Tirth Kshetras of Maharashtra
Kunthalgiri, Mangi-Tungi, Gajpanth, Ellora, and how to reach them from Ambajogai.
History and tradition
3 min read
Memocap, The Indra Sabha, Cave 32 at Ellora, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP.
Two kinds of kshetra
Jain pilgrimage sites fall into two categories. A siddha kshetra is a place from which a soul attained liberation, and these are the most revered. An atishaya kshetra is associated with a remarkable event or an image of particular significance.
Maharashtra has both in number, a consequence of the Digambar migration into the Deccan described in the history of Jain dharma. Several are within a day's travel of Ambajogai.
The kshetras
- Kunthalgiri, Dharashiv district
- A siddha kshetra on a hill in Bhoom taluka, and the nearest of these to Ambajogai. Munis Kulbhushan and Deshbhushan attained liberation here. The site holds a group of Digambar temples and is a working ascetic centre rather than only a monument.
- Mangi-Tungi, near Nashik
- Twin peaks joined by a plateau, Mangi at about 4,343 feet and Tungi slightly higher at 4,366. A siddha kshetra of the first rank, held to be the place from which a great many souls including Ram, Hanuman and Sugriv attained liberation in the Jain telling of that story. The rock faces carry carved images along the circumambulation path.
- Gajpanth, near Nashik
- A siddha kshetra on a hill at Mhasrul, reached by a long flight of steps, with an ancient Digambar temple at the summit. Often visited together with Mangi-Tungi.
- Ellora caves 30 to 34, near Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
- Five Jain caves at the northern end of the Ellora complex, cut in the 9th and 10th centuries under the Rashtrakutas. Cave 32, the Indra Sabha, is a two storey hall with a free standing shrine in its courtyard, all carved downward out of one mass of basalt. This is the oldest substantial Jain monument in the region and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Deepan Choudhary, Mangi Tungi twin pinnacle, CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP.
Beyond Maharashtra
Two sites outside the state matter to anyone connected with this mandir. Shikharji, Sammed Shikhar in Jharkhand, is where twenty of the twenty-four Tirthankars attained liberation, Bhagwan Vimalnath among them, and it is the most revered Jain site anywhere. Shravanabelagola in Karnataka holds the monolithic image of Bahubali, and it is where Acharya Bhadrabahu and Chandragupta Maurya ended their lives.
Ananth H V, Shravanabelagola Hillview, CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized and converted to WebP.
Terms on this page
- Siddha kshetraसिद्ध क्षेत्र
- A place from which a soul attained liberation. The highest category of Jain pilgrimage site.
- Atishaya kshetraअतिशय क्षेत्र
- A place associated with a remarkable event or an image held to be especially significant.