|
Shree Sammed Shikharji is the topmost light of 'nirvana'. Of the
twenty-four Tirthankaras of Jainism , twenty Tirthankaras
namely, Ajitnath, Sambhavnath, Abhinandan - prabhu, Sumatinath,
Padmprabhu, Suparshwanath, Chandraprabhu, Suvidhinath, Sheetalnath,
Shreyansnath, Vimalnath , Anantnath, Dharmnath, Shantinath,
Kunthunath, Arnath, Mallinath, Munisuvrat Swami , Neminath and
Parshwanath spent the evening of their lives on
this great mountain and attained the supreme status of 'moksha'.
Sammed Shikhar is an astonishing , unique
and awakened holy pilgrimage.
The
ancient reference of Sammed Shikhar has been made
in the scripture Jnatadharm Katha, the 'Parshwanath
Charitra' (biography of Parshwanath) of Kalpsutra, and
in the medieval literature 'Samidigiri' or 'Samadhigiri'. The
local People address it as Parasnath Hill. It is also mentionable
that this pilgrimage is called 'Sammet Shikhar' in the
Shwetambar tradition and 'Sammed Shikhar' in the Digambar tradition.
The
renovation work of this pilgrimage was done from Samvat 1925 to
1933. In renovation new 'dehris' (small temples with prominent
thresholds) of Lord Aadinath, Lord Vasupoojya, Neminath, Mahavir and
the eternal Jineshwar Shree Rishabhanan, Chandranan, Varishen,
Vardhmaan etc. The renovation of this pilgrimage was undertaken
again in Samvat 2012 which was completed in Samvat 2017.
The
journey to this holy pilgrimage rids misery, confers piety and
destroys sin. All around here 'Toonks' of Tirthankars have been
built. The First 'Toonk' is that of Ganadhar Gautam Swami. Images of
foot prints of twenty-four Tirthankars and ten Ganadhars have been
installed here. A few steps away from here stands the Toonk of Shree
Kunthunath, which was consecrated in Samvat 1825.
Near
Lord Shree Kunthunath's Toonk is the Toonk of the eternal Jina Shree
Rishabhanan. Close by is the Toonk of another eternal Jina
Chandranan. Near it is the fifth Toonk, of Tirthankar Shree
Neminath.The sixth Toonk belongs to Tirthankar Arnath. The Lord had
attained 'Nirvana' here on Margsheersh Shukla Dashami.
After comes the Toonk of Tirthankar Shree Mallinath. Here the holy
feet-marks were installed in Samvat 1825. Ahead of this is the
eighth Toonk, that of Tirthankar Shree Shreyansnath. Here too the
holy feet-marks were installed in Samvat 1825.
A little ahead there is the ninth Toonk. Here Tirthankar Shree
Suvidhinath had attained 'nirvan'. The tenth Toonk is that of
Tirthankar Padmaprabhu. The eleventh Toonk of Tirthankar Shree
Munisuvrat Swami. At a high summit a beautiful Toonk is seen from
here. This Toonk is dedicated to Tirthankar Shree Chandraprabhu.
The Jal-Mandir is 2 kms. away from here. On the way we get a glimpse
of Lord Shree Aadinath's Toonk. At a little distance away from here
is the fourteenth Toonk. The feet-marks of the fourteenth Tirthankar
Shree Anantnath are installed here. The fifteenth Toonk is that of
Tirthankar Shree Sheetalnath. The sixteenth Toonk belongs to Shree
Sambhavnath.
The
seventeenth Toonk is that of Lord Shree vasupoojya were installed in
Samvat 1825. The eighteenth Toonk is that of Tirthankar Shree
Abhinandan Swami installed in Samvat 1825.
The Jal Mandir stands at a little distance away from here is the
only temple on the entire Sammed Shikhar where the idols of the
Tirthankars are auspiciously present. On the three sides of the
temple there are natural 'Jalkunds' (ponds) . Therefore, it is
called 'Jal Mandir'. The dignified solemn idol of Lord Shamaliya
Parshwanath majestically installed in the temple as the principal
deity spontaneously soaks the heart with a sense of devotion.
On the way from Jal Mandir to Parasnath Toonk,is the twenty-first
Toonk of Tirthankar Shree Dharmnath. At some distance is the twenty
fourth Toonk of Tirthankar Shree Sumatinath. Here the Lord had
attained 'nirvana' on Chaitra Shukla Navami. The twenty-fifth Toonk
is that of Tirthankar Shree Shantinath.
The
twenty-sixth Toonk is that of Tirthankar Mahavir Swami. The
twenty-seventh Toonk belongs to Lord Shree Suparshwanath. Ahead of
this is the twenty-eighth Toonk, of Tirthankar Shree Vimalnath. The
twenty-ninth Toonk is that of Tirthankar Ajitnath. The thirtieth
Toonk has been dedicated to Tirthankar Neminath. The last and the
highest Toonk of the great Sammet Shikhar pilgrimage is that of Lord
Parshwanath.
The foot
of the Sammet Shikhar mountain is called Madhuvan. All around it
there are large clusters of trees sprinkling 'madhu' (honey). There
are several places of attraction as:
SHWETAMBAR KOTHI and TEMPLE: There
is an attractive temple of Shree Bhomiaji Maharaj, inside the Kothi.
There is also a huge Jina temple in the form of a cluster of eleven
temples. A 90 cm. idol of Baghavan Parshwanath is installed here as
the principal deity.
DIGAMBAR
JAIN TERAH PANTH KOTHI: There is a majestic temple of Lord Shree Chandraprabhu in the
middle of the Kothi. Samvasaran temple has been built on the left
side of the third door of this temple.
KACHCHHI BHAWAN : Fifty-two
Jinalayas have been built here. This temple houses the idols of many
Jain Tirthankars.
JAIN MUSEUM : This Museum has been
built by Shree Jityasha Foundation, Kolkata. On the first floor of
the museum many articles related janism have been collected. In
front of the sprawling hall the most majestic 6 feet high idol of
Lord Parsvwanath in the meditation posture is seated. All around on
the walls there is an exhibition of pictures depicting Jain
architecture. The museum also contains a collection of all the
postage stamps issued on Jainism. On the first floor there is a
collection of ancient art-pieces made of ivory and sandal-wood. On
the second floor of the museum, 50 scenes depicting special sequence
of events of Jainism have been shown.
Shri Digambar Jain Madhyalok Research Centre :
This Research Centre, which has been recently built depicts the 'Madhyalok'
as described in the Jain scriptures. The main building houses a
massive statue of Bhagavan Shri Parshwa Nath in a huge hall. A
library is being developed along-with research facilities for Jain
scholars. The president of the Centre is Shri Chand Mal Ji Saraogi
from Kishanganj, Bihar.
|
