The Tirthankaras
Sammed Shikhar
सम्मेद शिखर · સમ્મેદ શિખર
The hill where twenty Tirthankaras took their last step
- 5 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
In the forests of eastern India rises a hill that Jains call the king of all pilgrim places. This is the story of why twenty Tirthankaras chose it for the end of their journey, and of the pilgrims who still climb it barefoot before dawn.
What it teaches Pilgrimage Liberation Devotion
The opening of the children's telling
Far away in the east of India there is a big green hill. Its name is Sammed Shikhar. Some people call it Parasnath hill.
Long, long ago, the great teachers called Tirthankaras came to this hill. When their work in the world was done, they sat very still and became perfectly free. They were never born again. Twenty of them did this on this one hill.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Every long journey to the top is made of small, patient steps.
To talk about together
If you could walk up Shikharji with your family, what would you think about on the way?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.