Shikharji
| Shri Sammed Shikharji | |
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| शिखरजी / Śikharajī (Marathi) | |
Jain Temples at Shikarji, (Parasnath hills)
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 Location within Jharkhand
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Giridih, Jharkhand, India |
| Geographic coordinates | 23°57′40″N 86°08′14″E / 23.9611°N 86.1371°ECoordinates: 23°57′40″N 86°08′14″E / 23.9611°N 86.1371°E |
| Affiliation | Jainism |
| Festivals | Paryushana |
| Elevation | 1,350 m (4,429 ft) |
Shikharji (Śikharjī), Giridih district, Jharkhand, India, is located on Parasnath, the highest mountain of the Parasnath Range. It is a Jain Tirtha (pilgrimage site) 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.
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. The word "Parasnath" is derived from Parshvanatha, the twenty-third tirthankara, who was one of those who is believed to have attained Moksha at the site.
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 4,429 feet (1,350 m) making it the highest mountain in Jharkhand state.
The earliest reference to Shikharji as a tirth (place of pilgrimage) is found in the Jñātṛdhārmakātha, one of the twelve core texts of Jainism: at Shikharji, Māllīnātha, the nineteenth tirthankara, practiced samadhi. 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. Sports such as paragliding and parasailing may take place at Shikharji.
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