Jaina Book Store

A Three-Volume Encyclopedia of Jain Places of Pilgrimage

Gurudev Shri Chitrabhanuji inaugurated a three-volume set of books titled TEERTH DARSHAN at the Mahavir Jayanti Celebration of Jain Center of America in Queens, New York. The Jain Prathna Mandir Trust of Chennai has produced this beautifully photographed large-sized encyclopedia of places of
pilgrimage to commemorate the 2600th Birth Anniversary of Bhagwan Mahavir. It is the International Edition in English and a revised version of their two-volume set published in Hindi and Gujrati in 1981, which was out of print and sought after by devotees. The new set is a result of 180 days of continuous traveling to 265 places of pilgrimage: photographing, collecting history and other useful details. Thereafter, eight long years of research has resulted in this unique collection with 750 pages, 700 detailed color photographs on best quality art paper, durable binding and velvet burgundy pouch for each of the three books. A very moving message by the Late Acharya Shri Kalapurna Maharaj explains the significance of this work. He has termed these three books a useful tool for Bhav Yatar and has instructed us on the reverence and care with which these books should be handled.

The 265 ancient pilgrim centers comprise of
(1) Those having history of 700 years
(2) Those which are kalyanak places of all Tirthankars
(3) Those which are world famous for art and architecture
(4) Those with powerful deities attracting thousands of pilgrims, and
(5) Those which come under Panch Teerthi of any place.

For each pilgrim center there are original color photos of the chief and important deities, the exterior view of the temple, and the name of the principal deity, location, color, height and posture of the idol
(Shvetambar or Digambar). There is also the history of the teerth, the route, location and map for reaching the place, along with the address of the managing body of the Teerth. The Teerths are arranged by states and regions. Index in the front of each volume identifies each temple as an ancient place:
Atishaya Kshetra, Kalyanak Center, Panchateerthi Center or Artistic Center. Colorful maps of the states with markings of temples are an eye-pleasing realization of glory and prevalence of Jainism in ancient times. As the name of the three-volume set suggests - Teerth Darshan - the information is useful for performing daily Darshan, reviewing and learning our rich history, and planning a successful pilgrimage to these teerths.

One of the volumes describes as a miracle the appearance of a snake (Adistyayak Dev) at Parswanath Temple in Lodrawar (Bihar) at the precise time they were photographing the Temple. The publisher has considered this miracle as blessings for this publication.

Gurudev Shri Chitrabhanuji said at the Mahavir Jayanti Celebration that it is the first, unique and complete encyclopedic reference work of Jain Teerth that has ever been published. He encouraged each Jain family to have the blessings of this three-volume set in their home. This is also a valuable tool to introduce our children to their rich heritage.

The three-volume set is offered at $100.00, including the postage, and is available from the JAINA Bookstore. It is the wisest investment you can make. These books are printed in limited quantities and once out of print, they rarely are made available again. Proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit Jain Prathna Mandir Trust in support of Guru Shree Shantivijai Jain Vidyalay and Jain College for Women in Chennai. These two colleges on the campus of Mahavir Jain Kalyanak Sangh are run for the general public but with the object of spreading Jin Bhakti, Jin Vani and Jin Darshan.