Parasnath Hills
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The word Parasnath comes from the 23rd Jain Tirthankara Shri Parshwanath Bhagwan. Parasnath hills are a range of small to medium size hills (highest peak 1350 meters) and are located in Jharkhand state, eastern India. They make up the highest mountain south of the Himalayas [1].
In Jainism, the Parasnath hills are referred to as Shri Sammet Shikhar Teerth. They are one of the two most prominent Jain pilgrimage centers, the other being Shetrunjaya, located in Gujarat State of Western India.
Twenty Jain Tirthankars, out of twenty-four attained salvation in the Parasanth hills. Jains believe that ordinarily, all 24 attain nirvana at this location. The current time cycle is known as the Hundav Avsarpini, in which events and situations are found to be worse than in past time cycles. These 20 Tirthankars are:
- Ajitnath
- Sambhavnath
- Abhinandan
- Sumatinath
- Padmprabhu
- Suparshwanath
- Chandraprabhu
- Suvidhinath
- Sheetalnath
- Shreyansnath
- Vimalnath
- Anantnath
- Dharmnath
- Shantinath
- Kunthunath
- Arnath
- Mallinath
- Munisuvrat Swami
- Naminath
- Parshwanath
It is an exotic place to visit with innumerable temples, shrines and meditation halls in the midst of natural scenery and wildlife. The Parasnath Hills (Madhuban) can be reached by train or by road from Giridih or Parasnath Station. Both the Jain Svetambara and Digambar sects have established their Dharamshalas or Ashrams here to accommodate the pilgrims to this the second most holy place for Jains from all over the world. One can stay in hotel Bhuvan located in Ishri Bazaar(1 km from Parasnath Railway Station). The food and snacks in this hotel specially Ras Malai is awesome.
