Shikharji

Shikharji, also called Sammed Shikharji, crowns Parasnath hill in Giridih district, the highest point in Jharkhand at about 1,370 metres. Jains of both the Digambara and Svetambara traditions regard it as their most important tirtha, because twenty of the twenty-four tirthankaras, among them Parshvanatha, are believed to have attained moksha here through meditation. The name means venerable peak, and the hill itself is named after Parshvanatha.

The site is mentioned in Jain scripture compiled in the 6th century BCE, and patrons have built temples here for centuries. Vastupala, the Vaghela minister, raised a temple with twenty tirthankara images, Akbar granted management of the hill to the Jain community in 1583, and merchants from Agra and the Jagat Seth family of Murshidabad funded later shrines. Pilgrims climb the hill to visit its temples. The pilgrimage starts at Palganj and continues to Madhuban at the foot of the hill, and the full round from Madhuban to the summit and back is about 57 km, made on foot or in a doli.