Shikharji

Shikharji (Śikharjī), Giridih district, Jharkhand, India, is located on Parasnath hill, the highest mountain in the state of Jharkhand.[1] It is the important Jain Tirtha (pilgrimage site) for the Jains, believed to be the place where twenty of the twenty-four Jain tirthankaras along with many other monks attained Moksha, according to Nirvana Kanda and other texts.[2] Its distance to cover is 44 kms by walk and takes approximately to climb up and down the hill. If a short route is taken it takes approximately 12 hours to complete.

This article is about the Jain holy site. For the mountain peak, see Parasnath.

Shikharji
Jain Temples at Shikarji, (Parasnath hills)
Religion
AffiliationJainism
DeityTirthankar
FestivalsParyushana
Location
LocationGiridih, Jharkhand, India
Location within Jharkhand
Geographic coordinates23.9611°N 86.1371°E / 23.9611; 86.1371
Elevation1,365 m (4,478 ft)

Etymology

Shikharji means the "venerable peak". The site is also called Sammed Śikhar or Sammet Shikhar "peak of concentration." because it is a place where twenty of twenty-four Tirthankaras attained Moksha through meditation.[3] The word "Parasnath" is derived from Parshvanatha, the twenty-third Jain tirthankara, who was one of those who is believed to have attained Moksha at the site.[4]

Geography

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 in Jharkhand state.[3]

History

The earliest reference to Shikharji as a tirth (place of pilgrimage) is found in the Jñātṛdhārmakātha, one of the twelve core texts of Jainism. Shikharji is also mentioned in the Pārśvanāthacarita, a twelfth century biography of Pārśva.

The popularity of Shikharji as a site of pilgrimage followed that of Vulture Peak, Bihar, where it is believed the Buddhist Sariputta attained enlightenment.

Jharkhand acquired Shikharji under the Bihar Land Reforms Act, leaving the rights of Jains in doubt. Use of Shikharji as a tourist destination also impacts on the religious beliefs of the Jain.

Approach
Trail map showing tonks on Parasnath Hill

The pilgrimage to Shikharji is a round trip of 27 km through the Madhuban forest. The section from Gandharva Nala stream to the summit is the most sacred to Jains.[1] The pilgrimage is made on foot or by a litter or doli carried by a doliwallah along a concrete paved track.[5] Along the track are shrines to each of the twenty four tirthankaras and vendors of tea, coffee, water, fruits and snacks.

There is an option for parikrama of the entire Parasnath Hill, a pilgrimage of 54 kilometres (34 mi). The parikrama path is through the forest and is walking only.

In 2019, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal included Sammed Shikharji under Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana.[6]

Temples
Tonk of Parshvanatha, Shikharji

The temple at Shikharji is a new construction with some parts dating to the eighteenth century. However, the idol itself is very old. Sanskrit inscriptions at the foot of the image date to 1678. At the base of Shikharji is a temple to Bhomiyaji (Taleti). On the walls of the Jain temple at the village of Madhuban, there is a mural painting depicting all the temples on Parasnath Hill. Temples along the track include:

Replicas

On August 13, 2012, the world's first to-scale complete replication of Shikharji was opened in Siddhachalam in New Jersey over 120 acres of hilly terrain.[7] Called Shikharji at Siddhachalam, it has become an important place of pilgrimage for the Jain diaspora.[8] There is a small scale replica of Shikharji at Dādābadī, Mehrauli.

Transport

The nearest railway station named "Parasnath Station" is situated in Isri Bazar, Dumri, Jharkhand. Its around 25 km from Madhuban, at the base of Shikharji. Parasnath station is situated on Grand Chord, which is part of Howrah-Gaya-Delhi line and Howrah-Allahabad-Mumbai line. Many long distance trains have halts at Parasnath Station. Daily connectivities to Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Ajmer, Kolkata, Patna, Allahbad, Kanpur, Jammutawi, Amritsar, Kalka etc. are available. Even 12301-12302 Howrah Rajdhani Express via Gaya Junction has a halt on Parasnath station which run 6 days in a week.

By Airway; Nearest airport is Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport, Durgapur (RDP) West Bengal and 4 hour drive from airport. Durgapur has direct flights from Kolkata and Delhi

Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi (IXR), Jharkhand is also around 180 Kms (Approximately 4.5 hours), and the drive to Shikhar Ji is quite smooth. Direct flights are available from Delhi.

Shikharji Movement
'Save Shikharji' rally

"Save Shikharji" is a protest movement by Jain sects who are against the state's development plans for Shikharji. Jain community members have opposed the plans of the state government to improve the infrastructure in the hill to boost tourism as alleged attempts to commercialize the Shikharji hill.[9] This movement is currently headed by Yugbhushan Surishwarji, and demands Shikharji Hill to be declared officially as a place of worship by Government of Jharkhand.[10]

  • Aerial view of Jal Mandir
  • Jal mandir
  • Gautam Swami Temple
  • Chandrananswami Temple
  • Abhinandannath Temple
gollark: The intention is that it is possible to conveniently edit elements of the list without having to switch to an editor view as you would for a text block.
gollark: So the content model rework thing means that pages can, instead of just being a text block, be a list of text things instead, displayed as a list.
gollark: Mi-note-eaur.
gollark: Trivial, QED.
gollark: I am explaining.

See also

References

Citation
  1. Shukla & Kulshreshtha 2009, p. 103.
  2. Hachette India, p. 123.
  3. Jharkhand Tourism & Parasnath.
  4. Balfour 1885, p. 141.
  5. Time of India & doli lifters.
  6. Outlook & Sammed Shikharji under Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana.
  7. Shikharji at Siddhachalam
  8. Richardson 2014, p. 174.
  9. India Times & Plot identified for helipad atop Parasnath Hill.
  10. India Times & Shikharji Protest.

Source
  • Richardson, E. Allen (2014), Seeing Krishna in America: The Hindu Bhakti Tradition of Vallabhacharya in India and Its Movement to the West, McFarland, ISBN 9780786459735
  • Shukla, U N; Kulshreshtha, Sharad Kumar (2019), Emerging Trends in Indian Tourism and Hospitality: Transformation and Innovation, Copal Publishing Group, ISBN 9789383419760
  • Hachette India (25 October 2013). Indiapedia: The All-India Factfinder. Hachette India. ISBN 978-93-5009-766-3.
  • Balfour, Edward (1885), The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, 3rd volume (Commercial, Industrial and Scientific, Products of the Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures ed.), B. Quaritch, retrieved 2 October 2017
  • "Parasnath". Jharkhand Tourism.
  • "Jains protest plan to convert sacred hill into tourist centre". Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  • "Plot identified for helipad atop Parasnath Hill". Times of India. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  • Shrinivasa, M. (9 February 2018). "Expert team of doli lifters carries devotees to the top". The Times of India.
  • "Jain community thanks Delhi CM for including Sammed Shikharji under Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana". Outlook. 16 October 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.