the Jagat Seth family died out in 1912, the area came under the local zamindar based in Palganj ofGiridih. In 1918, SethBadridas Mukeem of the influential Johari SethJain community of Kolkata & Bahadur Singh Dugar of Murshidabad purchased the site from the zamindar on behalf of theAnandji Kalyanji trust & renovated the structures built by the Jagat Seths. The site went further renovations in the 1980s.[21][22]
In 2019, theGovernment of Delhi included Sammed Shikharji under Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana.[23]
The pilgrimage of Shikharji starts with aPalganj onGiridih road. Palganj has a small shrine dedicated to Parshvanatha. Then, offerings are made to temples atMadhuban on the base of Parasnath hill.[24] Madhuban has manydharamshalas andbhojnalayas for pilgrims.[25]
The section from Gandharva Nala stream to the summit is the most sacred to Jains.[1] The pilgrimage is made on foot or by alitter ordoli carried by adoliwallah along a concrete paved track.[26] A trek of 16.777 miles (27.000 km) is covered while performingParikrama of Shikharji.[19] However, the complete parikrama of Madhuban to Shikharji and back is 57 kilometres (35 mi).[27]
Shikharji is considered as the most important pilgrimage centre by both the Digambara and Śvētāmbara sects of Jainism and the jurisdiction of the main temples is shared by both sects.[11]
The current structure of temples at Shikharji was re-built by Jagat Seth Mahtabchand (father of the Kushalchand mentioned before) in 1768 CE.[28] However, the idol itself is very old. The Sanskrit inscription at the foot of the image is dated 1678 CE. One of the shrines dates back to the 14th century.[25] Several Śvētāmbara temples were constructed in 20th century.[29] Pilgrims offer rice, sandal,dhupa, flower, fruits anddiya.[28]
At the base of Shikharji is a temple to Bhomiyaji (Taleti). On the walls of theJain temple at the village of Madhuban, there is a mural painting depicting all the temples on Parasnath Hill. Śvētāmbara Bhaktamara temple, established by AcharyaRamchandrasuri, is the first temple to house aBhaktamara Stotrayantra.[30]
A large Digambara Jain temple depictingNandishwar Dweep is at the base of the hill.[31] TheNichli temple, built by a Calcutta merchant in 18th century, is noteworthy for its architecture. The temple features arched gateways and carvings of Tirthankaras on the temple wall.[32]
There are 31 tonks each enshrines footprints, in black or white marble, of each Tirthankara. Since, these temple does not have images these tonks are worshipped by both Digambara and Śvētāmbara.[29]
The hilltop where Parshvanatha attained moksha is called 'suvarṇabhadra kūța' and is considered the most sacred hilltop on Shikharji. The Parshvanatha tonk is constructed at this summit.[33][34][29] Thechatra distinguishes Parshvanatha footprint from footprints of other 23 Tirthankaras which does not have chatra and are indistinguishable.[35] The temple consists of two floors. The top floor has a tonk with no footprints of Parshvanatha, and lower floor enshrines a saffron coloured replica of the face of Parasnath built into a wall. Devotees make offerings of uncooked rice and sweets here.[36]
The tonks along the track are as follows:[29][37]
Sammed Shikhar festival is annual fair organised here that draws a huge number of devotees.[38]
The representation of Sammeta-Shikharji is a popular theme in Jain shrines.[16]
On 13 August 2012, the world's first to-scale complete replication of Shikharji was opened inSiddhachalam inNew Jersey over 120 acres of hilly terrain calledShikharji at Siddhachalam, it has become an important place of pilgrimage for the Jain diaspora.[39] There is a small scale replica of Shikharji atDādābadī, Mehrauli.Ranakpur Jain temple has a depiction of Shikharji.[40] Shitalnath temple inPatan, Gujarat has a wooden plaque with carving of Shikharji.[13]
The nearest railway station isParasnath Station which is situated inIsri Bazar, Dumri, Jharkhand. It is around 25 km fromMadhuban, at the base of Shikharji. Parasnath station is situated onGrand Chord, which is part ofHowrah-Gaya-Delhi line andHowrah-Allahabad-Mumbai line. Many long-distance trains halt at Parasnath Station. Daily connectivities to Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Ajmer, Kolkata, Patna, Allahabad, Kanpur, Jammutawi, Amritsar, Kalka etc. are available. Even 12301-12302Howrah Rajdhani Express viaGaya Junction has a halt on Parasnath station which run 6 days a week.
By Airway;
The Nearest airport isDeoghar Airport in Deoghar Dist, known as Baidyanath dham which is famous for Hindu pilgrimage sites, part of 12 jyotirling for Lord Shiva. The airport is 107 km away from Shikharji and a 3-hour drive.
Another airport isKazi Nazrul Islam Airport, Durgapur (RDP) West Bengal and a 4-hour drive from the airport. Durgapur has direct flights from Kolkata and Delhi.
Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi (IXR), Jharkhand is also around 180 km (Approximately 4.5 hours), and the drive to Shikhar Ji is quite smooth. Direct flights are available from Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Deoghar, Goa–Mopa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Patna and Pune.
Save Shikharji was a protest movement byJain sects against the state's alleged development plans for Shikharji. Jains opposed the plans of the state government to improve the infrastructure on the site of the hill in order to boost tourism as alleged attempts to commercialize the Shikharji hill.[41] The movement demanded that Shikharji Hill be declared officially a place of worship by theGovernment of Jharkhand.[19] On 26 October 2018, the Government of Jharkhand issued an official memorandum declaring the Shikharji hill as a 'place of worship'.
In December 2022, Jains carried out massive protests and a one-day nationwide strike against the rule by the Government of Jharkhand to tag Shikharji as a place of tourism.[42] Jharkhand government's decision to declare 'sacred' Shri Sammed Shikharji a tourist place and incidents of allegedly desecrating the sacredShetrunjaya Hills in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district have triggered anger among lakhs of people belonging to the Jain community. A 72-year-old Jain monk who was on a fast against the Jharkhand government's decision died Tuesday in Jaipur, according to a community leader. Police said after participating in a peace march in Jaipur against the decision, Sugyeysagar Maharaj sat on the fast at Sanghiji temple in Sanganer area of the city.
In January 2023, the Central government halted all tourism development activities on Parasnath Hills.[43]
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
Parasnath Hills travel guide from WikivoyageSee also :Jain temples in North America | |
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