Mulnayak
:- Nearly 92 cms high, black-colored idol of Bhagawan
Parshvanath (Bhagawan Shamaliya Parshvanath) in
the Padmasana posture.
Tirth :- It
is on the Samet Shikhar Hill near Madhuvan at a
height of 4450 feet from the sea-surface.
Guidelines :-
The nearest railway station of Girdih is at a distance
of nearly 25 kilometers from the tirth of Madhuvan
at the foot of the hill. Bus service and private
vehicles are available. One can climb the hill on
foot or in a swinging cot. There are Svetamber and
Digambar dharmashalas. There are good bhojanashalas,
too. On the hill, there is an arrangement for supplying
bathing water.
History
:- The history of this tirth is very ancient. This
paramount tirth was known by the names - Samet Shail,
Sametachal, Samet Giri, Samet Shikhari, Samadhi
Giri, Samidi Giri etc. At present, it is known as
Samet Shikhar or Parshvanath Pahad. Twenty Tirthankaras
of the preset group of twenty- four tirthnkaras
and a number of Tirthankaras of the past groups
of twenty- four Tirthankaras, attained salvation
on this holy land. There is a reference that in
the second century Acharya Padliptasuriji came on
a pilgrimage to this place by akashgamini vidya.
Palganj was the original foot of Samet Shikhar and
the present-day Madhuvan is at a distance of 20
kilometers from Palganj. Madhuvan is the present-day
foot of the hill. Since it was the land of penance
and of nirvana of many Tirthankaras and Sadhus,
every particle of this land is great, holy, and
adorable. A touch of this land purifies the human
birth. A pilgrimage to this sacred place removes
trouble adds to religious merits (punya) and destroys
bad karma of devotees. This tirth was renovated
many times and its last renovation was accomplished
sometime between the years 1803 and 1841 of the
Vikram era. Sheth Khushaldas often came on a pilgrimage
to this place and the idols had become very old.
It was difficult to identify the places of nirvana
of different Tirthankaras. Therefore, according
to instructions of Devavijayagani, he practiced
the penance of a three-day fast (attham) and muttered
prayers (jaap) to Padmavatidevi. He saw a dream.
Accordingly, he saw on the hill an auspicious figure
of Swastika with particular numbers. The places
of nirvana of tirthnkaras were fixed according to
the numbers. With blessings of the goddess, Khushaldas
built small temples of foot idols of these twenty
Tirthankaras, a large temple named jalmandir, the
Kothi dharmashala at the Madhuvan foot of the hill,
the temple of Bhomiyadev and the seven temples of
shamaliyaji Parshvanath and others. He thus performed
immortal acts of religious worship.
When His Holiness Acharyadev Sagaranandasurishvarji
came on a pilgrimage to this place in the year 1980-81
of the Vikram era, the twenty-second renovation
of this great sacred place was begun according to
his wish in the year 23012 of the Vikram era. Under
the auspices of Maneksagarsurishvarji Maharaja,
disciple of His Holiness Sagarandasurishvarji, the
jalmandir and the twenty-nine Devkulikas were installed.
As the name suggests, Madhuvan, the foot of the
hill is really a beautiful forest. At this foot
of the hill surrounded by hills, trees, gardens
and natural beauty, there is temple of Bhomiyadev.
There is a splendid hill-shaped idol. It is very
impressive. By merely seeing him, one makes one’s
journey comfortable. This actually wakeful idol
protects the denoted pilgrims who pray to it and
removes their obstacles. There are also a dharmashal,
a bhojanashal, a beautiful garden and a group of
eleven temples. They remind one of the chief tunk
of Palitana. The ascent on the hill begins from
a little distance beyond the Bhomiyadev temple.
The ascent of six miles, six miles of round journey
for seeing the tunk and descent of six miles make
a journey of 18 miles. If the journey is begun at
about 5 o’clock in the morning, it is completed
at about 4 O’clock in the evening. For a pilgrim,
it is desirable to keep a torch and a stick with
him. For using on the journey, food is given to
the pilgrims, when they return. It is convenient
to ascent by the way of the Jalmandir and descends
by the way of the tunk of Bhagawan Parshvanath.
When the pilgrims climb half the distance, the tunks
of nirvana places of Bhagawan are seen.
(1) The first tunk of Gautam Swami: The first tunk
is of Gautam Swami, the treasure of many achievements.
In the temples, there are foot-idols of twenty-
four Tirthankaras and Gautam Swami attained salvation
on the fifth hill in the city of Rajagrahi. But
the tunk is made for pilgrims to see. All the tunks
on Samet Shikhargiri are seen from this trunk.
(2) The Tunk of Bhagawan Kunthunath: In this tunk
of Bhagawan Kunthnath, the seventeenth Tirthankara,there
are black-colored foot-idols of Bhagawan. It is
also known as sandhargiri tunk.
(3) The third tunk of the Eternal Jina, Rusabhanan:
In this tunk there are black-colored foot-idols
of the Eternal Jina, Rishjabhanan.
(4) The fourth tunk of the eternal Jina Bhagawan
Chandranan: In thus tunk, there are white foot-idols
of Bhagawan Eterna Jina Chandranan.
(5) The fifth tunk of Bhagawan Neminath: In this
small temple, there is black foot-idolsof Bhagwan
Neminath. For Bhagawan Neminath a four-mouthed Jain
Temple is built. This tunk of Bhagaan Neminath the
twenty-first Tirthankara, is also known as Mitradhar
tunk.
(6) The sixth tunk of Bhagawan Arnath: In this tunk
of Bhagawan Arnath, the eighteenth Tirthankara,
there are black foot-idols of Bhagawan Arnath. There
is a new four-mouthed temple of Bhagawan Arnath.
It is known as the Natakgiri tunk.
(7) The seventh tunk of Bhagawan Mallinath: In this
tunk of Bhagawan Mallinath, the nineteenth Tirthankara
is also known as Sabalgiri. In it there are black
foot-idols of Bhagawan Mallinath.
(8) The eighth tunk of Bhagawan Shreyansanath: In
this tunk of Bhagawan Shroyansanath there are black
foot-idols of Bhagawan Shrenshanath. The tunk is
also known as Sankulgiri.
(9) The ninth tunk of Bhagawan Suvidhinath: In the
ninth tunk of Bhagawan Suvidhinath, there are at
present white foot-idols of Bhagawan Suvidhinath.
It is known as the suprabhgiri tunk.
(10) The tenth tunk of Bhagawan Padmaprabh Swami:
In this tunk of Bhagawan Padmaprabh Swami, the sixth
Tirthankara, there are at present black foot-idols
of Padmaprabha Swami. It is also known as the Mohangiri
tunk.
(11) The eleventh tunk of Munisurvat Swami: In this
tunk of Bhagawan Munisuvrat Swami, the twentieth
Tirthankra, there are at present black foot-idols
of Bhagawan Munisurvat Swami. It is also known as
the Nirjargiri tunk.
(12) The twelfth tunk of Chandra prabha Swami: In
this tunk of Chnadraprabha Swami, the eighth Tirthankara,
there are at present black foot-idols of Bhagawan.
It is known as the Lalitghat tunk. It is on a high
hill and the ascent on the hill is difficult. It
is at a distance of two miles from the Jalmandir.
Of all the caves on the high hills, here is the
biggest excellent cave. It is good for meditation
and sadhana.
(13) The thirteenth tunk of Bhagawan Risabhadev:
In this tunk of Bhagawan Risabhdev, the first Tirthankara,
there are white foot-idols of Bhagawan.
(14) The fourteenth tunk of Bhagawan Anantanath:
In this tunk of Bhagawan Anantanath, the fourteenth
Tirthankara, there are at present black foot-idols
of Bhagawan Anantanath. It is also known as the
Svayambhugiri tunk.
(15) The fifteenth tunk of Bhagawan Shitalnath:
In this tunk of Bhagawan Shitalnath, the tenth Tirthankara,
there are foot-idols of Bhagawan Shitalnath. It
is also known as the Vidyutgiri tunk. Its ascent
is difficult.
(16) The sixteenth tunk of Bhagawan Sambhavnath:
In this tunk of Bhagawan Sambhavnath, the third
Tirthankera, there are at present white foot-idols
of Bhagawan, It is also known as the Datt Dhaval
tunk.
(17) The seventeenth tunk of Bhagawan Vasupujya
Swami: In this tunk of Savupujyaswami, the twelfth
Tirthakara, there are at present his foot-idols.
(18) The eighteenth tunk of Bhagawan Abhinandan
Swami: In this tunk of Abhinandan Swami, the fourth
Tirthankara, there are his foot-idols. It is also
known as the Anadagiri tunk.
(19) The nineteenth tunk, the Jalmandir : This tunk
of Jalmandir is the splendid temple of shamaliya
Parshvanath. There are trees on three sides of it.
Shamaliya Parshvanath is Mulnayak in this temple,
which is among the spectacular places on the hills.
In thirty tunks on the hills, there are foot-idols.
The Tirthankara Bhagawan is seen only in this Jalmadir.
The open ground of the temple is beautiful. There
is vast open space, which can accommodate five hundred
people. There are two dharmashalas. There are facilities
for taking meals. In the chief sanctuary of the
temple, there are idols of Shamaliya Parshvanath,
Bhagawan Sambhavnath, and Bhagawan Abhinandan Swami.
In the sanctuaries and on the open grounds to the
right and to the left, there are idols of 28 Tirthnkaras,
gods, goddesses, and Parshva Yaksha. The great rich
merchant Khusaldas built this splendid temple in
the year 1825 of the Vikram era.
(20) The twentieth tunk of Ganadhar Subh Swami:
This is the tunk of Ganadhar Subh Swami. At present,
there are in it black foot-idols of Ganadhar Bhagawan.
(21) The twenty first tunk of Bhagawan Dharmanath:
In this tunk of Bhagawan Dharmanath the fifteenth
Tirthankara, there are at present the foot-idols
of Bhagawan. This tunk is also known by the name
Dattvargiri.
(22) The twenty-second tunk of Varisen, the eternal
Jina: In this tunk, there are at present the foot-idols
of Varisen.
(23) The twenty-third tunk of Vardhaman, the eternal
Jina: In this tunk, there are at present foot-idols
of Vardhaman, the eternal Jina.
(24) The twenty-fourth tunk of Bhagawan Sumatinath:
In this tunk of Bhagawan Sumatinath, the fith Tirthankara,
there are at present black foot-idols of Bhagawan.
This tunk is also known as the Achalgiri tunk.
(25) The twenty-fifth tunk of Bhagawan Shantinath:
In this tunk of Bhagawan Shantinath, the sixteenth
Tirthankara, there are at present black foot-idols
of Bhagawan. This tunk is also known as Prabhasgiri
tunk.
(26) The twenty-sixth tunk of Bhagawan
Mahavir Swami: In this tunk of Bhagawan Mahavir
Swami, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara, there are
his foot-idols.
(27) The twenty-seventh tunk of Bhagawan Suparshvanath:
In this tunk, there is black foot -idols of Bhagawan
Suparshvanath,the seventh Tirthankara in this tunk.
This tunk is also known as Prabhas tunk.
(28) The twenty eighth tunk of Bhagawan Vimalnath:
In the tunk of Bhagawan Vimalnath, the thirteenth
Tirthankara, there are at present the black foot-idols
of Bhagawan.
(29) The twenty-ninth tunk of Bhagawan Ajitnath:
In this tunk of Bhagawan Ajitnath, the second Tirthankara,
there are at present white foot-idols of Bhagawan.
(30) The thirteenth tunk of Bhagawan Neminath: In
this tunk of Bhagawan Neminath, the twenty-second
Tirthankara, there are at present white foot-idols
of Bhagawan.
(31) The thirty-first tunk of Bhagawan Parshvanath:
This tunk of Bhagawan Parshvanath, the twenty-third
Tirthankara is the Mokashanagari of Samet Shikharji
Giriraj. After seeing the thirty tunks, when one
reaches this Mokshanagari, one gets lost in the
real joy and delight of having directly seen paramatmas.
This is the highest tunk on the highest hill. There
are 80 upward steps leading to the Jain temple,
‘Meghadambar’ is another name of this tunk. There
are foot-idols of Bhagawan on the stone-slab where
Bhagawan attained the final liberation. He who comes
here with a solemn religious vow of going on pilgrimage
to Samet Shikhar offers a coconut God. This stone
slab is adorable. On this peak, there is a pinnacled
temple. In it there are foot-idols of Bhagawan Purusadaniya
Parshvanath.
After devotedly and respectfully bowing to Tirthankaras
and Sadhus from this highest tunk and strongly wishing
to make all souls interested in religion, one returns
to Madhuvan. On the way downward, there is a Dak
bungalow. There is also the Gadharvanal where food
is given for using on the journey. From the hill,
the group of peaks of temples below, looks like
a divine city. The building style and artistry of
all temples of Madhuvan are beautiful and spectacular.
With full devotion, pilgrims come to an end of the
great pilgrimage to Samet Shikhar, the land of nirvana
of Bhagawan Parshvanath who is free from attachment
and aversion.
Other Temples :- All the tunks and
temples on the hill are described in history. Besides,
the Madhuvan at the foot of the hill, there are
eight temples, two Dadawadis and the temple of Bhomiyaji
Maharaja. Besides, there are eight temples of Digamber
Vispantthis and nine temples of Digambar Terapanthis.
Works of art and Sculpture
:- The scene on the hill is serene, beautiful, delightful,
and suitable for sadhana. From the hill, the scene
of the temples of Madhuvan below, looks like a divine
city. Every temple has a distinct and handsome building
style. The natural beauty of the hill is delightful
beyond description.
