~~~Shri Kangra Jain Shvetambara Tirtha~~~

Dedicated to Lord Adinath, it is a 5000 years old ancient Jain pilgrimage centre. It is often referred to as the 'Shatrunjaya of North India'. and 'Mini Shatrunjay' Known as.

Kangra is a hill station in Himachal Pradesh. Shree Kangra Jain Shvetambara Tirtha is about 5000 years old, a glorious pilgrimage of the time of 22nd Tirthankar Parmatma Neminath ji. Nestled in the lap of nature, this pilgrimage was established by Chandravanshiya Maharaja Susharmachandra around the time of Mahabharata.

At one point of time this area was quite prosperous. There were many Jin temples here and there were also a large number of Jains. But later due to some reasons, such as due to the earthquake around 1905 and due to the political situation, the temples here went on disappearing. The remains of Jain temples in Kangra Fort tell the story of the glorious history of Jainism here. This pilgrimage, once at the height of its fame, was forgotten due to the slaps of the period.

Muni Shri Jin Vijay ji learned about the history of this ancient pilgrimage and made a detailed search for it while doing the revision work of the Granth Bhandaras of Patan (Gujarat). The efforts of Acharya Shri Vijay Vallabh Surishwar Ji Maharaj and Acharya Shri Vijay Samudra Surishwar Ji Maharaj strengthened the efforts of the revival of this pilgrimage. With his inspiration, Sadhvi Mrigavati Shri ji took up the task of reviving this pilgrimage.

At present, only the 39.5 inch high Jatadhari statue of the first Tirthankara Shri Adinath Bhagwan is visible here. This statue is very eye-pleasing and unique. For a time this statue remained in a small room in the huge fort of Kangra and this place was in the possession of the government. The local people used to call this statue as Bhairav Dev and used to worship it by offering oil and vermilion. As a result of Sadhvi Shri Mrigavati Ji's untiring efforts, her morale, tapobal and chanting power, the Jains got the right to worship this statue in the Jain method in the year 1978.

A plot was acquired by the Jain Shvetambara Samaj near the foothills of the Kangra Fort, where well-equipped Dharamshala, Bhojanshala and new Jinmandir were constructed. In this Jinmandir of the foothills, the original leader is the first Tirthankar Adinath Bhagwan, whose idol is 500 years old and came from the world-famous Ranakpur pilgrimage. The consecration of this temple was completed in 1990 under the guidance of Acharya Shri Vijay Indradin Surishwar Ji Maharaj.

This pilgrimage is in a very quiet, secluded and delightful place. Situated in the valley of Kangra, on the banks of river Kal Kalti, surrounded by beautiful hills, this pilgrimage is a favorable place for meditation and chanting.

Every year a fair is held here on the festival of Holi.

To reach the shrine: This shrine is easily accessible by road. This shrine is at a distance of 100 km from Hoshiarpur (Punjab), 170 km from Ludhiana, 143 km from Jalandhar and 90 km from Pathankot.