We travelled to Shikharji and other Tirth places nearby between 25th March and 6th April in 2014. Below is an account of our trip. We, for most part, visited only the Shwetambar temples, so information about Digambar temples is not covered here.

Note: All of the information given below is true as of April 7, 2014. Rates, rental charges, phone numbers and a lot of other things may have changed over time, so it’s always a good idea to check them before you plan your trip.

Places we visited

Madhuban

Distance: About 30 kms from Parasnath Station

Madhuban is the name of the dense forest that surrounds the Shikharji Mountains. Madhuban village is the closest place to Shikharji Taleti where you can find lodging and boarding facilities. It has a number of Shwetambar and Digambar Dharmashalas and also a market similar to one that you would typically associate with a tourist spot. Madhuban leads to the northern side of the Shikharji Mountain and this is where most people begin their Yatra from- the other less frequently used option is to go to Isri and climb the mountain from the southern side.

There are a number of Shwetambar and Digambar temples in Madhuban. The Shwetamabar ones are listed below (the order below is how one would typically visit them when starting from Shwetambar Kothi):

Shwetambar Kothi – This is apparently the oldest Shwetambar Dharamshala in Madhuban and has a number of Jain temples within its premises. It has an old Dharamshala and also a new Dharamshala with A/C rooms.
Kucchi Bhuvan – It has Chaumukhi Arihant prabhu, Chovisi in a Bhamti (cloister). Idols of Dev and Devi, Gandhar, Dadaguru idol and few other idols.
Bhomiya Bhuvan – It has a few temples inside, the prominent one being Bhaktamar Mandir. In another temple next to Bhaktamar Mandir, don’t forget to see Bhomiyaji in his prince Avatar.
Jain Museum (Shwetambar) – It has various models that among other things depict short stories of various Tirthankaras and saints as mentioned in the scriptures. There are also a couple of binoculars inside the museum which give a nice view of Chandraprabhu and Parasnath Toonks, so don’t forget to look out for them if you do visit the museum.
Jahaj Mandir – It is named so because it is designed in the shape of a “Jahaj” (ship). It has Lord Kalpataru Parshwanath as Mul-nayak.
Dharma Mangal temple – This is located inside beautiful premises of what the locals refer to as Vidyapith. There is a Dharmashala here and the atmosphere here is quite peaceful and serene. There are 2 lotus shaped Devi-kulika that host Padmavati Devi, Saraswati Devi, Ambika Devi and Lakshmi Devi.
Patal Parshwanath temple- It is situated inside police station premises and has very ancient Charan Padukas of Lord Parshwanath.

Note: I’d recommend that people keep aside 3-4 hours for visiting these temples. Note that the Museum closes at 6:30 pm (and earlier in winter I think) - so, plan accordingly.

Sammet Shikhar

This is the place where 20 Tirthankaras attained Nirvana (salvation). The 4 Tirthankaras who didn’t attain Nirvana here are Adinath Bhagwan(1st Tirthankar – Nirvan Bhumi Ashtapadji Tirth), Vasupujya Swami (12th Tirthankar - Nirvan Bhumi Champapuri), Neminath Bhagwan (22nd Tirthankar - Nirvan Bhumi Girnar) and Mahavir Swami Bhagwan (24thth Tirthankar - Nirvan Bhumi Pavapuri).

It has 30 Toonks and a Jal Mandir. A Toonk is a small marble shrine (also called a Deri) consisting of Charan Padukas (a small structure representing the foot) of the Bhagwan it is built for and may occasionally also have Charan Padukas of other Bhagwan. The 30 Toonks are listed below:

20 Nirvana Toonks – one for each of the 20 Tirthankaras who attained Nirvana here. Each Toonk is supposedly at the same spot from where these Tirthankaras attained Nirvana.
4 Toonks for the other 4 Tirthankaras who didn’t attain Nirvana here – one each for Adinath Bhagwan, Vaspujya Swami Bhagwan, Neminath Bhagwan and Mahavir Swami Bhagwan.
4 Toonks for the 4 Shashvat Tirthankaras - Shri Rishabh Prabhu, Shri Chandranan Prabhu, Shri Varishen Prabhu and Shri Vardhaman Prabhu
2 Toonks for Gandharas – one for Gautam Swami (Gandhar of Lord Mahavir Swami) and one for Shubham Swami (Gandhar of Lord Parshwanath)
Jal Mandir – this is the only temple which has Pratimajis (idols). It has Shamala Parshwanath Bhagwan as Mul-Nayak. This is the only temple on the Shikharji mountain where one can do Puja. Bathing facilities are available and light refreshments are also sold here.

The entire Yatra covers about 27 kms that involves 9 km climb, 9 km walk and another 9 km descent.

Rujuvalika

Distance: 20 kms from Madhuban

Rujuvalika is the name of the river on the banks of which Mahavir Swami attained Kevalgyan. Today, there is a Jain temple constructed at this location and the river itself is located a little further away. Another temple is being constructed on the back side of the main temple and it is slated for opening sometime this year (2014). From here, there is a clear view of the Rujuvalika river.

It has a small Dharamshala and Bhojanshala, so if you are in a small group, you can inform the Pedhi in advance and they can arrange for food and stay.

Note: The Panch Tirthi tour organizers generally don’t take you to the river, but I’d recommend spending some time meditating or doing Jaap at the river bank. If you plan on doing that, make sure the message is communicated to your tour organizer.

Giridih

Distance: Approx. 12 km from Rujuvalika

There is a Shwetambar Jain temple near the Giridih railway station. I believe it was constructed in 2008.

Bhagalpur

Distance: Approx. 240 km from Giridih

It is a fairly big city of Bihar and about 5-6 km away from Champapuri. There are at least two Shwetambar Jain temples here, although the standard Panch Tirthi tour only covers one of them. It has Vasupujya Swami as Mul-nayak.

Champapuri (Nathnagar)

Distance: Approx.5 km from Bhagalpur

It is an important pilgrimage center for Jains because it is the only place where all 5 Kalyanaks of a single Tirthankar (Vasupujya Swami - 12th Tirthankar) took place. Dharmashala and Bhojanshala are co-located within the main temple premises. There are 4 different temples inside the main temple premises:

Vasupujya Swami Mandir
Chovisi Mandir
Panch Kalyanak Temple
Navpad Mandir.

There is also a Dadawadi here. The Nirvana Kalyanak temple which is part of the Panch Kalyanak Temple is located in a cellar and is considered to be very sacred – it is said that this is the place where Vasupujya Swami did his Sadhna. The Pujaris too narrated some miraculous stories which according to them happened inside this cellar.

Kakandi

Distance: Approx. 120 km from Champapuri

It is known for Suvidhinath Bhagwan’s (9th Tirthankar) 4 Kalyanaks viz. Chyavan, Janma, Diksha and Kevalgyan. Kakandi is generally not covered in the standard Panch Tirthi Yatra package sold by most of the travel agents, so if you wish to go here, you need to add this to your itinerary and there is generally an extra charge for that –this is because even though it falls on the way between Champapuri and Lacchvad, an extra distance of about 20 km needs to be covered back and forth to reach Kakandi from Jamui (Jamui comes on the Champapuri-Lachwad route).

There is a temple here with Suvidhinath Bhagwan as Mul-nayak.

Lachwad/Kshatriya Kund

Distance: Approx. 40 km from Kakandi and 140 km from Champapuri

Located in a nice serene location with mountains in the backdrop, Lachwad is the place where you would take a halt for Kshatriya Kund yatra. Kshatriya Kund is well-known for 3 Kalyanaks of Mahavir Swami (24th Tirthankar) viz. Chyavan, Janma and Diksha. The Taleti of Kshatriya Kund Mountain is 5 km away from Lachwad village and is located on the banks of a river. From Lachwad, one can either go walking to the Taleti or hire a vehicle - even if you have your own private taxi, you must hire a jeep or some other means of transport from Lachwad to go to Taleti.

There are two temples at the Taleti – the first is a 1500 year old Chyavan Kalyanak temple located at the Chyavan Kalyanak spot and the other is the Diksha Kalyanak temple located at the Diksha Kalyanak spot.

Janma Kalyanak Mandir is located at the top of Kshatriya Kund Mountain and reaching it involves another 5 km arduous climb from the Taleti. This climb takes you through some beautiful landscapes but you would hardly find anyone on this road. Doli facility is available here.

There is beautiful temple in Lachwad itself and presently the idols from the Chyavan and Diksha Kalyanak temples have been brought here. These idols are made of black stone and are very beautiful. Dharmashala and Bhojanshala facilities are also available in Lachwad and the temple, Dharmashala and Bhojanshala are located within the same premises.

Note: It is strongly recommended that you travel in a reasonably big group for the Kshatriya Kund Mountain Yatra to avoid any untoward incidents. Since we were just 4, we were advised against doing the Yatra. So, we weren’t able to the Yatra and ended up staying at Lachwad for most of the day.

Guniyaji (aka Gunavaji)

Distance: Approx. 72 km from Lachwad

This is the place where Gautam Swami (Gandhar of Mahavir Swami) attained Kevalgyan. There is Jal Mandir here – it is smaller version of the Jal Mandir you would find at Pavapuri. It is said that Mahavir Swami’s Samavasaran was also held here.

Pavapuri

Distance: Approx 23 km from Guniyaji and 27 km from Pavapuri.

This is the place where Mahavir Swami attained Nirvana. Other less well-known facts about this place are:

This is the place where Mahavir Swami’s first Deshna occurred that led to the establishment of the Dharma Tirth and Chaturvidh Sangh (note the first Deshna of Lord Mahavir occurred immediately after he attained Kevalgyan but it was unsuccessful because there was no one worthy of taking Sarva-virati at that time. This is an “Accheru” i.e. something that generally never happens).
This is the place where Gandharva-vaad took place.
This is the Diksha Bhumi of Gautam Swami, Sudharma Swami and Sadhvi Chandanbala.
This is the place where the Dwadashangi was born out of the “Uppei Va, Vigamei va, Dhuvei Va” tripadi.

Pavapuri is also known by the name “Apapapuri” which means “the sinless town”. There are 4 important places here:

Nirvana Sthan (the place of Nirvana) Mandir
Old Samavasaran Mandir
New Samavasarn Mandir
Jal Mandir

Other than these, there are two temples located very close to Jal Mandir. They are Dadavadi and “Mahtab Bibi” Mandir.

Nirvana Bhumi Mandir

This is the place where Mahavir Swami attained Nirvana. A temple is built at this location and there is a big Dharmashala and a Bhojanshala located in the same premises.

The temple has Mahavir Swami as mul-nayak, with Rishabh Dev Bhagwan on one side and Shantinath Bhagwan on the other. The temple also has a Deri containing the original ancient Charan Paduka of Mahavir Swami.

New Samavasaran Mandir

The Samavasaran Mandir is at about 1.5 km distance from the Dharmashala and this is where Mahavir Swami gave his last Deshna for non-stop 48 hours prior to his Nirvana. There is a beautiful Samavasaran built at this location and has a 35 inch idol of Lord Mahavir. It is almost an exact replica of a real Samavasaran, albeit a smaller sized one.

There is another “Aradhana Temple” built across the Samavasaran temple which has a 61 inch idol of Lord Mahavir Swami. It has a large “Rang Mandap” providing enough space for one to do Chaityavandan, Akshat Puja, Fal puja, etc (something not possible at Samavasaran temple especially if you are in a big group).

It is said that after the last Deshna, Lord Mahavir went to Hastishala (the place where Nirvana Bhumi Mandir stands today) and left his earthly body here.

Old Samavasaran Mandir

This temple has a Deri containing Mahavir Swami’s ancient Charan Padukas. There is a story behind this which says that these Charan Padukas were originally at the place where the New Samavasaran Mandir is located today – in those days, there was nothing at this place other than a jungle and these Padukas were kept inside a Stupa built by Nandivardhan, the elder brother of Mahavir Swami. The shepherd boys who would come here to play would take out these Padukas from the Stupa and throw them inside an adjacent well (this well can be seen in the New Samavasaran Mandir). Mysteriously, the Padukas would reappear at their original location the next day (thanks to the “Dev/Devi” worshipping these Padukas) and this trend continued for a long time, until it dawned upon the authorities that these Padukas were too precious to be left alone in a jungle. To avoid any further Ashatana, a small Deri was constructed near Jal Mandir and the Padukas were brought here and installed at the hands of Ganga Rishi in V.S. 1645. This place is known today as the old Samavasaran Mandir.

Jal Mandir

Jal Mandir is built at the location where the last rites of Lord Mahavir swami were performed. It gives the appearance of being built inside a lotus lake - there is a pathway that leads you the temple and offers a beautiful view. It is said that there was a mad rush to collect the ashes of Mahavir Swami’s body and that even after the last of the ashes was collected, there was so much demand that people started collecting the sand and such was the demand that a pit was created and this is how this lake came into existence. There are also 2 other temples located very close to the Jal Mandir viz. Dadawadi and Mahtab Bibi Mandir. Jal Mandir is at a walking distance from the Dharamshala, but auto-rickshaws are also available.

Kundalpur

Distance: 23 km from Pavapuri

This is the birth-place of Gautam Swami (Gandhar of Mahavir Swami) and is located in Nalanda district. There are 3 temples here. The main temple has a number of very beautiful idols of Adinath Bhagwan (Mul-nayak), Shantinath Bhagwan, Neminath Bhagwan and a few other Tirthankaras– most of these idols are made of black-colored stone and are said to be very old. The temple itself has very peaceful atmosphere. The other temple has an idol of Gautam Swami while the third one has Charan Padukas of Gautam Swami.

There is a small Dharamshala here and food can be made available for a small group on demand.

Nalanda

Distance: 2 km from Kundalpur

This place is famous for the Nalanda University of the early medieval age – today you can find ruins of this great place at the archeological site that is spread over a vast area. A 30-min video film that talks about the history of Nalanda is also available for viewing at cost of Rs 40 per person. It is worth a watch before you visit the archeological site.

Rajgiri

Distance: 15 km from Nalanda

It holds great significance in the history of Jainism. Some facts related to this city:

This is the place where Lord Mahavir Swami did Chaturmas 14 times.
This is the place where 4 Kalyanaks of Munisuvrat Swami (20th Tirthankar) took place.
This is the place where 12th Tirthankar Lord Vasupujua Swami did his Parna after severe penance.
This is the place where some significant figures from Jain history such as King Shrenik, Abhaykumar, Dhanna, Shalibhadra, Sulsa Shravika, Puniya Shravak and Prasannachandra Rishi spent their lifetimes.
This is the place where 11 Gandharas including Gautam Swami attained Nirvana.

There is a Shwetambar temple in the heart of the city and is also very close to the Rajgiri railway station. It is known as the Golden temple. The temple has Munisuvrat Swami as Mul-nayak and there is another very ancient idol of Munisuvrat Swami that sits in front of the Mul-nayak. There are also other beautiful ancient idols inside the temple, the most notable among them being Lord Adinath Bhagwan’s idol with a Jata (matted hair on the head). There is a Gold temple in the cellar (Bhoyra) of this temple and it is so named because of the gold-like appearance created out of mirrored walls. It has Mahavir Swami as mul-nayak.

Dharamshala and Bhojanshala are also co-located within the main temple premises.

There are 5 mountains in Rajgiri of particular significance to Jains. These are:

Shri Vipulachal Parvat

It has some 555 steps, although the actual climb feels much more difficult. There is a Lord Munisuvrat Swami temple here, which has Munisuvrat Swami as Mul-nayak and it also has Charan Padukas of Adinath Bhagwan and Mahavir Swami. After about 250 steps on the way to the temple comes the shrine (Deri) of Aimutta Muni. There is a Digambar Samavasaran Mandir situated right opposite to the Shwetambar temple. There are also 3 other Digambar temples (one each for Chandraprabhu Swami, Mahavir Swami and Adinath Bhagwan) adjacent to the Shwetambar temple.

Shri Ratnagiri Parvat

There is a road from the back side of the Munisuvrat Swami temple at the first mountain that leads to this mountain – it consists of a short hike that goes a little up in the beginning and then there is a bit of descent. There are 300 steps in all. There is a Chaumakhi Mandir here with Chandraprabhu Swami as the Mul-nayak and the other three idols are those of Shantinath Bhagwan, Neminath Bhagwan and Shri Abhinandan Swami. There are also Charan Padukas of Neminath Bhagwan, Shantinath Bhagwan, Parshwanath Bhagwan and Vasupujya Swami Bhagwan here.

From the temple, you need to climb down in order to visit the remaining mountains and there are 1277 steps on the way down.

Shri Udaygiri Parvat

It has about 782 steps. There is a big Savaliya Parshwanath temple here and 2 Charan Padukas besides the idol. On 4 sides of the temple are 4 shrines (Deri) and each of them has one Charan Paduka. There is a Bhata Ghar at the Taleti of this mountain. The coupon for Bhata Ghar needs to be collected from the Pedhi so this must be done before beginning the mountain Yatra.

Shri Suvarnagiri Parvat

It has about 1064 steps. The attraction here is a temple made of Sangmarmar which has beautiful idol of Lord Adinath as well as Charan Padukas of Lord Mahavir Swami and other Tirthankaras. One needs to take forest department permit for climbing this mountain – they apparently send forest security officials who travel alongside you.

Shri Vaibhargiri Parvat

It has about 531 steps and is perhaps the most important amongst all 5 mountains. It is on this mountain where Lord Munisuvrat Swami attained Keval Gyan and 11 Gandhars attained Nirvana. There are 6 temples in all.

Other important attractions on this mountain are BrahmaKund and Pippal-Gufa. BrahmaKund comes immediately after you start climbing the mountain. It has 13 hot water Kunds and it is said that hot water is available here round the year. The water is considered to be sacred, especially by the Hindus.

And after another short climb upwards, on the right side of the way comes “Jarasandh’s seat” which is well-known as Pippal-Gufa (Pippal cave). It is said that Gautam Buddha visited this place many times. There are a few other caves on the inferior side of this cave.

The climb to the 6 temples from this location is long. The first temple is that of Lord Parshwanath. Next comes the Dhanna Shalibhadra temple – there is a small detour that one needs to take to reach this temple. It is said that this is the same place where Dhanna and Shalibhadra did their austerities before they died and reached Sarvartha Siddha Vimaan. The third temple is that of Lord Mahavira and the next is that of Lord Munisuvrat Swami. Situated next to Munisuvrat Swami’s temple is Vasupujya Swami temple. Most people finish their journey here and head down. However, the sixth temple of Gautam Swami is located further up after a 1.5 km climb. This is the place where 11 Gandhar attained Nirvana.

Other than these 5 mountains, there also a few other places of religious and tourist interests in Rajgiri, some of which are listed below:

Veerayatan (http://veerayatan.org/) – It has a nice museum.
Japanese Temple – a Buddhist temple. Bear in mind that the temple is closed between 12 - 1 pm, so plan accordingly.
Vishwashanti Stupa on Giddhkut Mountain – This Stupa is located on the top of a mountain. Rope way facility is available here for reaching the Stupa. The other option is to climb the mountain.
Maniyar Math
Songufa
Jarasandh Akhada
Bimbisar Jail – This is the jail where Ajatshatru, in greed of power, imprisoned his father Bimbisar. Today, the jail itself doesn’t exist, but there is square sized ground with a wall fence on the sides that is supposedly the jail site. I believe Jains refer to this as the jail where King Shrenik was held captive by his son Konik.

Our Program

Day 1 (25th March) - Begin Train Journey

We had booked our tickets for Parasnath Express (aka Asansol Express) from Ahmedabad to Parasnath. As luck would have it, our train arrived at Ahmedabad almost 2 hours late – instead of 11:30 pm on 25th March, it arrived at 1:30 am on the 26th March.

Day 2 (26th March) - Train journey

Nothing significant.

Day 3 (27th March) – End Train journey and reach Madhuban

Train was scheduled to reach Parasnath Station at about 8:15 am on 27th March, but instead reached at about 1 pm, so it was almost 5 hours late. Along with 5 other folks who we met at the station and were also looking to go to Madhuban, we hired a private vehicle (I think it was a 9-seater car, much like the Toyota Corolla) and it took about 30 minutes to reach Madhuban. The rent was Rs 85 per person.

We reached Shwetambar Kothi and booked a room there. There was a Sangh from Punjab as well at the same time and they had booked most of the rooms in the new Dharamshala. So, we ended up getting one in the old Dharamshala. It was a dark, small room – an old style room with no tube lights, but only a bulb and fan. That in itself wasn’t an issue – but it was full of mosquitoes and we had a hard time sleeping. The next day, we requested for another room and luckily there was a bigger room available, still in the old Dharamshala though. And with our mosquito experience the previous night, we made sure to close windows and doors of the room before dusk so as to avoid mosquitoes entering the room.

The Bhojanshala closes at 1:30 pm and it was already 2 pm by the time we reached, so we couldn’t have our lunch that day. We took some rest and had an early dinner. The food served in the Bhojanshala is simple but sufficient – that’s pretty much the trend we saw at most of the Bhojanshalas in this region.

We visited the temples inside Shwetambar Kothi including Bhomiyaji Mandir and slept early.

Day 4 (28th March) – Shikharji Yatra

Woke up early and left for Shikharji Jatra at about 4 am in the morning. We first visited the main temple in Shwetambar Kothi and then proceeded to the Bhomiyaji temple where we sought blessings for a safe Jatra - this is a standard practice for Shwetambars and there are a few stories of how Bhomiyaji helps if one gets lost during the Jatra. It was about 4:30 am when we reached the Taleti of the Shikarji Mountain. The Taleti is at about 5-7 min walking distance from Shwetambar Kothi.

After about 1.5 walk from Taleti comes the Kalikund Parshwanath Temple – it is still being built but the main temple seemed ready – it has nice big Lord Parshwanath idols with Kalikund Parshwanath as the Mul-nayak. We did a Laghu-chaityavandan there and then continued with the Jatra. After walking another 2-3 kms (total of about 3-4 kms from the base), we reached Gandharva-Nala where there is a Bhatha Ghar. Snacks (Boondi and Sev) are served here on the way back.

Just a little further ahead, there is a small bifurcation where one road leads you to the Gautam Swami Toonk and the other leads you directly to the Parasnath Toonk. Typically, people visit Gautam Swami Toonk first and Parasnath Toonk on the way back, so unless you have your own special plans, it is recommended that you continue on the road that leads you to Gautam Swami Toonk first. We followed the path leading to the Gautam Swami Toonk. The climb from here to the Gautam Swami Toonk is steep and about 6 km long. About half km before you reach this Toonk is located a Digambar temple.

We reached Gautam Swami Toonk at about 8 am, did Laghu Chaityavandan, etc and then proceeded towards Jal Mandir.

Note: People who want to cover all 31 Toonks typically do Chandraprabhu Toonk before going to Jal Mandir because the road around Chandraprabhu Toonk becomes mostly deserted after 11 am or so. And even the temple (more precisely, the Deri that houses Charan Paduka) there closes early than rest of the Toonks.

In our case, for personal reasons, we had to do Jal Mandir before Chandraprabhu Toonk.

The walk from Gautam Swami Toonk to Jal Mandir is only about 10-15 minutes and we reached there at about 8:30 am. Jal Mandir has Shamala Parshwanath as Mul-nayak. Prakshal Puja of Mul-nayak doesn’t begin before 9:30 am, but that of other Pratimajis is done early and so you can do Chandan Puja even if you reach earlier – as it was in our case. After doing Puja, Chaityavandan, etc, we left Jal Mandir at about 10 am and continued with our Jatra for the remaining Toonks.

We started from the other side of Jal Mandir (in the opposite direction that we entered) and this road leads to the Chandraprabhu Toonk. Quite a few other Toonks come on the way to Chandraprabhu Toonk and we worshiped at each of these Toonks. I won’t go into the specifics of the each Toonk because that information is available in most of the “Shikharji Yatra”–type books. Do leave a note send me an email if you’d like me to put up this information as well.

From Chandraprabhu Toonk, we started on the way back to the Gautam Swami Toonk. A number of other Toonks come on this way as well and after worshipping each of them, we reached Gautam Swami Toonk and then proceeded towards Parasnath Toonk. Again, a number of other Toonks come on the way leading to Parasnath Toonk and after worshipping each of them, we finally reached Parasnath Took at about 2:30 pm. The main temple here has Charan Paduka of Lord Parshwanath. And below this temple is small room/cave (famously known as Gufa) which contains a rock and it is said that this is the same rock which Lord Parshwanath last touched before he attained Nirvana. It is a nice place to meditate – it is said that the vibrations can still be felt here, especially by seekers who have progressed spiritually.

We began our climb down from Parasnath Toonk at about 3 pm and at about 5:30 pm, we were back to the Dharamshala at Shwetambar Kothi. Typically, it takes about 3 hours to reach Taleti, but we were a little faster in our descent hence covered the distance in lesser time. We reached just in time for the dinner (the sun sets early in this part of India) and then headed back to the Dharamshala room for some well-deserved rest after a long but thoroughly enjoyable 13-14 hour Yatra. We slept early that day, although the mosquitoes did their bit to ensure we didn’t get a sound sleep, this despite our best efforts to keep them away.

Day 5 (29th March) – Local sight seeing at Madhuban

Woke up a little late than usual and did Puja at various temples inside Shwetambar Kothi. Planned our travel for the remaining days and arranged for a Panch Tirthi Yarta with Magadh Travels – there are a few other travel options available, so even if you don’t plan it out in advance, you can find something once you reach Shikharji. We also visited most of the Shwetambar temples in Madhuban and also the Jain Museum.

Day 6 (30th March) - Rujuvalika, Giridih, Bhagalpur, Nathnagar and Night Halt at Champapuri

We had arranged for a private taxi with Magadh Travels and began our journey at about 6 am. We first reached Rujuvalika – it took about 20 minutes to reach there. We did Puja at the main temple, but there wasn’t enough time to go to the Rujuvalika river. We also had our Navkarshi at Rujuvalika. In the hind sight, I’d have liked spending some time at the river, but I only realized that the river was close-by as we were about to leave.

We left Rujuvalika at about 10 am for Giridih temple. We quickly did Darshan there and then proceeded towards Bhagalpur. The journey from Rujuvalika to Bhagalpur via Giridih took about 4-5 hours.

We visited the Jain temple in Bhagalpur city, spent a few minutes and then went to Nathnagar/Champapuri. We had our dinner at Champapuri and stayed there overnight.

Day 7 (31st March) - Kakandi and Lachwad

We did Puja at Champapuri at the Janma and Nirvana Kalyanak temples (part of the Panch Kalyanak temple) and spent some time at each of the other temples. We also had our Navkarshi there and then left for Kakandi at about 10:30 am. We reached Kakandi around 2pm, did Chaityavandan, etc and then proceeded towards Lachwad. We reached Lachwad at about 4 pm and had our dinner there. There was a nice Bhakti-Bhavana at night in the temple.

We inquired about doing Kshatriya Kund Yatra the next day, but were advised against it partly because we were alone and also because of the possibility of heightened violence on account of the impending Lok Sabha elections. After many deliberations, we decided against doing the Yatra and decided to spend time at the Lachwad temple itself.

The temple at Lachwad is nice and especially the Pratimajis (idols) that have been brought here from the Chyavan and Diksha Kalyanak temples at Kshatriya Kund Taleti are eye-pleasing. And so are the Lord Neminath and Lord Parshwanath idols. There is something about this place that gives you a nice feeling. The Pujari there (can’t remember his name) looked like a devotee in true sense of the word.

We met a Sadhak at Lachwad who had stayed alone in Shikharji at Jal Mandir and Parasnath Toonk for a few days without food and water. He was doing his Sadhna there and his general practice during such times is to do Choviyaar Upvas. In the past, he would also go to Girnarji for Sadhana. He recounted some interesting stories about his Sadhana and we considered ourselves fortunate to have met him.

Day 8 (1st April) - Guniyaji (aka Gunavaji) and Pavapuri.

We did Puja at Lachwad and also had our Navkarshi and lunch there. We left for Guniyaji at around 1 pm and reached there in about 45 minutes. We did Darshan, Chaitya vandan, etc at the Guniyaji temple. One refreshing thing about this temple is that there is a Digambar idol in the same Gabhara that has Shwetmbar idols.

We then left for Pavapuri and reached there at about 4 pm. We got a room in the Dharamshala at the Nirvana Bhumi Mandir and had our dinner here. Per the locals, it is safe to travel at night in Pavapuri (although we were advised to return by 8 pm). So, after dinner, we went to see the New Samavasaran Mandir. We hired an auto-rickshaw to take us to the New Samavasaran Mandir and Jal Mandir (where we would be dropped off) and were charged Rs 100. It just took some 10-15 minutes to reach the New Samavasaran Mandir, but we spent about an hour and half there. The Pujari there gave a nice and detailed explanation of the story of this temple as well as interesting insights into the structure of Samavasaran. We did Aarti both here and at the Aaradhana Mandir (that is opposite to the Samavasaran Mandir). We then went to see the Jal Mandir. But before going there, we visited the old Samavasarn Mandir, Mahtab Bibi temple and Dadawadi. All of these are situated very close to the Jal Mandir. Finally we visited Jal Mandir and did Aarti there.

Day 9 (2nd April) - Kundalpur, Nalanda and Rajgiri.

We did Puja at the Nirvana Bhumi Mandir in the morning and had our Navkarshi and lunch there. Like most of the places elsewhere, here too we were able to do Prakshal Puja and get the labh of Anga Luchna, etc. At about 1 pm, we left for Kundalpur, Nalanda and Rajgiri. Kundalpur isn’t too far from here and it took about 45 minutes or so to reach there. Besides the administrative staff, there was no one at the temple when we reached there. The main temple has beautiful and eye-captivating idols of Lord Rishabhnath, Lord Neminath and a few other Tirthankaras. Since there was no one around, the environment was very calm and peaceful and I felt like sitting there for a longer time. But since we had time constraints, we spent some 30-45 min or so and then left for Nalanda. Nalanda is hardly 2 kms from Kundalpur and we first saw the audio-visual presentation on the history of Nalanda – the tickets were 40 Rs per person. For those not too familiar with the history of Nalanda, I’d certainly recommend going for this presentation. And just a few hundred meters away is the archeological site where you can see the ruins of Nalanda University. It might be a good idea hiring a guide – we didn’t for we didn’t have enough time, but if you are someone who loves history, the archeological site would certainly interest you, so keep aside at least 1-2 hours for this. We then left for Rajgiri where we stayed at the Shwetambar Dharamshala in the city. As you enter the premises, the temple comes first and then the Dharamshala.

We had our dinner at Rajgiri and after planning our activities for the next day, took to be early.

Day 10 (3rd April) – Stayed at Rajgiri.

Got up early in the morning and started for the 5 Pahad Yatra at about 5 am – the plan was to go only to mountains 1 (Vipulachal Parvat) , 2 (Ratnagiri Parvat) and 5 (Vaibhargiri Parvat) because we were told that around this time (which is considered to be an off-season), the temples on these mountains close early (some as early as 11 am) because there are hardly any visitors.

We started walking towards 1st mountain Taleti (which is probably a 2-3 kms walk) in the hope of find a Tangawala (horse-cart) on the way, which we did. The fare we agreed on was Rs 350 for a Tanga for 2 of us (our parents decided to stay back, so it was only me and my wife). The way they work is that they take you to all the mountains one by one and wait at the Taleti of each of the mountains while you do the Yatra. Also covered are some of the sight-seeing places that Rajgiri is well-known for. There is no hard time limit on when you are supposed to return, but typically, people return by 2 pm. So, essentially you get a Tanga that’s reserved exclusively for you between 5 am – 2 pm.

In our case, we first stopped at the 1st mountain Taleti – we reached there around 5:45 am. We did our Jatra but since it was early morning, the Aimutta Muni Deri (that comes on the way to the temple at the top of First Mountain) was closed.

To reach the second mountain, there is a way that leads you there from the first mountain itself. So, we then did our second mountain Yatra and it was about 8 am by the time we got back down from the second mountain. The Tangawala was waiting for us at the Taleti of second mountain. Not too far from the second mountain are some of the sight-seeing places such as Bimbisar Jail, Vishwashanti Stupa at Gridhkut Mountain, Sona Bhandar, Jarasandh Akhada, Maniyar Math. We visited all of these but the Jarasandha Akhada which was apparently closed. We also took the ropeway to reach the Vishwashanti stup at Gridhkut Mountain.

We then went to the Taleti of 5th Mountain. The Taleti of 1st and 5th Mountain are opposite to each other. We began our 5th Mountain Yatra at about 10 am and it was already too hot by then. Even though there aren’t a lot of steps, the climb felt hard due to the scorching heat. Luckily, we had stuffed enough water and were also carrying pouches of Tang powder so were able to avoid dehydration. On the way, we saw one or two cave like structures, one of which is called the Pippal-Gufa. It is indeed a cave with enough room for someone to sit inside and meditate. It took us about 45 minutes to reach the first Parshwanath temple and to our dismay, it was closed, however we were able to view the idols through the door grills – so it wasn’t that bad. Then we went to the Dhanna-Shalibhadra temple which was also closed – again we were able to see the idols through the grills. Then we went to the Mahavir Swami temple which was closed too. But, luckily, the Pujari of this temple was sitting right there and was almost ready to head back down, but we got him to open the temple. We then went to Munisuvrat Swami temple and Vasupujya swami temple. We were in a dilemma as to whether we should go to Gautam Swami Nirvana Bhumi which was another 1.5 km climb up from the Munisuvrat Swami temple. Since it was too hot and there were no Yatris, the Pujari advised against doing that and so we decided to return back. On the way back, we went to the BrahmaKund, got our hands and feet wet in the hot water there and then came back down.

The Tangawala was waiting for us - he then took us to Veeraytan. Veeraytan has a beautiful museum depicting the life stories as well as sermons of various Tirthankaras. We spent some time at the museum and then went to the Padmavati Devi Deri and Guru Mandir, both of which are also located inside Veeraytan. The museum at Veeraytan is certainly worth a visit.

At a walking distance from Veeraytan is the Japanese temple. We went to the temple but it was closed (it closes between 12-1 pm). There is a garden that’s located right across the temple and we took a small walk there and then headed back to the Dharamshala. During our mountain Yatra, we also met a couple of Maharaj Sahebs belonging to BhuvanbhanuSuri Samuday and a group of Sadhvis of KalapurnaSuri Samuday.

We returned back around 2 pm, took some rest, did Puja at the Golden temple and had dinner there. The temple remains open for Puja until 4 pm, although you may have to wake up the temple Pujari if there aren’t many visitors.

Regarding safety in Rajgiri, the Pedhi manager told us that there was a marked improved in safety under Nitish Kumar’s rule, much better than what it used to be like during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s days. This perception was shared by a few other folks too whom we interacted with during our travel.

Day 11 (4th April) - Left for Ahmedabad via Patna

We did Puja at the temple and had our Navkarshi and lunch at the Bhojanshala. We also took a stroll in the close-by market and purchased some snacks for our journey back to Ahmedabad – there’s a big market at a walk-able distance from the Dharamshala.

Left for Rajgiri station at 1:15 pm and took the Intercity train that runs between Rajgiri and Patna. We reached Patna at about 6 pm. Since our train to Ahmedabad was at 11:30 pm, we had enough time and so we went to the market close to the Patna railway station and did a bit of shopping there. The train was on time and we were too tired so went to sleep as soon as the train departed.

Day 12 (5th April) - Train journey from Patna to Ahmedabad.

Nothing interesting to write about and no run-ins with co-passengers this time.

Day 13 (6th April) - Reached Ahmedabad early morning

Reached Ahmedabad about 6:30 am. Train was late by an hour.

Note: We have learnt that Parasnath Express is generally not on time, so if you follow strict Jain food habits (boiled water, home-cooked food, etc.), I’d recommend that you factor in the train delay in your food planning. In our case, we almost ran short of the food we took, but were lucky that we were able to get something in Rajgiri for our return trip.

Tips on how to plan your trip

What is a good time to visit?

The main question here is whether to do the Yatra during off-season or peak season. Peak season generally begins around Diwali (about Oct-Nov timeframe) and continues through the winter (until February or so). Depending on your personal choices, you may decide one way or the other. Some factors to consider:

During off season, the number of visitors is less, so if you are of the type who doesn’t like crowds, this might be a good time. Also, the temples are mostly empty during this time, so you’d get a very peaceful environment for doing mediation, puja, bhakti, etc.
Travelling in off season may sometimes pose a safety issue – especially if you are travelling in a small group, you may not be able to go to some of the places (such as Kshatriyakund) that are known to have security issues.
During off season, some of the temples tend to close early. This is especially true for the temples situated in the 5 mountains of Rajgiri .

How many days are required?

It depends on how much time you have and whether the intention is to do a “touch-n-go” type visit or actually spend quality time at these places.

Excluding the travel time for reaching Shikharji, you will need at least 2 days to cover most of the places listed above. Here’s a very conservative schedule if you had only two days:

Day 1 – Shikharji Yatra

Day 2 – a smaller Panch Tirthi that would cover the following places:

Rujuvalika
Giridih
Guniyaji
Pavapuri
Kundalpur
Nalanda
Rajgir (you’ll be dropped off at Rajgiri)

Although it would be much better if you could spend 4 days – 1 day for Shikharji Yatra and the remaining 3 for the Panch Tirthi. This is the standard time frame allotted by most of the tours for the Panch Tirthi. Ours was a more relaxed schedule and as you can see in our itinerary, we took 8-9 to cover all the places and this doesn’t include the train travel time to/from Ahmedabad.

Places worth spending longer times

For those looking for ideal places to spend longer times either for mediation or Bhakti, I’d recommend the following:

Lachwad
Kundalpur
Pavapuri
Champapuri
Rujuvalika

Especially, the atmosphere at Kundalpur and Lachwad was very peaceful and there were hardly any visitors. The temples there provided a very serene feeling and along with the magnificent idols, it just felt like staying there longer.

Another option for those who are used to staying alone and away from the glare is staying up atop the Shikharji Mountain. There is a Dak Bangla near the Parasnath Toonk and you could contact the temple authorities for arranging your stay there. It goes with saying that the facilities would be very limited and you might have to contend with some very basic food. But this place is for seekers. And if you are one of those who can do away with food for a few days you could also consider staying up at the Parasnath Toonk itself for a few days. We actually met someone during our trip who had stayed up once for about 7 days near Gautam Swami Toonk and once at the Parasnath Toonk for 3 days doing Attham (no food for 3 days).

Rujuvalika is another place where I’d have liked to spend more time – not at the temple where the tour folks take you to, but on the bank of the Rujuvalika River that flows right behind the temple. It is said that the atmosphere surrounding the river is very charged and that the vibrations can be still be felt - so, this is a good place for meditation.

Misc Tips and things to bear in mind

Except for Chandraprabhu and Parasnath Toonks, most of the other Toonks are located close to each other within a short walking distance, so even if you don’t intend on going to Chandraprabhu or Parasnath Toonk, you can still visit a lot of other Toonks, especially the ones that are located near Gautam Swami Toonk. The information about which Toonks are located close to each other is available in most of the books on Shikarji, so I’d recommend that you carry one such book.
Food served at most the Dharamshalas in this region is simple but sufficient – don’t expect any delicacies. This is quite unlike the Bhojanshalas in Gujarat where you can fancy your chances for getting some interesting food.
Mosquitoes can be annoying especially if you are traveling during summer or monsoon. We observed two distinct characteristics in the mosquitoes found here: (1) they seemed to have developed immunity to All-Out, but Good Knight cream did the trick for us. (2) They were not averse to biting you on the face and forehead if they didn’t find any other place to feast upon, unlike the mosquitoes in Gujarat who for most part stay away from this area of the body. So, do bring in a few packets of Good Knight/Odomos cream if you can’t tolerate mosquito stings.
Each and every staff member expects you to give them some Baksheesh (tip). This is understandable if you have used their services, but even if you are just visiting a temple, the staff there would expect you to give something. So, I’d recommend keeping aside some budget, say about 5000 Rs, only for Baksheesh. This trend is understandable because we saw a lot of poverty in this region and this gives us a chance to do something for the people here, even if it is limited to just the staff members. So, instead of cringing about this, please use this as an opportunity to do some donation.
Power cuts are very frequent, but they don’t last for a long time. So, make sure you charge your mobile phone when the power is available. This is also another reason why you should rely on mosquito repellent cream than using something like All-Out that requires power supply.
Due to the nature of Panch Tirthi Yatra, we had to skip our lunch a few times– in such cases, we were mostly dependent on the snacks we were carrying with us and fruits that we bought during the trip. You’ll come across quite a few fruit vendors on the way, so be prepared to skip meals and live on fruits.
Doliwallahs are available at most of the places that require you to climb the mountation. At Shikharji, the Doli prices are fixed and you can book a Doliwallah a day prior to your Yatra.
If you plan to cover all 31 Toonks at Shikharji, it is recommended that you do Chandraprabhu Toonk first because most of the pilgrims follow that route. However, like us, if you decide to first visit the Jal Mandir, be prepared for walking alone because you won’t find many people on the way to Chandraprabhu Toonk and back.
Please carry a book with you that has information about various Toonks and also a Shikarji mountain trail map.
There is a temple in this place called PalGanj that has a 2500 year old idol – this place isn’t covered in the Shwetambar Panch Tirthi but it might be worth talking with your Panch Tirthi travel agent to accommodate this in your itinerary. Similarly, do plan for spending some time at the Rujuvalika River because the travel folks won’t take you there. The river is at a walk-able distance from the temple.

Travel

Reaching Shikharji

There are a number of ways to reach Shikharji and the most common ones are to either reach Parasnath, Gaya, Patna or Kolkata and then take a taxi or train to reach Shikharji. More specific information about reaching Shikharji via train from various cities is given here: http://shikharjiup.org/reaching_shikharji.html

Panch Tirthi

There are multiple ways to do a Panch Tirthi. A lot of travel agents that offer Shikarji Yatra have Patna as the first stop and then cover the following places, typically in the order listed below:

Patna->Rajgiri->Gaya->Nalanda->Kundalpur->Pavapuri->Guniyaji->Lachwad/KshatriyaKund->Kakindi->Bhagalpur/Champapuri->Giridih->Rujivalika->Shikarji.

In our case, Shikharji was our first stop and our tour sequence was the following:

Shikarji->Rujuvalika->Giridih->Bhagalpur/Champapuri->Kakindi-> Lachwad/KshatriyaKund->Guniyaji->Pavapuri->Kundalpur->Nalanda->Rajgiri->Patna

We had skipped Gaya due to time constraints but it is close to Rajgiri and can be visited from Kundalpur en route Rajgiri.

As you may have noted, this sequence is almost the reverse of the sequence followed when beginning the tour from Patna.

Travel arrangements for Panch Tirthi once you reach Shikharji

There are a few travel agents who offer Panch Tirthi tours. Their offices are located in the Madhuban market and the trip arrangements can be made after you reach there.

We contacted Magadh Tours and Travels for our Panch Tirthi (this is not a recommendation but this information is given purely for the purposes of being useful to someone looking for a starting point).

Their contact information is:

Magadh Tour and Travels (Praveen Jain):

09162707844

09430349644

Our driver was Bullubhai. He was a very decent person and you can actually contact him directly to arrange your travel plans – this might save you some bucks because the travel agents usually would charge you more. Bullubhai’s phone number is: 07739773811

Shikharji Trail Map

Image Courtesy: http://www.siddhachalam.org/shikharji/shikharji_at_siddhachalam.php

Contact

Place	Lodging	Food	Contact Info	Comments
Shikharji	Yes	Yes	Jain Shwetambar Society (Shwetambar Kothi) Ph: 06558-232226 06558-232260	New Dharamshala is good, but old Dharamshala is truly old-style. The good thing is that there are quite a few temples inside the Shwetambar Kothi itself, so if that’s a criterion, then I’d recommend you stay here, even if you don’t get accommodation in the new one. Some other options that have Shwetambar temples are Kucchi Bhuwan, Bhomiya Bhuvan, Vidyapith (Lotus Mandir).
Rujuvalika	Yes	Yes	Jain Shwetambar Society Ruju Balika Tirth: Ph: 09801148309 09430669781	Bhojanshala was good and staff was co-operative. Have no idea about the Dharamshala facilities.
Lachwad	Yes	Yes	Jain Shwetambar Society, Shri Kshatirya Kund Tirth, Lachwad Ph: 08521515480	Rooms were decent but old-style. Bhojanshala was good. Staff was good overall.
Kakandi	Yes	Yes (on request)	Jain Shwetambar Society Kakandi Tirth Ph: 09430030815	There is no Bhojanshala, so advisable to plan for meal elsewhere (tea-coffee may be available)
Kundalpur	Yes	Yes (on request)	Shri Jain Shwetambar Bhandar Shri Kundalpur Tirth Ph: 09931057185 Website: www.pawapuritirth.org Email: info@pawapuritirth.org	We stayed here only for some time, so do not have any idea about the food or Dharmashala facilities.
Pawapuri	Yes	Yes	Shri Jain Shwetambar Bhandar Tirth Pavapuri (Main Temple at Nirvan Bhumi) Ph: 06112-294100 06112-249008 06112-249049 09386048718 09386194403 Website: www.pawapuritirth.org Email: info@pawapuritirth.org Shri Jain Shwetambar Samavasaran Tirth Pawapuri (New Samavasaran Mandir) Ph: 06112-294100 093860 48718	Both the Dharmashala and Bhojanshala are good. Way better than some of other places in this region.
Champapuri	Yes	Yes	Jain Shwetambar Society Champapuri Ph: 0641-2500205	Dharmashala is decent. The food at Bhojanshala is good too, but if you travelling in a small group, you will be better off if you informed the office in advance. This is because the traffic in off-season here is low and the food may not be ready.
Rajgir (Nalanda District)	Yes	Yes	Shri Jain Shwetambar Bhandar Tirth Rajgrih: 06112-255220 07488215220 09431490001	Rooms are old-style, so if you are looking for something more modern, Veeraytan is a better option. Bhojanshala is simple. The market is located very close to the Dharmashala, so you should be able to fulfill your food needs from if you don’t get everything you want in the Bhojanshala.

Useful Links and Books

http://www.siddhachalam.org/shikharji/shikharji_at_siddhachalam.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikharji

http://wikitravel.org/en/Parasnath_Hills

http://www.jain24.org/BookPDF/ENGLISH/Samet%20Shikharji%20description%20(2).pdf

Sammea Shailam Tamham Thunami – Dr. Shefali Shah

10 comments:

TechSavvyDecember 22, 2016 at 11:56 PM
very useful information... thanks alot

Ritesh jain
UnknownApril 11, 2017 at 10:45 AM
Thank you Sir.
RuchiSeptember 5, 2017 at 3:15 AM
Hats off to u...greatly u hv described things.
Thanks 4 sparing time and helping us by providing this information.
UnknownMay 27, 2018 at 6:05 AM
बहुत अच्छा सामाजिक प्रयास आपकी बहुत अनूमोदना
DipeshJuly 5, 2018 at 2:55 AM
Very good detailed information.
Jain PilgrimNovember 6, 2018 at 12:27 AM
Please note that only Jio and Airtel mobile networks work in Madhuban. If you have Idea,Vodafone,etc. you will not be able to connect to internet and mostly the phone will remain out of range.
UnknownNovember 19, 2018 at 3:03 AM
Excellently described n very helpful info
Sunil ShahJanuary 5, 2020 at 8:24 PM
Excellent information. Many thanks.
Jignesh V MehtaFebruary 15, 2020 at 3:43 AM
Dear Kunal...Excellent work. I will be visiting Sammet Shikharji for first time on 1st March 2020. I read the information you have given here and it helped me a lot to understand about the place. Thanks a lot for all the info you have given. Note - the 4 th link of Jain24.org did not redirect to any useful link.Suggestion - Kindy add PDF of the Map which is there in the 2 nd link u have provided of wikipedia.org - Jignesh - Date - 15-02-2020

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Sammet Shikharji Yatra from Gujarat

Shikharji Yatra