Shankheshwar
| Shankheshwar | |
|---|---|
| town | |
 Shankheshwar
Shankheshwar
|
|
| Coordinates: 23°30′36″N 71°46′09″E / 23.510122°N 71.7692612°ECoordinates: 23°30′36″N 71°46′09″E / 23.510122°N 71.7692612°E | |
| Country |
 India
|
| State | Gujarat |
| District | Patan |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Gujarati, Hindi |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 384240 |
| Telephone code | 912722 |
| Vehicle registration | GJ |
| Website | gujaratindia |
Shankheshwar is a town in the Patan district of Gujarat state of India. It is an important place of pilgrimage for the followers of Jainism.
The village is considered a place of great antiquity. Jain Acharya Merutunga had mentioned this place as Shankhpur in his works. A Paliya in the north of village had date of Samvat 1322 (1265 AD). The current temple of Parshwanath was built in 1811. There are ruins of old Jain temple in the town which is dated Samvat 1652 (1596 AD). There is a Chhatra and a memorial inscription dedicated to Shripujya, a high priest near it.
According to Mughal history, the Shankheshwar village was a lease-grant by Emperor Shah Jahan to Shantidas Jhaveri, a former nagarsheth (equivalent to mayor) of Ahmedabad.
In ancient inscriptions, this Jain tirth is referred to as Shankhapur. It is said that a Shravaka by the name of Ashadhi was gripped by doubts and miseries about his existence in the material world, asking "When shall I attain nirvana? When shall I be free from the bondage of the material world? When shall I be liberated?" Answering all these questions, Damodar Swami, the ninth Jain Tirthankara, said: "Parshvanath will be the twenty-third Jain Tirthankara in the avasarpinikala, i.e. the descending half of the wheel of time. You will be his Ganadhar (prime disciple) named Aryaghosha and attain salvation there." Ashadhi then became fully engrossed in his devotion to Parshwanath.A formal History of the precursor to this tirth was written by Jain monk and eminent scholar Hemachandra Suri in the reign of Solanki king Siddharaj Jayasinh of Anhilwara (Patan).
...
Wikipedia