6. Mangi Tungi
Mangi Tungi is a Siddha Kshetra located in Nashik District of Maharashtra. Mangi Tungi is a famous holy place of worship for Jainism. As per Jain mythology, Lord Ram, Hanuman, Sugriva, Nal, Neel, Mahaneel, Gava, Gavaksha and a total of 99 Crores monks attained salvation from Mangi Tungi. This place consists of two hills Mangi and Tungi. There are seven old temples on Mangi hill and so many images of feet of saints are installed here. In Tungi Hill, there are five temples along with the two caves named on Lord Chandraprabhu 8th Teerthankar of Jainism and other is Ram Chandra Cave. Nearby major Railway station from Mangi Tungi is Manmad which is approximately 75 km from here. The nearby major airport is located in Mumbai which is 295 km from Mangi Tungi.
7. Gajpantha
Gajpantha is a Siddha Kshetra located in Village Mhasrul and 5 km from Nashik in Maharashtra. From Gajpantha 7 balbhadras and 8 more crores, monks attained salvation. People need to climb around 450 steps to reach the temple. This place is also a very auspicious place for Jains. The nearest railway station is Nashik Road railway station which is 13 km away and it is 5 km from Nashik city. Major railway station from Gajpantha is Pune International Airport which is 216 km.
8. Rajgriha (Rajgir)
Rajgriha or Rajgir is a Siddha Kshetra located in Patna district of Bihar. Rajgir is a very ancient and holy Jain pilgrimage known for the complex of Jain temples and monasteries. This place has seen the Garbha, Janm, Tap and Gyan Kalyanak’s of Lord Munisuvratnath. Also, this place is where the 1st ‘ divyadwani ‘ of Lord Mahaveer took place. This pilgrimage consists of five hills comprise of Vipulachal, Ratnagiri, Udaygiri, Arungiri (Swarnagiri) and Vaibhavgiri hills. There are 10 Jain temples on the hills. Many monks have attained salvation here. Rajgriha has its own railway station and it’s around 1 km from the temple. The nearest airport from Rajgriha is Gaya which is 76 km.
9. Sonagiri
Sonagiri is a Siddha Kshetra located in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh. This place is very popular among Jain devotees since the time of Lord Chandraprabhu 8th Teerthankar of Jains. Around five and a half crores saint attained salvation from here. There are 103 temples, among them, 77 are on hill and 26 in the village mostly ancient. Temple no. 57 is the main temple on the hill. The principal deity in this temple is Lord Chandraprabhu, 11 feet in height and two other beautiful idols of 10th Teerthankar Lord Sheetalnath and 23rd Teerthankar Lord Parasnath. Sonagiri is 15km away from Datia railway junction. The nearest airport from Sonagiri is in Gwalior which is around 75km by road.
10. Muktagiri (Mendhagiri)
Muktagiri is a Siddha Kshetra located on the border of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh. It is situated in the lap of ‘Satpuda’ Mountain range surrounded by beautiful natural vegetation. Around 3 and a half crores of saints have attained salvation here making it one of the most sacred places for Jainism. There are 52 temples on the mountain divided into four or five groups and are located in different areas of the mountain, surrounding a beautiful waterfall. The waterfall can be seen mainly in monsoons. The principal deity is an ancient temple no. 10, which has the statue of Lord Sheetalnath 10th Teerthankar of Jains. There are separate routes for upward and downward journeys. The way to 51st and a 52nd temple is from the inside 50th temple. This inside route is quite dark. There are no lights in this inner passage so one has to ready with torch or cellphone flash. The downward journey route is also from 52nd Temple only. Nearest railway station from here is Badnera (Amravati) around 70 km and a major airport is Nagpur airport which is 215 km by road.
11. Palitana
Palitana is a town in Bhavnagar district, Gujrat, India. It is located 50 km southwest of Bhavnagar city and is a major pilgrimage center for Jains.
Palitana is the world’s only mountain that has more than 900 temples. The Palitana temples and whole mountain are considered as the most sacred pilgrimage place by the Jain community and are the world’s largest Temple Complex. There are more than 3000 temples located on the Shatrunjaya hills, exquisitely carved in marble.
Lord Mahaveer principle ‘Jiyo Aur Jeene Do’ should be followed by every individual. Wishing all of you Happy Mahaveer Jyanti.
The list is still incomplete as there are many Jain temples, we just took out some Siddha Kshetras to be visited, please share your experiences when you visit any of the places in the comments below.
