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Shankheshwar | |
---|---|
town | |
Coordinates: 23°30′36″N71°46′09″E / 23.510122°N 71.7692612°E | |
Country | India |
State | Gujarat |
District | Patan |
Languages | |
• Official | Gujarati, Hindi |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
PIN | 384246 |
Telephone code | 912722 |
Vehicle registration | GJ |
Website | gujaratindia |
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.
The village is considered a place of great antiquity. Jain Acharya Merutunga had mentioned this place as Shankhpur in his works. A Paliya in the north of village had date of Samvat 1322 (1265 AD). The current temple of Parshwanath was built in 1811. There are ruins of old Jain temple in the town which is dated Samvat 1652 (1596 AD). There is a Chhatra and a memorial inscription dedicated to Shripujya, a high priest near it. [1]
According to Mughal history, the Shankheshwar village was a lease-grant by Emperor Shah Jahan to Shantidas Jhaveri, a former nagarsheth (equivalent to mayor) of Ahmedabad. [2]
In ancient inscriptions, this Jain tirth is referred to as Shankhapur. It is said that a Shravaka by the name of Ashadhi was gripped by doubts and miseries about his existence in the material world, asking "When shall I attain nirvana? When shall I be free from the bondage of the material world? When shall I be liberated?" Answering all these questions, Damodar Swami, the ninth Jain Tirthankara, said: "Parshvanath will be the twenty-third Jain Tirthankara in the avasarpini kaal, i.e. the descending half of the wheel of time. You will be his Ganadhar (prime disciple) named Aryaghosha and attain salvation there." Ashadhi then became fully engrossed in his devotion to Parshwanath.A formal History of the precursor to this tirth was written by Jain monk and eminent scholar Hemachandra Suri in the reign of Solanki king Siddharaj Jayasinh of Anhilwara (Patan).
The following is a history of the various renovations of the main temple:
Apart from the original sanctum-sanctorum, this temple has an open square, a decorated square, a vast square and two assembly halls. Numerous miracles are associated with this temple and the presiding deity of Lord Parshwanath, represented by a six feet high statue in the Padmasana (lotus) position.
The sanctum of the presiding deity is flanked by a smaller sanctum with Lord Bhidbhanjan Parshvanath to the right and another sanctum with the Jain Tirthankara Lord Ajitanatha to the left. The statues of Nagraj Dharanendra, Goddess Padmavatidevi, Parshva Yaksha and Goddess Chakreshvaridevi can also be found in the temple. On the tenth day of the Jain calendar month of Pausha, the tenth day of the dark half of the Jain calendar month of Margashirsha, and during the festival of Diwali, thousands of pilgrims observe a three-day fast at the temple.
Besides this temple there are several other impressive Jain temples - the Agam Mandir, [3] the modern sprawling complex of 108 Parshvanath and Padmavati [108 Parshwanath Bhaktivihar Tirth], Shree Rajendrasuri Navkar Mandir, Kalapurnam Smriti Mandir, the Gurumandir, are important.
Shruth tirth [4] is located two kilometer southerly to Sankeshwar on Sankheswar-Viramgam Highway.
Further four kilometer south, there is Pavapuri Jalmandir at Ratanpura. The main Pawapuri tirth, the place where Lord Mahavira attained salvation is in the state of Bihar. [5]
Thus Shankeshwar tirth ranks next only to those on Mount Shatrunjaya in Palitana, (Gujarat) in terms of importance to the Jaina.
A fair is held here on the full moon days of the Hindu calendar months Chaitra, corresponding to March or April, and Kartik, corresponding to October or November, and the tenth day of the second half of Maghashirsha, corresponding to December or January.
The nearest railway stations are Harij (25]] km) and Viramgam (62 km). Bus services and private vehicles are also available. Boarding and lodging facilities are available at Jain hostels (dharam sala) in Shankheshwar. Nearest airport is Ahmedabad.
In Jainism, a tīrtha is used to refer both to pilgrimage sites as well as to the four sections of the sangha. A tirtha provides the inspiration to enable one to cross over from worldly engagement to the side of moksha.
Jainism has been present in Maharashtra since ancient times. The famous Ellora Caves demonstrate that Jainism was part of a thriving religious culture in Maharashtra in premodern times.
Jainism has had a notable following in Gujarat. According to the 2011 Census of India, around 0.959% of the population of Gujarat is Jain. There are several old Jain temples that draw pilgrims from Jains around the world in places such as Palitana, Taranga, Sankheshwar, Idar.
Taranga is a Jain pilgrimage center near Kheralu in Mehsana district, Gujarat, India, with two compounds of Jain temples that are important examples of the Māru-Gurjara style of architecture. The Ajitnatha temple, was constructed in 1161 by the Chaulukya king Kumarapala, under the advice of his teacher, Acharya Hemachandra. Both the main sects of Jainism are represented, with adjoining walled compounds: the Śvetāmbara compound consists of 14 temples in all, and there are also five Digambara-affiliated temples at Taranga hill.
Siddhasēna Divākara was a Jain monk of the Śvetāmbara sect in the fifth century CE who wrote works on Jain philosophy and epistemology. He was like the illuminator of the Jain order and therefore came to be known as Divākara, "Sun". He is credited with the authorship of many books, most of which are not available. Sanmatitarka is the first major Jain work on logic written in Sanskrit. Among the most popular of his works, the Kalyan Mandir Stotra is a Sanskrit hymn dedicated to the 23rd Tirthankara Parshvanatha. It is one of the 9 holiest recitations in the Śvetāmbara Murtipujak sect of Jainism.
The Shankheshwar Jain Temple is located in the center of Shankheshwar town of Patan district, Gujarat, India. The temple is dedicated to Parshwanath and is an important place of pilgrimage for the followers of Jainism.
Calcutta Jain Temple is a Jain temple at Badridas Temple Street, Gouribari in Maniktala and a major tourist attraction of Kolkata (Calcutta), India. The temple was built by a Jain named Rai Badridas Bahadoor Mookim in 1867. Pratishtha was done by Sri Kalyansurishwarji Maharaj.
Godiji Parshwanath is the name given to several images of the Tirthankara Parshvanantha in India, and to the temple where it is the main deity (mulanayaka). Parshwanath was the 23rd Tirthankara who attained nirvana in 777 BCE. All these images and temples belong to the Śvetāmbara sect of Jainism.
The Palitana temples, often known only as Palitana, are a large complex of Jain temples located on Shatrunjaya hills near Palitana in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India. Also known as "Padliptapur of Kathiawad" in historic texts, the dense collection of almost 900 small shrines and large temples have led many to call Palitana the "city of temples". It is one of the most sacred sites of the Śvetāmbara tradition within Jainism. The earliest temples in the complex date as far back as the 11th century CE.
Ancient idols of Jain Tirthankara were found in archaeological expeditions in Badli, Bhiwani, Dadri, Gurgaon, Hansi, Hisar (Agroha), Kasan, Nahad, Narnaul, Pehowa, Rewari, Rohad, Rohtak and Sonepat in Haryana. Agrawal Jain community traces its origins from Hisar. Guptisagar Dham Tirtha at Ganaur is a religious tourist spot in Haryana. It is named after the Jain Acharya Guptisagar.
There is a group of temples of Jainism on Mount Girnar near Junagadh in Junagadh district, Gujarat, India. While almost all the temples belong to the Śvetāmbara sect, some also belong to the Digambara sect. The hill is considered sacred by both Digambara and the Śvetāmbara branches of Jainism.
Shri Nageshwar Parshwanath Tirth or Shri Jain Shwetamber Nageshwar Parshwanath Tirth is a Jain Temple situated in Unhel, Jhalawar district, Rajasthan. This temple is dedicated to Parshvanatha, the 23rd Tirthankara. It is managed by Shri Jain Shwetamber Nageshwar Parshvanath Tirth Pedhi.
Nainagiri is a major pilgrimage site for Jainism in India. It is located in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, it is 12 km from Dalpatpur and 25 km from Bukswaha. This tirth, also known as Reshandigiri, is a Siddha Kshetra where five ancient saints including Varadatta had attained nirvana.
The Nagarparkar Jain Temples are located in the region around Nagarparkar, in Pakistan's southern Sindh province. The site consists of a collection of abandoned Śvetāmbara Jain temples, as well as a mosque heavily influenced by the architectural style of the temples. Buildings in the region date from the 12th to the 15th centuries - a period when Jain architectural expression was at its zenith. Frescoes at the Gori Temple are the oldest Jain frescoes still in existence in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. The temples were inscribed on the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage status in 2016 as the Nagarparkar Cultural Landscape.
The Mahavira Jain temple is built in Osian of Jodhpur District, Rajasthan. The temple is an important pilgrimage of the Oswal Jain community. This temple is the oldest surviving Jain temple in Western India and was built in 457 BC.
Panchasara Parshwanath Temple is a Śvetāmbara Jain temple located in Patan, Gujarat. The temple was constructed in 8th century during the reign of Vanaraja Chavda of Chavda dynasty.
Nakodaji Tirth is a major Jain tirth in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located between the villages of Vikrampura and Nakoda in Barmer District. The temple houses the icon of Nakoda Bhairava, a popular Śvetāmbara guardian deity. This pilgrimage site belongs to the Śvetāmbara sect of Jainism
Kalapurnasuri (1924–2002) was a Jain ascetic, philosopher and author of the Śvetāmbara sect. He was given the title of Adhyatmayogi based on his advanced spirituality and knowledge of scriptures.
Kalyansagarsuri was a 16th century Jain ascetic, reformer, philosopher, and researcher belonging to the Achal Gaccha of the Śvetāmbara Murtipujaka sect of Jainism.
2.Shankheshwar Parswanath Shankheshwara Solanki Jinalaya Bagol