Shikharji

Shikharji means the "venerable peak". The site is also called Sammed Śikhar "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]

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]

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 modern history records show that Shikharji Hill is regarded as the place of worship of the Jain community. During the regime of Mughal's rule in India, Emperor Akbar in the year 1583 had passed an firman (official order) granting the management of Shikharji Hill to the Jain community to prevent the slaughter of animals in the vicinity.[5]

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.

Save Shikharji was a protest movement by Jain sects against the state's development plans for Shikharji. Jains 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.[6] The movement was headed by Yugbhushan Suri, and demanded Shikharji Hill to be declared officially as a place of worship by the Government of Jharkhand.[7] On 26 October 2018, the Government of Jharkhand issued an official memorandum declaring the Shikharji hill as a 'place of worship'.[8]

Trail map showing tonks on Parasnath Hill

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.[9] Along the track are shrines to each of the twenty four tirthankaras and vendors of tea, coffee, water, fruits and snacks.

In 2019, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal included Sammed Shikharji under Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana.[10]

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. There are 31 tonks along the track are as follows:

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.[11] Called Shikharji at Siddhachalam, it has become an important place of pilgrimage for the Jain diaspora.[12] There is a small scale replica of Shikharji at Dādābadī, Mehrauli.

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 km (Approximately 4.5 hours), and the drive to Shikhar Ji is quite smooth. Direct flights are available from Delhi.

• 
  Aerial view of Jal Mandir
• 
  Jal mandir
• 
  Gautam Swami Temple
• 
  Chandrananswami Temple
• 
  Abhinandannath Temple

• List of Jain temples
• Tirth Pat
• Nirvana Kanda

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shikharji.

• Tourist Places in Giridih (Official Website)
• Parasnath Hills travel guide from Wikivoyage