Shri Agashi Maha Tirth Jain Derasar, Chal Pet, Agashi, Virar West, District - Palghar (Maharashtra)

The history of Agashi Maha Tirth dates backs to many centuries. The eternal living idol of Moolnayak Bhagwan (Main Deity) Shri Munisuvrat had been found from a nearby pond. The said idol is considered living as it is believed that the Lord Himself had appeared from the pond in the form of an idol. Agashi Maha Tirth is located in the Chalpeth area of Virar, near Mumbai. Its age-old references can be found in various Jain, Hindu, Buddha literatures and books as well as in documents of the Archeological Survey of India.
Virar and its adjacent areas, in ancient times, were a part of a large and prosperous town called Soparak Nagar. It was the Capital of the Konkan state. The city was expansive and covered yesteryear’s and today’s places and suburbs like Vasai, Nalasopara, Agashi, Virar, Gaas, Nirmal and more. With more than 100 Hindu and Jain temples, depicting the best of architecture and arts of those times, Soparak was not only highly populous but also a thriving city. Its people were ardent followers of their respective religions. Not only that, the city was also among the most developed business and trading centers. Its business was spread in countries and continents including Greece, Europe, Africa, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Gulf region among others. Vessels from far off places used to come to its busy port on a daily basis. No wonder that the Soparak was termed as the busiest port of the entire Western India then.
The Agashi Maha Tirth is located in present-day Virar in Palghar District of Maharashtra, India. But long before the idea of India (as we know it today) was conceived, this town was popular by the name of Sopara or Supparak or Soparka. Sopara Port (present-day Virar-Nalasopara belt) was a flourishing trade center of Ancient India. It was one of the busiest ports that best linked the East to the West. It was the largest township on India’s west coast, trading with prosperous civilizations like Mesopotamia, Egypt, Arabia and Eastern Africa, amongst others.
Sopara was a small part of the landscape called Palitana at the time. Palitana near Bhavnagar in Gujarat is a major pilgrimage center for Jains. Palitana is to Jains, what Mecca is to Muslims, what the Vatican City is to Christians and What the Golden Temple in Amritsar is to the Sikh Community.
Palitana is popularly referred to as “Ananta Siddhon Ki Bhoomi”; which means the land where innumerable souls attained salvation. Since Sopara village was at the foothills of the Shatrunjaya hills of Palitana, it is also considered as “Ananta Siddhon Ki Bhoomi”. The Agashi Maha Tirth Pratistha Mahotsav is a golden opportunity for Jains and devotees from across the globe to visit this pious land and partake of its blessing of good fortune and divine grace.
Many historians believe that the Biblical city of Ophir, which was famous for its wealth and blessing of good fortune is none other than the Sopara Port (modern day Virar), which is blessed by Lord Shri Munisuvrat Swami himself.
Shri Munisuvrat Swami Dada’s idol has an ancient and mystical history! It magically emerged from a pond at Chakreshwar (in the Sopara region) about 200 years ago; and is at the Agashi Maha Tirth from 183 years divinely guiding mankind ever since.
About 200 years ago, the idol of Shri Munisuvrat Swami Dada emerged from a pond at Chalakeshwar. So, the villagers had long discussions over what must be done of this idol and where must it be installed. So, one such day, they placed the Idol on a cart and were engaged in their ritual discussions. The cart had to bulls tied to it; but even then it magically started moving and travelled a distance of about 9 kms from the pond to stop at the site where the present-day temple is built in Chalpeth, Virar.
The villagers decided that it’s time to end the discussions and let the idol be at the same place where it chose to move itself. And hence for the next 17 years, the sacred idol was placed at a cottage in the village of Sopara.
Now elsewhere in the city, there was a businessman name Seth Motisha who was one of the biggest and busiest traders of the time. He owned huge ships that carried trade material from Indian port of Sopara to the far east and the wide west. Then came a time when a number of the businessman’s ships mysteriously disappeared in high seas and he was facing huge loss both in terms of money and peace of mind.
So, during his time of despair and difficulty, the businessman discovered the story of the sacred idol that travelled on its own to the city of Sopara. So, the businessman visited the cottage and prayed to the sacred idol with a vow to build a temple for the idol at the place where he would find his ships again. And lo and behold! The ships mysteriously appeared at Sopara port which was also the busiest ports of the time. And that’s how the Agashi Maha Tirth Temple came to be built at its current location in Chalpeth, Virar…which was known as Sopara in ancient times.

Phone Number : 0252-2578183, 2589779