History, Importance, Timings, Festivals, How to Reach, Architecture, Activities, Interesting Facts and Travel Guide of Shri Sammed Shikharji, Parasnath Hill, Jharkhand, India
Shri Sammed Shikharji is a highly important religious place for Jainism, located in the Giridih district of Jharkhand. The pilgrimage is situated on the highest mountain of Jharkhand, the Parasnath hill. It is the most significant Jain pilgrimage for both the Jain sects – Svetambara and Digambara because it is believed that here twenty Jain Tirthankars the religious teachers and other sages attained salvation. The name of the hill is inspired by the Twenty-third spiritual teacher Parashvanatha, who attained salvation at the hill. The word “Shikharji” refers to the “respected crest”. The place is popularly known as Sammed Skhikharji which means the “crest of attentiveness”. Acharya Shri Shantisagar, a Jain monk from India took his oath at the place, in front of the icon of Parashvanatha. Jagat Seth, a wealthy merchant from Bengal rebuilt the shrine in 1768 CE.
The Jain community believes Shikharji is a sacred place because the twenty spiritual teachers, the Tirthankaras attained salvation at this place. One of the twelve center texts of Jainism refers to Shikharji as a Jain pilgrimage. Vastupala, the prime minister of the king Visaladeva (Vaghela Dynasty) built this temple making room for the 20 statues of the Tirthankaras.
During the Mughal rule in India, Emperor Akbar released an official order, where the supervision of the Shikharji Hills was legally given to the Jain community to stop the killing of animals in the surrounding area. Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s jeweler, Seth Hiranand Mukim directed a group from Agra to Shikharji for Jain Yatra.
History says that the Jain community started an objection movement, called the “Save Shikharji” movement. They started the protest to oppose the plan of the government to develop Shikharji. They thought that the ministry wanted to build the framework in the mound to improve tourism as suspected attempts to turn the Shikharji hill into a commercial place. Yugbhushan Suri lead the protest and claimed that Shikharji Hill is officially announced as a religious place by the Government of Jharkhand. The Government released a legal letter proclaiming the Shikharji Hills as a pilgrimage.
The Shikharji temple is famous for its exclusive architecture. The most exclusive part of the architecture is the design of the gateways, which are designed as arched structures. The entire temple walls have depictions with carvings, which depict the stories of the spiritual Jain teachers. 31 tonks are present there which are designed with black and white marbles.
So many major festivals are celebrated in the Shikharji Temple, such as – Parashvanath Jayanti, Kartik Poornima, Diwali, etc.
Thousands of visitors, especially the followers of Jainism visit the temple during the time of Parashvanath Jayanti. The temple gets a makeover at the time of the festivals.
On Diwali, the temple is embellished with lights and candles and it looks too beautiful from the foothill.
Kartik Poornima is another festival celebrated in this temple with great enthusiasm.
Apart from the Jain followers, visitors from different parts of the state visit the shrine during the festivals.
The place is open for visitors all over the year. Though, the monsoon is not suitable to visit there as the road becomes waterlogged. Apart from monsoon, visitors can go there any time of the year. Winter is the best time to explore if anyone wants to avoid the scorching heat of summer.
If you plan to visit the temple, you can contact authority at the number – 06558 – 232228/065558 – 232361 for more information.
The temple is one of the most famous Jain pilgrimages in India. Visitors come here and practice meditation to feel ultimate peace and serenity. The view of the city from the temple top is mesmerizing, which is one of the reasons why every year many people gather here.
How to Reach Sammed Shikharji, Parasnath Hill, Giridih, Major Pilgrimage Center of Jainism, Jharkhand, India
The nearby railway station to reach the temple is the Parasnath station. The temple is almost a 25 km distance from the Madhuban.
The nearby airport to reach the temple is the Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport at Durgapur, West Bengal. The Birsa Munda airport of Ranchi is also another convenient option.
Devotee has to cover Shikharji Yatra on same day as there is no facility to stay overnight on the Hill. You have to start early in the morning at around 3-4 am and reach 1st tonk around 9 am. Then try to complete darshan of all all tonks by about 1 pm and start return journey back. The total foot path trail distance to visit all 31 Tonks is around 27KM. 9 km is going up to the 1st Tonk, 9km is coming down and 9km is traversing all the tonks over the mountain top. 1st tonk is in the center of the mountain, while 12th tonk is on the far east side (about 3km) and 31st tonk is on the far west side (about 3 km). Yatra route is cement paved. First 4 km of initial trail is mostly flat, but the the trail is mostly steps as the steep climb starts.
Giridih being one of the major pilgrimage center along with important district and city of Jharkhand, it is very well connected with all major cities of India via road, rail and air network. Thousands of tourist across the world visits here throughout the year which makes Giridih more convenient in terms of travel, accommodation and other services. The nearest airport to Giridih is Ranchi airport which is located just at a distance of around 180 km from the city. Giridih has railway station which is connected to main cities of India. Giridih is located at 190 km from Ranchi, 68 km from Deoghar, 207 km from Gaya, 231 km from Khunti, 112 km from Basukinath, 132 km from Rajrappa.
