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Location:
TIJARAJI,
is situated on Delhi-Jaipur National Highway, 90 km from the western
part of new Delhi.
Flowing
down the east-facing slope of a solitary hillock, deep in the central
Indian countryside, 84 gleaming white shrines mark the spot where the
legendary King Nanganang Kumar, together with five-and-a-half crore of his
followers, achieved liberation from the cycle of rebirth. |
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Today the site,
sacred to Digambar ("Sky-clad") Jains, makes an atmospheric
pause for a couple of hours en route to one of the nearby cities.
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Crowning the summit of
Tijaraji , the main temple houses a colossal tirthankara icon, while below
it, a ceramic scale model of Mount Meru, the axial mountain said by Jains
to support the cosmos, looks out over the cascade of whitewashed spires
and fluttering yellow pennants to the distant plains.
Old Digambar monks conduct religious discussions with
pilgrims in the courtyard, their distinctive yellow wooden water pots (dariyes)
and peacock-feather whisks beside them. For most of the year, these
ascetics wander naked around the country, returning to monasteries for a
few months to give and receive teachings. More secular Jains notch up
credits on the cosmic balance sheet by making gifts to religious
establishments instead - as evidenced by the dozens of donators plaques
set in the marble walkway leading up the hill.
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