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Shikharji (), also known as Sammet or Sammed Shikharji, is one of the holiest pilgrimage sites for Jains, in Giridih district, Jharkhand. It is located on Parasnath hill, the highest mountain in the state of Jharkhand. It is the most important Jain Tirtha (pilgrimage site), for it is the place where twenty of the twenty-four Jain (supreme preachers of Dharma) along with many other monks attained Moksha. It is one of the seven principal pilgrimage destinations along with Girnar, Pawapuri, Champapuri, Dilwara, Palitana and Kailash.
Modern history records show that Shikharji Hill is regarded as the place of worship of the Jain community. Vastupala, prime minister during the reign of king Vīradhavala and Vigraharaja IV of Vaghela dynasty, constructed a Jain temple housing 20 Cult image of Tirthankaras. The temple also housed images of his ancestors and Samavasarana. During the regime of Mughal Empire's rule in India, Emperor Akbar in the year 1583 had passed an firman (official order) granting the management of Shikharji Hill to the Jain community under the leadership of Harivijaya Suri to prevent the Animal sacrifice in the vicinity. Seth Hiranand Mukim, personal jeweller of Mughal Emperor Jahangir, lead a party from Agra to Shikharji for Jain pilgrimage. In 1670, a Jain merchant from Agra named Kumarpal Lodha financed construction of temples at the site. In 1725, the area came under the control of the Jagat Seth family of Murshidabad. In 1825, Jagat Seth Kushalchand spent a substantial amount of money in consecrating the exact sites of liberation of all 20 tirthankaras, a Jal mandir, dharamsalas & shrines to subsidiary deities at the site, under the guidance of Tapa Gaccha monk Devijayji, with divine intervention from the Jain Padmāvatī. After the Jagat Seth family died out in 1912, the area came under the local zamindar based in Palganj of Giridih district. In 1918, Seth Badridas Mukeem of the influential Johari Seth Jain community of Kolkata & Bahadur Singh Dugar of Murshidabad purchased the site from the zamindar on behalf of the Anandji Kalyanji trust & renovated the structures built by the Jagat Seths. The site went further renovations in the 1980s.
In 2019, the Government of Delhi included Sammed Shikharji under Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana.
The section from Gandharva Nala stream to the summit is the most sacred to Jains. The pilgrimage is made on foot or by a litter or doli carried by a doliwallah along a concrete paved track. A trek of is covered while performing Parikrama of Shikharji. However, the complete parikrama of Madhuban to Shikharji and back is .
The current structure of temples at Shikharji was re-built by Jagat Seth Mahtabchand (father of the Kushalchand mentioned before) in 1768 CE. However, the idol itself is very old. The Sanskrit inscription at the foot of the image is dated 1678 CE. One of the shrines dates back to the 14th century. Several Śvētāmbara temples were constructed in 20th century. Pilgrims offer rice, sandal, dhupa, flower, fruits and diya.
At the base of Shikharji is a temple to Bhomiyaji (Taleti). On the walls of the Jain temple at the village of Madhuban, there is a mural painting depicting all the temples on Parasnath Hill. Śvētāmbara Bhaktamara temple, established by Acharya Ramchandrasuri, is the first temple to house a Bhaktamara Stotra yantra.
A large Digambara Jain temple depicting Nandishwar Dweep is at the base of the hill. The Nichli temple, built by a Calcutta merchant in 18th century, is noteworthy for its architecture. The temple features arched gateways and carvings of Tirthankaras on the temple wall.
The tonks along the track are as follows:
On 13 August 2012, the world's first to-scale complete replication of Shikharji was opened in Siddhachalam in New Jersey over 120 acres of hilly terrain called Shikharji at Siddhachalam, it has become an important place of pilgrimage for the Jain diaspora. There is a small scale replica of Shikharji at Dādābadī, Mehrauli. Ranakpur Jain temple has a depiction of Shikharji. Shitalnath temple in Patan, Gujarat has a wooden plaque with carving of Shikharji.
By Airway;
The Nearest airport is Deoghar Airport in Deoghar Dist, known as Baidyanath dham which is famous for Hindu pilgrimage sites, part of 12 jyotirling for Lord Shiva. The airport is 107 km away from Shikharji and a 3-hour drive.
Another airport is Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport, Durgapur (RDP) West Bengal and a 4-hour drive from the airport. Durgapur has direct flights from Kolkata and Delhi.
Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi (IXR), Jharkhand is also around 180 km (Approximately 4.5 hours), and the drive to Shikhar Ji is quite smooth. Direct flights are available from Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Deoghar, Goa–Mopa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Patna and Pune.
In December 2022, Jains carried out massive protests and a one-day nationwide strike against the rule by the Government of Jharkhand to tag Shikharji as a place of tourism. Jharkhand government's decision to declare 'sacred' Shri Sammed Shikharji a tourist place and incidents of allegedly desecrating the sacred Shetrunjaya Hills in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district have triggered anger among lakhs of people belonging to the Jain community. A 72-year-old Jain monk who was on a fast against the Jharkhand government's decision died Tuesday in Jaipur, according to a community leader. Police said after participating in a peace march in Jaipur against the decision, Sugyeysagar Maharaj sat on the fast at Sanghiji temple in Sanganer area of the city.
In January 2023, the Central government halted all tourism development activities on Parasnath Hills.
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