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Kartik Purnima
or Kartik Poornima is an important religious day for Jains
and celebrated on the full moon day or the fifteenth lunar day of Kartik
This year Kartik Purnima being celebrated on November 10, 2011. The Kartik Purnima festival also
coincides with the Sikh festival of Guru Nanak Jayanti. Kartik
Purnima is also a holy day in Hinduism and also called as Tripuri poornima or Tripurari Poornima.
The day of Kartik Poornima holds significance in Jain
religion and devotees are kept away from worshipping their lord for four
months of monsoon and hence the first day attracts the maximum number of devotees. According to Jainism ,
Lord Adinath (श्रीआदिनाथ), the first tirthankara , sanctified the hills by visiting it to
deliver his first sermon. According to Jain texts ,millions of sadhus and sadhvis have attained salvation on these hills.
Kartik Purnima also assumes significance for the walk
to the hills temples. On the day of Kartik Poornima Jain pilgrims flock to the foothills of Shatrunjay hills
of Palitana Jain Temples in Gujarat to undertake the auspicious yatra,
known as the Shri Shantrunjay Teerth Yatra. This Yatra is an important religious event in
the life of a Jain devotee, who cover 216 km of rough mountainous terrain by foot to worship the Lord Adinath temple atop the
Shantrunjay hill.
Palitana Jain Temples |
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Lord Adinath (श्रीआदिनाथ) |
