''Tirth Pat'' or ''Patta'' is a religious map and
topographical
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scienc ...
rendering used in
ÅšvÄ“tÄmbara Jainism religion for representing places of
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
(
Tirtha). Tirth Pat is different than the conventional
map
A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...
making and is not drawn to
scale. Tirth Pat is not indicative of distances, elevation, topography and direction and is solely used for
evocation
Evocation is the act of evoking, calling upon, or summoning a Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit, demon, deity or other supernatural agents, in the Western mystery tradition. Conjuration also refers to a summoning, often by the use of a magic ...
of
Jain pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
s (
Tirthas). It is believed in Jainism that mere viewing of a Tirth Pat earns merit for a devotee.
Belief
The
ÅšvÄ“tÄmbara Jains hold five centers of pilgrimage to be most sacred. These places are
Shatrunjaya
Shatrunjaya, also spelled Shetrunjaya ("place of victory against inner enemies") and originally known as Pundarikgiri, is a range of hills located near the city of Palitana in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, India. The hills are situated on ...
and
Girnar
Girnar is an ancient hill in Junagadh, Gujarat, India. It is one of the holiest pilgrimages of Jains, where the 22nd Tirthankara, Tirthaá¹…kar, Lord Neminath attained omniscience, and later nirvana at its highest peak (''Neminath Shikhar''), ...
in
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
,
Mount Abu
Mount Abu (), known as Arbudgiri in Jain tradition, is a hill station in the Aravalli Range in the Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. Here, the mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. It is ref ...
in
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
,
Shikharji
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 ...
in
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
and
Ashtapada
AshtÄpada () or Ashtapadi is an Indian board game. Although it is played on a checkered board similar to chess, AshtÄpada predates it and differs in its mechanics and victory conditions. The game was mentioned on the list of games that Gautama ...
in
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
. People who are unable to go for the pilgrimage, can achieve its religious merits by viewing cartographical overview of the pilgrimage site on Tirth Pat. Every year (in October - November), Tirth Pat is hung in the vicinity of a Jain temple or at a prepared location for devotees to worship.
See also
*
ÅšvÄ“tÄmbara
*
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...
*
Kalachakra
''KÄlacakra'' () is a Polysemy, polysemic term in Vajrayana, Vajrayana Buddhism and Hinduism that means "wheel of time" or "time cycles". "''KÄlacakra''" is also the name of a series of Buddhist texts and a major practice lineage in History of ...
References
{{Portal bar, Religion
Jain pilgrimage sites
Jain temples and tirthas
Pilgrimage in India
Jain art