In
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...
, a ''tīrtha'' ( sa, तीर्थ "
ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
, a shallow part of a body of water that may be easily crossed") is used to refer both to
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
sites as well as to the four sections of the ''
sangha
Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...
''. A ''tirtha'' provides the inspiration to enable one to cross over from worldly engagement to the side of ''
moksha
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...
''.
Jain ''tirthas'' are located throughout India. Often a ''tirtha'' has a number of temples as well as residences (dharmashala) for the pilgrims and wandering monks and scholars.
Types
''Tirtha'' sites include:
* ''Siddhakshetra''s or site of ''
moksha
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...
'' liberation of an ''
arihant'' (''kevalin'') or
Tirthankara
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passag ...
s like
Ashtapada Hill,
Shikharji
Shri Sammet Shikharji () is a pilgrimage site in Giridih district, Jharkhand, India. It is located on Parasnath hill, the highest mountain in the state of Jharkhand. It is the most important Jain Tirtha (pilgrimage site) by both Digambara and ...
,
Girnar
Girnar is an ancient hill in Junagadh, Gujarat, India.
Geology
Mount Girnar is a major igneous plutonic complex which intruded into the basalts towards the close of the Deccan Trap period. The rock types identified in this complex are gab ...
,
Pawapuri
Pawapuri or Pavapuri (also called Apapapuri, meaning "the sinless town") is a holy site for Jains located in the Nalanda district of Bihar state in Eastern India. It is located about 19 kilometers from Rajgir and 101 kilometers from Patna, th ...
,
Palitana
Pālītāṇā is a city in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India. It is located 50 km southwest of Bhavnagar city and is a major pilgrimage centre ("shashwat tirth") for Jains. It is first of the two vegetarian cities in the world.
Histor ...
,
Mangi-Tungi
Mangi-Tungi is a prominent twin-pinnacled peak with plateau in between, located near Tahrabad about 125 km from Nashik, Maharashtra, India. Mangi, high above sea level, is the western pinnacle and Tungi, high, the eastern. Mangi-Tungi ...
and
Champapuri
Champapuri is a village in Bhagalpur district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the site of the ancient city of Champa, the capital of the Anga mahajanapada.
Champapuri is claimed to be the only place where all the five kalyanas- garbha, j ...
(capital of
Anga
Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas.
Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...
)
* ''Atishayakshetra''s where divine events have occurred like
Mahavirji
Shri Mahavir Ji is an important and prominent Jain pilgrimage site situated in Shri Mahaveerji town in Hindaun Block, Karauli district in Rajasthan. Given the importance of the religious place, the Indian Railways has specifically developed ...
,
Rishabhdeo
Rikhabdeo (aka Rishabhadeo) is a census town in Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan, in north-west India.
Rishabhadeo is situated from Udaipur and is on Udaipur-Ahmedabad Road. The name of the town is also Dhulev The place got its name ...
,
Kundalpur
Kundalpur is a town located in Damoh district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Located northeast of the city of Damoh, Kundalpur is a pilgrimage site for Jains.
Location
Nearby cities include Damoh , Sagar , and Jabalpur . The near ...
,
Aharji
Aharji is a historical pilgrimage site for Jainism in India. It is located in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, on the road from Tikamgarh to Chhatarpur. This place is famous for Jain Temple.
Aharji Jain Teerth
Aharji is a place full ...
etc.
* ''Puranakshetra''s associated with lives of great men like
Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...
,
Vidisha
Vidisha (विदिशा, formerly known as Bhelsa and known as Besnagar in ancient times) is a city in central Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located 62.5 km northeast of the state capital, Bhopal. The name "Vidisha" is derived from th ...
,
Hastinapur
Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ''Hastinapura'', described in Hindu texts such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the Puranas as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom, is also mentioned in ancient Jain tex ...
, and
Rajgir
Rajgir, meaning "The City of Kings," is a historic town in the district of Nalanda in Bihar, India. As the ancient seat and capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty and the Mauryan Empire, as well as the d ...
* ''Gyanakshetra'': associated with famous ''
acharya
In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a tit ...
s'' or centers of learning like
Mohankheda
Mohan Kheda is a Svetambara Jain tirtha (pilgrimage place) located in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh in India. The site is situated from Indore and from Dhar on the Indore-Ahmedabad Highway. It was established by Acharya Rajendrasuri (182 ...
,
Shravanabelagola
Shravanabelagola () is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is from Bengaluru. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas (pilgrimage des ...
and
Ladnu
Ladnu, also Ladnun, is a city and a municipality, nearby Nagaur city in Nagaur district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a Tehsil headquarters of Nagaur district. This city is famous as the birthplace of sacred Jain Aacharya Tulsi. It i ...
Locations
Geographically, the ''tirthas'' are divided into six quarters:
[Bharat ke Digambar Jain Tirth, Volume 1, Balbhadra Jain, 1974]
* North India:
Hastinapur
Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ''Hastinapura'', described in Hindu texts such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the Puranas as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom, is also mentioned in ancient Jain tex ...
,
Taxila
Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...
, and
Ashtapada
Ashtāpada ( sa, अष्टापद) or Ashtapadi is an Indian board game which predates chess and was mentioned on the List of Buddha games, list of games that Gautama Buddha would not play. Chaturanga, which could be played on the same , appe ...
* South India:
Shravanabelagola
Shravanabelagola () is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is from Bengaluru. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas (pilgrimage des ...
,
Sankighatta
Sankighatta, The name comes from Settra + Ghatta = Settraghatta and is pronounced as Sankighatta. In Kannada language Settra (Settru family) + Ghatta (Place) literal meaning is ""place of Settru"". Dallina Vardaman Mahaveera Thirtankara is th ...
,
Moodabidri
Moodabidri ( kn, ಮೂಡುಬಿದಿರೆ ''Mūḍubidire''; also called Mudbidri, Moodbidre and Bedra), is a town and taluk in Dakshina Kannada district. It lies 34 km northeast of the district headquarters, Mangalore, in Karna ...
,
Humbaj
Humcha / Hombuja is a small village near Ripponpet, Hosanagara taluk in Shimoga district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Humbaja Atishaya Jain Teerth Kshetra is famous for being home to an ancient temple of Goddess Padmavati, and to the Hu ...
,
Anantnath Swami Temple
Anantnath Swami Temple (also known as the Puliyarmala Jain Temple is a Jain temple located at Puliyarmala, 6 km from Kalpetta in the Wayanad district in the state of Kerala in India. It is dedicated to Anantnath Swami, a Tirthankar of the ...
,
Gummileru
Gummileru is a village in Konaseema district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Alamuru mandal
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia ...
* Eastern India:
Shikharji
Shri Sammet Shikharji () is a pilgrimage site in Giridih district, Jharkhand, India. It is located on Parasnath hill, the highest mountain in the state of Jharkhand. It is the most important Jain Tirtha (pilgrimage site) by both Digambara and ...
,
Pawapuri
Pawapuri or Pavapuri (also called Apapapuri, meaning "the sinless town") is a holy site for Jains located in the Nalanda district of Bihar state in Eastern India. It is located about 19 kilometers from Rajgir and 101 kilometers from Patna, th ...
,
Champapuri
Champapuri is a village in Bhagalpur district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the site of the ancient city of Champa, the capital of the Anga mahajanapada.
Champapuri is claimed to be the only place where all the five kalyanas- garbha, j ...
,
Pundravardhana
Pundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom ( sa, Puṇḍravardhana), was an ancient kingdom during the Iron Age period in India with a territory that included parts of present-day Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions of Bangladesh as well as the West Dinaj ...
* Western India:
Palitana
Pālītāṇā is a city in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India. It is located 50 km southwest of Bhavnagar city and is a major pilgrimage centre ("shashwat tirth") for Jains. It is first of the two vegetarian cities in the world.
Histor ...
,
Girnar
Girnar is an ancient hill in Junagadh, Gujarat, India.
Geology
Mount Girnar is a major igneous plutonic complex which intruded into the basalts towards the close of the Deccan Trap period. The rock types identified in this complex are gab ...
,
Mount Abu
Mount Abu () is a hill station in the Aravalli Range in Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India.The mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. The highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhar at above s ...
,
Mahavirji
Shri Mahavir Ji is an important and prominent Jain pilgrimage site situated in Shri Mahaveerji town in Hindaun Block, Karauli district in Rajasthan. Given the importance of the religious place, the Indian Railways has specifically developed ...
,
Shankheshwar
Shankheshwar is a town in the Patan district of Gujarat state of India. It is an important place of pilgrimage for the followers of Jainism.
History
The village is considered a place of great antiquity. Jain Acharya Merutunga had mentioned t ...
,
Mahudi
Mahudi is a town in Mansa taluka of Gandhinagar district, Gujarat, India situated on the banks of Madhumati river, a tributary of Sabarmati River. It is a pilgrimage centre of Jains and other communities visiting temple of Jain deity, Ghanta ...
* Central India:
Vidisha
Vidisha (विदिशा, formerly known as Bhelsa and known as Besnagar in ancient times) is a city in central Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located 62.5 km northeast of the state capital, Bhopal. The name "Vidisha" is derived from th ...
,
Kundalpur
Kundalpur is a town located in Damoh district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Located northeast of the city of Damoh, Kundalpur is a pilgrimage site for Jains.
Location
Nearby cities include Damoh , Sagar , and Jabalpur . The near ...
,
Sonagiri
Sonagiri ( hi, सोनागिरी) or Swarnagiri about 60 km from Gwalior, has scores of Jain temples dating from the 9th century onwards. It is located in the Datia district of Madhya Pradesh, India. This location is popular among ...
,
Muktagiri
Muktagiri, or Mendhagiri, is a Jain pilgrimage centre, located on border of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra in India. It comes under Bhainsdehi tehsil of Betul district and is from Paratwada in Amravati district.
Jain temple
It is believe ...
* Overseas:
Siddhachalam,
Nava Ashtapada
The Jain Center of America (JCA) was the first Jain temple organized and registered in America, in 1976, and is the oldest Jain temple in the Western hemisphere. The temple is located at 43-11 Ithaca Street, in Elmhurst, Queens, Elmhurst, Queens, ...
,
Siddhayatan
Siddhayatan, is a Jain-Hindu Tirth (pilgrimage site) in North America founded in 2008 by Acharya Shree Yogeesh. It is located on a site at Windom near Dallas, Texas, United States. Siddhayatan currently has miniatured versions of pilgrimage site ...
See also
*
Jain temple
A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings ge ...
*
Tirtha (Hinduism)
Tirtha ( sa, तीर्थ, ) is a Sanskrit word that means "crossing place, ford", and refers to any place, text or person that is holy. It particularly refers to pilgrimage sites and holy places in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
The proc ...
*
Vividha Tirtha Kalpa
''Vividha Tirtha Kalpa'' is a widely cited Jain text composed by Jinaprabha Suri in the 14th century CE. It is a compilation of about 60 Kalpas (sections), most of them give the accounts of major Jain Tirthas.
''Vividha Tirtha Kalpa'' is an e ...
References
External links
jainuniversity.org Jain Tirtha all over India
http://www.jainteerth.comhttp://tirth.jinvani.comhttp://www.jainpilgrimages.comhttp://www.jaintirths.comhttp://www.siddhayatan.orgFirst Hindu-Jain Tirth in North America
Shri Nageshwar ParshwanathJain Tirth Darshan on jainreligion.in
{{Jainism topics
Jain pilgrimage sites
Pilgrimage in India