Sunday, July 22, 2012

Kartik Poornima: Wednesday, 28-11-2012

Kartik Poornima : Wenesday, 28-11-2012


Kartik Purnima  or Kartik Poornima  is an  important religious day for Jains and  celebrated on the full moon day or the fifteenth lunar day of Kartik  This year Kartik Purnima being celebrated on November 10, 2011. The Kartik Purnima festival also coincides with the Sikh  festival of Guru Nanak Jayanti. Kartik Purnima is also a holy day in Hinduism and also called as Tripuri poornima or Tripurari Poornima.

The day of Kartik Poornima holds significance in Jain  religion and devotees are kept away from worshipping their lord for four months of monsoon and hence the first day attracts the maximum number of devotees. According to Jainism , Lord Adinath, the first tirthankara , sanctified the hills by visiting it to deliver his first sermon. According to Jain texts ,millions of sadhus and sadhvis have attained salvation on these hills.

Kartik Purnima  also assumes significance for the walk to the hills temples. On the day of Kartik Poornima Jain pilgrims flock to the foothills of Shatrunjay hills of   Palitana Jain Temples in Gujarat  to undertake the auspicious yatra, known as the Shri Shantrunjay Teerth Yatra. This Yatra is an important religious event in the life of a Jain devotee, who cover 216 km of rough mountainous terrain by foot to worship the Lord Adinath temple atop the Shantrunjay hill.

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