Stories by Arpit

Lush green forest – Check Gurgling Rivers – Check Sparkling Waterfalls – Check Pristine meadows – Check Towering hilltops – Check No cellular networks for digital detox – Check A luxury resort in the midst of this natural paradise – Check Gateway to Simlipal National Park at Pithabata, Odisha On my bucket list since long, my wish to visit the underrated Simlipal Tiger Reserve & National Park was finally fulfilled last weekend as my original plan of visiting the Vidharbh region during the Puja vacations was foiled due to non-confirmation of train tickets. After extensively googling the web-space for planning the itinerary and finalizing the available options for our stay there, we zeroed in on a gorgeous resort tucked away deep inside the National park – Aranya Nivas, Lulung .   Hills of the Simlipal National Park Known for its abundance of Semul (red silk cotton) trees, Simlipal forest is located in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, around 250 km from Kolk

Very recently, a discussion on the true representation of a Tirthankar through an idol raised many questions which I thought needed answers. Therefore, with an intent to create more awareness on the history and evolution of idolatry in Jainism, I am writing this article to share some of the common/ uncommon questions, which had been asked to me in the past with respect to Jain iconography in an easy to understand Q&A format. Readers can also share their observations in the comments section and can also ask more questions which I will try to answer to best of my knowledge using references from ancient texts/ modern research. Q. What is the need of an idol to worship the Tirthankar’s? A. Worship is an act of reverence of giving or acknowledging worth to something/someone beyond yourself. A layperson’s subconscious mind is not that developed that only through meditation he/she can achieve spirituality – The person needs  “ आलम्बन ”,  i.e. support and a foundation which can