Shikharji

Shikharji (Marathi: Śikharajī), Giridih district, Jharkhand, India, is located on Parasnath, the highest mountain of the Parasnath Range. It is a Tirtha (Jain pilgrimage site) believed to be the place where twenty of the twenty-four tirthankaras along with many other saints attained Moksha.

Etymology

Śikharjī means "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 through samadhi (meditative practices). 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.

Geography

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.

History

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.

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Parasnath

Parasnath is a mountain peak in the Parasnath Range. It is located towards the eastern end of the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Giridih district of the Indian state of Jharkhand, India.

On the mountaintop there is the Shikharji Jain temple, an important tirtha or Jain pilgrimage site.

Highest point in Jharkhand

At 1366 m Parasnath is the highest mountain peak in the state of Jharkhand. It is easily accessible from Parasnath railway station and there are waterfalls and other tourist attractions in the area.