Gajpanth

Gajpanth
Gajpanth Jain Mandir, Nashik, Maharashtra
Gajpanth
Basic information
Geographic coordinates	20°03′47″N 73°47′33″E / 20.0630539°N 73.7924618°ECoordinates: 20°03′47″N 73°47′33″E / 20.0630539°N 73.7924618°E
Affiliation	Jainism
Deity	Parshvanatha
District	Nashik
State	Maharashtra

Gajpanth (also spelled Gajpantha) is a Jain pilgrimage site (Sidh-ak-shetra) located near the Jain temple at Nashik.^[1][2] It is located in Masrul village, in the Nashik district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is 16 km (10 mi) from the Nashik Road Railway station and 5 km (3 mi) from Nashik City, and is situated on the steep slopes of a 400-foot-high (122 m) hill. The pilgrimage site is accessible via a staircase built in black stone, which leads directly to the temple.^[3] The hill has 450 steps, three caves (known as 'chamar leni), and several temples belonging to the Digambara sect of the Jains. There is also a sculpture depicting samavasarana (divine preaching hall of tirthankara) on the hills of Gajpanth.

History

Gajpanth is said to be the salvation place of seven Balabhadra (heroes) of the Jain Universal history, known as Vijay, Achal, Sudharma, Suprabh, Nandi, Nandimitra and Sudarshan. It is believed that the saints took eight crores of Yadav kings with them from this location to salvation.^[4] It is believed that many Jain monks (or sadhus) attained moksha from this hill.^[3]

References

1. Titze, Kurt; Bruhn, Klaus (1998), Jainism, p. 81, ISBN 9788120815346
2. "Doc firm on Santhara despite HC ban: I too want a beautiful death", The Indian Express
3. "Gajpantha Jain Temple", www.digambarjainonline.com
4. "Gajpantha", Jain Heritage Centres

External links

• Jaindata.com