Pārśvanātha

Pārśvanātha (Template:Langx), or and Pārasanātha, was the 23rd of 24 tīrthaṅkaras ("Ford-Maker" or supreme preacher of Dharma) of Jainism. According to traditional accounts, he was born to King Aśvasena and Queen Vāmādevī of the Ikshvaku dynasty in the north west Indian city of Varanasi in 9th century BCE. Pārśvanātha is the earliest Jaina tīrthaṅkaras who is acknowledged as possibly a historical figure: with some teachings attributed to him that may be accurately recorded, and a possible historical nucleus within the legendary accounts of his life from traditional hagiographies. Historians consider that he may actually have lived between c. 8th to 6th century BCE, founding a proto-Jaina ascetic community which subsequently got revived and reformed by Mahāvīra (6th or 5th century BCE).

According to traditional Jaina sources, Pārśvanātha was born 273 years before Mahāvīra, which places him between the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. Renouncing worldly life, he founded an ascetic community. He was the spiritual successor of the 22nd Tirthankar Neminatha. He is popularly seen as a supreme propagator and reviver of Jainism. Pārśvanātha is said to have attained moksha on Mount Sammeda (Madhuban, Jharkhand) popular as Parasnath hill in the Ganges basin, an important Jaina pilgrimage site. His iconography is notable for the serpent hood over his head, and his worship often includes Dharaṇendra and Padmāvatī (Jainism's serpent Devtā and Devī).

Texts of the two major Jaina sects (Digambaras and Śvētāmbaras) differ on the teachings of Pārśvanath and Mahāvīra, and this is a foundation of the dispute between the two sects. The Digambaras believed that there was no difference between the teachings of Pārśvanātha and Mahāvīra.

Pārśvanath taught that every individual soul possesses infinite knowledge and boundless bliss, but this is obscured by ignorance, causing the soul to identify with the physical body. Through diligent practice of 'bheda-jñāna', which entails right belief and active awareness of one's true nature as a pure soul, unencumbered by the body and its passions, an individual can shed the perception-obscuring mohanīya karma. This enables the soul to experience its true essence, known as samyak darshan or self-realization, opening the pathway to liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth. According to the Śvētāmbaras, Mahāvīra expanded Pārśvanātha's first four restraints with his ideas on ahimsa (Template:Lit) and added the fifth monastic vow (celibacy). Pārśvanātha did not require celibacy and allowed monks to wear simple outer garments. Śvētāmbara texts, such as section 2.15 of the Ācārāṅga Sūtra, say that Mahāvīra's parents were followers of Pārśvanātha (linking Mahāvīra to a preexisting theology as a reformer of Jaina mendicant tradition).

Historicity

Pārśvanātha is the earliest Jaina tīrthaṅkaras who is generally acknowledged as a historical figure. According to some scholars, Jainism's origin can be traced to him. According to Paul Dundas, Jaina texts such as section 31 of Isibhasiyam (a description of his teachings, which may be historical) provide circumstantial evidence that he lived in ancient India. Historians such as Hermann Jacobi have accepted him as a historical figure because his Caturyāma Dharma (Four Vows) are mentioned in Buddhist texts. In the Manorathapurani, a Buddhist commentary on the Anguttara Nikaya, Vappa, the Buddha's uncle, was a follower of Pārśvanātha.

Section 2.15 of the Ācārāṅga Sūtra says that Mahāvīra's parents (Triśalā and Siddhārtha) were lay devotees of Pārśvanātha.

Despite the generally accepted historicity, some historical claims such as the link between him and Mahāvīra, whether Mahāvīra renounced in the ascetic tradition of Pārśvanātha, and other biographical details have led to different scholarly conclusions. There may be a "historical nucleus" within the traditional accounts of his life, although these hagiographic writings are otherwise considered later, legendary, and not historically reliable. The earliest biographical description of his life is from a chapter of the Kalpa Sūtra (traditionally ascribed to sage Bhadrabāhu during 4th-3rd century BCE, but most likely dating from 2nd-1st century BCE): it is "extremely short in extent and probably modelled on that of Mahāvīra", so as it is of a formulaic and hagiographic nature, "its value as a historical document is somewhat doubtful".

File:Patan Parshvanatha.jpg

A 10th-century CE idol of Pārśvanātha from Patan, Gujarat

Pārśvanātha's biography with Jaina texts says that he preceded Mahāvīra by 273 years and that he lived 100 years. Mahāvīra is dated to c. 599 – c. 527 BCE in the Jaina tradition, and Pārśvanātha is dated to c. 872 – c. 772 BCE. According to Dundas, historians outside the Jaina tradition date Mahāvīra as contemporaneous with the Buddha in the 5th century BCE which, based on the 273-year gap, would date Pārśvanātha to the 8th or 7th century BCE. However, Dundas further states, "It is impossible to be certain about the relationship between Mahāvīra and Pārśva and in actuality the chronological distance between the two teachers may have been much less than two and a half centuries."

Additionally, Long points out "some scholars have suggested that Pārśvanātha and Mahāvīra were actually closer in time than the tradition claims", referring to studies by Madhusudan Dhaky—who has identified certain Jaina texts containing wording which implies that not so many years had elapsed between the two, leading Dhaky to suggest "Pārśva could not have started his ascetic career before the beginning of the sixth century BC" and "may have passed away only a few decades before Vardhamāna [i.e., Mahāvīra] had started his preaching career". In Jaina tradition, Pārśva is said to have visited some cities which, according to archaeological and historical evidence, first came to prominence during India's Second Urbanisation period, in the 7th–6th century BCE.

Having compiled the traditional accounts about Pārśvanātha, states Glasenapp, it is the historian's approach "to try to obtain an approximate idea of his life and his teachings from the scanty material which stands the test of a critical examination", but there remain many uncertainties. Zimmer considers him to be a historical figure, but "in the biography of Pārśva the element of legend is so strong that one can scarcely sense an actually living, breathing human being," in contrast to better documented era of Mahāvīra. Comparing Jaina legends of Pārśva to similar "parallel stories" in Buddhist legends, Thomas concludes, "It appears as if the legends grew side by side and mutually influenced the rival hagiographers" of Jainism and Buddhism. According to Glasenapp, it cannot be known for certain how much the "colourful circle of legends [...] correspond to the historical facts": he accepts "the main tenets of Pārśva's doctrine", and that the "holy legend" probably does "conceal a historical nucleus", with an essential "correctness of tradition" that Pārśva had been "of noble birth", a "young man from a wealthy family" who renounced the worldly life and riches to become a wandering ascetic, dedicated "completely to the attainment and proclamation of philosophical knowledge"—although many details of his life were "excessively embellished by his followers later".

However, some other scholars are more skeptical in their considerations. According to Gough, "the historicity of Pārśva is not, however, firmly established," referring to the argument by historian Bansidhar Bhatt, who has argued that Pārśva "must be a mythological figure" and only later came to be dated to the 9th century BCE. Gough additionally notes that the stories about Pārśva are rather reflective of the much later historical context when they were written: according to Gough, "since early Jaina biographical accounts of the tīrthaṅkaras were composed in north India around the turn of the first millennium", "there is no evidence that he lived in Varanasi", which more likely reflects the city's status as "an important commercial center of north India in the early centuries of the Common Era", i.e., "the time periods when monks composed and developed these stories."

Doubts about Pārśvanātha's historicity are also supported by the oldest Jaina texts, which present Mahāvīra with sporadic mentions of ancient ascetics and teachers without specific names (such as sections 1.4.1 and 1.6.3 of the Acaranga Sutra). The earliest layer of Jaina literature on cosmology and universal history pivots around two jinas: the Adinatha (Rishabhanatha) and Mahāvīra. Stories of Pārśvanātha and Neminatha appear in later Jaina texts, with the Kalpa Sūtra the first known text. However, these texts present the tīrthaṅkaras with unusual, non-human physical dimensions; the characters lack individuality or depth, and the brief descriptions of the tīrthaṅkaras are largely modelled on Mahāvīra. The Kalpa Sūtra is the most ancient known Jaina text with the 24 tirthankar, but it lists 20; three, including Pārśvanātha, have brief descriptions compared with Mahāvīra. Early archaeological finds, such as the statues and reliefs near Mathura, lack iconography such as lions and serpents.

Two of the early bronze images of Pārśvanātha can be found on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya and Patna Museum dating back to the second century BCE to the first century CE. A first century BCE Ayagapata is in State Museum Lucknow containing the image of Pārśvanātha. A seventh century CE statue was found in the Asthal Bohar village of Rohtak, Haryana.

Jaina biography

Small boats on the Ganges, seen from above

Pārśvanātha was born in Varanasi, a historic city on the Ganges.

Pārśvanātha was the 23rd of 24 tīrthaṅkaras in Jaina tradition.

Life before renunciation

He was born on the tenth day of the dark half of the Hindu month of Pausha to King Ashwasena and Queen Vamadevi of Varanasi. Pārśvanātha belonged to the Ikshvaku dynasty. Before his birth, Jaina texts state that he ruled as the god Indra in the 13th heaven of Jaina cosmology. While Pārśvanātha was in his mother's womb, gods performed the garbha-kalyana (enlivened the fetus). His mother dreamt 14 auspicious dreams, an indicator in Jaina tradition that a tirthankar was about to be born. According to the Jaina texts, the thrones of the Indras shook when he was born and the Indras came down to earth to celebrate his janma-kalyanaka (his auspicious birth).

Pārśvanātha was born with blue-black skin. A strong, handsome boy, he played with the gods of water, hills and trees. At the age of eight, Pārśvanātha began practising the twelve basic duties of the adult Jaina householder.Template:Refn He lived as a prince and soldier in Varanasi. The temples in Bhelupur were built to commemorate place for three kalyanaka of Pārśvanātha.

According to the Digambara school, Pārśvanātha never married; Śvētāmbara texts say that he married Prabhavati, the daughter of Prasenajit (king of Kusasthala). Heinrich Zimmer translated a Jaina text that sixteen-year-old Pārśvanātha refused to marry when his father told him to do so; he began meditating instead because the "soul is its only friend".

Renunciation

At age 30, on the 11th day of the moon's waxing in the month of Pausha (December–January), Pārśvanātha renounced the world to become a monk after seeing the image of Neminatha. He removed his clothes and hair and began fasting strictly. Pārśvanātha meditated for 84 days before he attained omniscience under a dhaataki tree near Benares. His meditation period included asceticism and strict vows. Pārśvanātha's practices included careful movement, measured speech, guarded desires, mental restraint and physical activity, essential in Jaina tradition to renounce the ego. According to the Jaina texts, lions and fawns played around him during his asceticism.Template:Refn

Ahichchhatra is believed to be the place where Pārśvanātha attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience). According to Vividha Tirtha Kalpa, Kamath in an attempt to obstruct Pārśvanātha from achieving Kevala Jnana caused continuous rain. Pārśvanātha was immersed in water up to his neck and to protect him the serpent god Dharanendra held a canopy of thousand hoods over his head and the goddess Padmavati coiled herself around his body. Ahichchhatra Jaina temples are built to commemorate Pārśvanātha attaining Kēvalajñāna kalyāṇaka. On the 14th day of the moon's waning cycle in the month of Chaitra (March–April), Pārśvanātha attained omniscience. Heavenly beings built him a samavasarana (preaching hall), so he could share his knowledge with his followers.

After preaching for 70 years, Pārśvanath attained moksha at Shikharji on Parasnath hillTemplate:Refn at the age of 100 on Shravana Shukla Saptami according to Lunar Calendar. His moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death) in Jaina tradition is celebrated as Moksha Saptami. This day is celebrated on large scale at Parasnath tonk of the mountain, in northern Jharkhand, part of the Parasnath Range by offering Nirvana Laddu (Sugar balls) and reciting of Nirvana Kanda. Pārśvanātha has been called (beloved of the people) by Jains.

Previous lives

Stone relief of Parshvanatha, his companion, and other figures

Pārśvanātha and his yaksha, Dharanendra, in the 8th-century Tamil Nadu Kalugumalai Jaina Beds

Jaina mythology contains legends about Pārśvanātha's human and animal rebirths and the maturing of his soul towards inner harmony like legends found in other Indian religions.Template:Refn His rebirths include:

• Marubhuti – Vishwabhuti, King Aravinda's prime minister, had two sons; the elder one was Kamath and the younger one was Marubhuti (Pārśvanātha). Kamath committed adultery with Marubhuti's wife. The king learned about the adultery, and asked Marubhuti how his brother should be punished; Marubhuti suggested forgiveness. Kamath went into a forest, became an ascetic, and acquired demonic powers to take revenge. Marubhuti went to the forest to invite his brother back home, but Kamath killed Marubhuti by crushing him with a stone. Marubhuti was one of Pārśvanātha's earlier rebirths.
• Vajraghosha (Thunder), an elephant – He was then reborn as an elephant because of the "violence of the death and distressing thoughts he harbored at the time of his previous death". Vajraghosha lived in the forests of Vindyachal. Kamath was reborn as a serpent.

King Aravinda, after the death of his minister's son, renounced his throne and led an ascetic life. When an angry Vajraghosha approached Aravinda, the ascetic saw that the elephant was the reborn Marubhuti. Aravinda asked the elephant to give up "sinful acts, remove his demerits from the past, realize that injuring other beings is the greatest sin, and begin practicing the vows". The elephant realized his error, became calm, and bowed at Aravinda's feet. When Vajraghosha went to a river one day to drink, the serpent Kamath bit him. He died peacefully this time, however, without distressing thoughts.

• Sasiprabha – Vajraghosha was reborn as Sashiprabha (Lord of the Moon)Template:Refn in the twelfth heaven, surrounded by abundant pleasures. Sashiprabha, however, did not let the pleasures distract him and continued his ascetic life.
• Agnivega – Sashiprabha died, and was reborn as Prince Agnivega ("strength of fire"). After he became king, he met a sage who told him about the impermanence of all things and the significance of a spiritual life. Agnivega realized the importance of religious pursuits, and his worldly life lost its charms. He renounced it to lead an ascetic life, joining the sage's monastic community. Agnivega meditated in the Himalayas, reducing his attachment to the outside world. He was bitten by a snake (the reborn Kamath), but the poison did not disturb his inner peace and he calmly accepted his death.

Agnivega was reborn as a god with a life of "twenty-two oceans of years", and the serpent went to the sixth hell. The soul of Marubhuti-Vajraghosa-Sasiprabha-Agnivega was reborn as Pārśvanātha. He saved serpents from torture and death during that life; the serpent god Dharanendra and the goddess Padmavati protected him, and are part of Pārśvanath's iconography.

Disciples

Outdoor stone relief of Parshvanatha, carved into a boulder

8th-century stone relief of Pārśvanātha at Thirakoil

According to the Kalpa Sūtra (a Śvētāmbara text), Pārśvanātha had 164,000 śrāvakas (male lay followers), 327,000 śrāvikās (female lay followers), 16,000 sādhus (monks) and 38,000 Sadhvis or aryikas (nuns). According to Śvētāmbara tradition, he had eight ganadharas (chief monks): Śubhadatta, Āryaghoṣa, Vasiṣṭha, Brahmacāri, Soma, Śrīdhara, Vīrabhadra and Yaśas. After his death, the Śvētāmbara believe that Śubhadatta became head of the monastic order and was succeeded by Haridatta, Āryasamudra and Keśī.

According to Digambara tradition (including the Avasyaka niryukti), Pārśvanātha had 10 ganadhars and Svayambhu was their leader. Śvētāmbara texts such as the Samavayanga and Kalpa Sūtras cite Pushpakula as the chief aryika of his female followers, but the Digambara Tiloyapannati text identifies her as Suloka or Sulocana. Pārśvanātha's nirgrantha (without bonds) monastic tradition was influential in ancient India, with Mahāvīra's parents part of it as lay householders who supported the ascetics.

Upkeśa Gaccha

The time period between Pārśvanātha and Mahāvīra was only 250 years, which is relatively short when compared to the periods between any two consecutive tīrthaṅkaras. According to ancient Śvetāmbara texts such as Uttaradhyayana Sutra, owing to this short period of time between both the tīrthaṅkaras, monks of Pārśvanātha's lineage existed during Mahāvīra's time period. Keśiśramanācharya, a monk of Parhsvanatha's lineage, is also said to have met Gautama Swami, the prime disciple of Mahāvīra. Pārśvanātha's monastic lineage is said to have begun with his prime disciple Arya Śubhadatta. Later, this lineage came to be known as the Upkeśa Gaccha of the Śvetāmbara tradition.

Keśī's (the 4th head of the monastic order in Pārśvanātha's monastic lineage) disciple Swayamprabhasūriwent on to create the Porwal and Srimali castes by preaching Jainism and strongly opposing animal sacrifice in Bhinmal and Padmavati region of present-day Rajasthan. Later, Swayamprabhasuri's disciple Ratnaprabhasūripreached Jainism in Osian and created the Oswal caste. The monastic lineage of Upkeśa Gaccha is particularly important as it narrates the history of Jainism before Mahāvīra and describes the creation of three of the most prominent castes of Jaina followers. It also suggests the antiquity of the Śvetāmbara tradition and that white-clad ascetics were the original followers of Jainism and of Pārśvanātha, who preceded naked ascetics of the Digambara sect.

Avakinnayo Karakandu

Karakandu was a great devotee of the 23rd Jaina tīrthaṅkaras Pārśvanātha who preached Jainism in Kaliṅgaaround 850 BCE. Also Jaina tradition mentions that King Avakinnayo Karakandu is responsible for the spread of Jainism in southern and western India. Due to this Jainism become the prominent religion of Kalinga and Dravida country during 8th century BCE even before the birth of the 24th Jaina tīrthaṅkaras Mahāvīra. According to Kanakmara, Karakanda had very strong faith in the teachings of the 23rd Jaina tīrthaṅkaras Pārśvanātha of his era. He strictly followed the Anuvratas and Gunavratas principles of Jainism, which are applicable for both monks and household people according to Jainism.

Teachings

Texts of the two major Jaina sects (Digambara and Śvētāmbara) have different views of Pārśvanātha and Mahāvīra's teachings, which underlie disputes between the sects. Digambaras maintain that no difference exists between the teachings of Pārśvanātha and Mahāvīra. According to the Śvētāmbaras, Mahāvīra expanded the scope of Pārśvanātha's first four restraints with his ideas on ahimsa (non-violence) and added the fifth monastic vow (celibacy) to the practice of asceticism. Pārśvanātha did not require celibacy, and allowed monks to wear simple outer garments. Śvētāmbara texts such as section 2.15 of the Ācārāṅga Sūtra say that Mahāvīra's parents were followers of Pārśvanātha, linking Mahāvīra to a preexisting theology as a reformer of Jaina mendicant tradition.

According to the Śvētāmbara tradition, Pārśvanātha and the ascetic community he founded exercised a fourfold restraint; Mahāvīra stipulated five great vows for his ascetic initiation. This difference and its reason have often been discussed in Śvētāmbara texts.

The Uttardhyayana Sutra (a Śvētāmbara text) describes Keśin Dālbhya as a follower of Pārśvanātha and Indrabhuti Gautama as a disciple of Mahāvīra and discusses which doctrine is true: the fourfold restraint or the five great vows. Gautama says that there are outward differences, and these differences are "because the moral and intellectual capabilities of the followers of the ford-makers have differed".

According to Wendy Doniger, Pārśvanātha allowed monks to wear clothes; Mahāvīra recommended nude asceticism, a practice which has been a significant difference between the Digambara and Śvētāmbara traditions.

According to the Śvētāmbara texts, Pārśvanātha's four restraints were ahimsa, aparigraha (non-possession), asteya (non-stealing) and satya (non-lying). Ancient Buddhist texts (such as the Samaññaphala Sutta) which mention Jaina ideas and Mahāvīra cite the four restraints, rather than the five vows of later Jaina texts. This has led scholars such as Hermann Jacobi to say that when Mahāvīra and the Buddha met, the Buddhists knew only about the four restraints of the Pārśvanātha tradition. Further scholarship suggests a more complex situation, because some of the earliest Jaina literature (such as section 1.8.1 of the Ācārāṅga Sūtra) connects Mahāvīra with three restraints: non-violence, non-lying, and non-possession.

The "less than five vows" view of Śvētāmbara texts is not accepted by the Digambaras, a tradition whose canonical texts have been lost and who do not accept Śvētāmbara texts as canonical. Digambaras have a sizable literature, however, which explains their disagreement with Śvētāmbara interpretations. Prafulla Modi rejects the theory of differences between Pārśvanātha's and Mahāvīra's teachings. Champat Rai Jaina writes that Śvētāmbara texts insist on celibacy for their monks (the fifth vow in Mahāvīra's teachings), and there must not have been a difference between the teachings of Pārśvanātha and Mahāvīra.

Padmanabh Jaini writes that the Digambaras interpret "fourfold" as referring "not to four specific vows", but to "four modalities" (which were adapted by Mahāvīra into five vows). Western and some Indian scholarship "has been essentially Śvētāmbara scholarship", and has largely ignored Digambara literature related to the controversy about Pārśvanātha's and Mahāvīra's teachings. Paul Dundas writes that medieval Jaina literature, such as that by the 9th-century Silanka, suggests that the practices of "not using another's property without their explicit permission" and celibacy were interpreted as part of non-possession.

In literature

File:Parsva and Dharnendra.jpg

Parsva, Kalpa Sūtra (c. 1472)

The Kalpa Sūtra contains biographies of the tīrthaṅkaras Pārśvanātha and Mahāvīra. Vyākhyāprajñapti sūtra is one of the earliest texts mentioning Pārśvanātha as Arhat. Uvasagharam Stotra is an ode to Pārśvanātha which was written by sage Bhadrabahu. Jinasena's Mahapurāṇa includes "Ādi purāṇa" and Uttarapurāṇa. It was completed by Jinasena's 8th-century disciple, Gunabhadra. "Ādi purāṇa" describes the lives of Rishabhanatha, Bahubali and Bharata. Pārśvabhyudaya by Jinsena is a narration of the life of Pārśvanātha. Bhayahara Stotra composed by Acharya Manatunga, 7th century, is an adoration of Pārśvanātha. Sankhesvara Stotram is hymn to Pārśvanātha compiled by Mahopadhyaya Yashovijaya. Shankheshwar Pārśvanath Stavan, hymn dedicated to Shankheshwar Pārśvanath, is one of the most performed Jaina prayer.

Pasanaha-chairu is a hagiography of Pārśvanātha composed by Shridhara in 1132 AD. Pārśvanath bhavaantar is a kirtan (devotion song), compiled by Gangadas in 1690 AD, which narrates life of previous nine births. The medieval forty-four verse hymn Kalyanamandira stotra, composed by Digambar kumudachandra, is a praise to Pārśvanātha is popular among both Digambar and Śvētāmbara. Pārśvanātha charite is a poem composed by Shantikirt Muni in 1730 AD, this poem narrates the seven siddhis of Pārśvanātha.

Guru Gobind Singh wrote a biography of Pārśvanātha in the 17th-century Paranath Avtar, part of the Dasam Granth.

Iconography

Black statue of a seated Parshvanatha, adorned with flowers

Pārśvanātha iconography is identified by a sesha hood above his head and a cobra stamped (or carved) beneath his feet. At the center of his chest is a shrivatsa, which identifies Jaina statues. This is the Digambara iconography

Black statue of a seated Parshvanatha, adorned with flowers

Pārśvanātha iconography is identified by a sesha hood above his head and a cobra stamped (or carved) beneath his feet. At the center of his chest is a shrivatsa, which identifies Jaina statues. This is the Svetambara iconography.

Pārśvanātha is a popular tirthankar who is worshiped (bhakti) with Rishabhanatha, Shantinatha, Neminatha and Mahāvīra. He is believed to have the power to remove obstacles and save devotees. In Shvetambara tradition, there are 108 prominent idols of Pārśvanath idols these idols derive their name from a geographical region, such as Shankheshwar Pārśvanath and Panchasara Pārśvanath.

Pārśvanātha is usually depicted in a lotus or kayotsarga posture. Statues and paintings show his head shielded by a multi-headed serpent, fanned out like an umbrella. Pārśvanātha's snake emblem is carved (or stamped) beneath his legs as an icon identifier. His iconography is usually accompanied by Dharnendra and Padmavati, Jainism's snake god and goddess.

Serpent-hood iconography is not unique to Pārśvanātha; it is also found above the icons of SuPārśvanātha, the seventh of the 24 tīrthaṅkaras, but with a small difference. SuPārśvanātha's serpent hood has five heads, and a seven (or more)-headed serpent is found in Pārśvanātha icons. Statues of both tīrthaṅkaras with serpent hoods have been found in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, dating to the 5th to 10th centuries. Earliest images of Pārśvanātha having seven snakes over his head date back to first century BCE.

Archeological sites and medieval Pārśvanātha iconography found in temples and caves include scenes and yaksha. Digambara and Śvētāmbara iconography differs; Śvētāmbara art shows Pārśvanātha with a serpent hood and a Ganesha-like yaksha, and Digambara art depicts him with serpent hood and Dhranendra. According to Umakant Premanand Shah, Hindu gods (such as Ganesha) as yaksha and Indra as serving Pārśvanātha, assigned them to a subordinate position.

The Parsvanatha ayagapata, a circa 15 CE ayagapata excavated from Kankali Tila, is a tablet of homage dedicated to Pārśvanātha. The table represents Pārśvanātha in the center surrounded by a bunches of lotus. Pārśvanātha is depicted in dhyāna mudrā with ankle crossed in lotus position seated on a pedestal with a seven-hooded sesha hood above his head and shrivatsa on the chest.

The Kahaum pillar, erected in 460 CE during the reign of Skandagupta, Gupta Empire, bears an inscription that is adoration to Arihant and features a carving of Pārśvanātha.

• Parsvanatha ayagapata, Mathura art, c. 15 CEScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  Parsvanatha ayagapata, Mathura art, c. 15 CE
• Stone relief
  Uttar Pradesh, 2nd century (Museum of Oriental Art)
• Bronze idol
  Eastern India, 2nd century CE (CSMVS)
• Pārśvanath relief of Kahaum pillar, 5th century
  Pārśvanath relief of Kahaum pillar, 5th century
• Lotus position
  5th century (Satna, Madhya Pradesh)
• Lotus position
  6th century, Uttar Pradesh
• Lotus position
  7th-century Akota Bronze (Honolulu Museum of Art)
• 6th–7th century bronze statue in Asian Civilisations Museum
  6th–7th century bronze statue in Asian Civilisations Museum
• 9th century - Cleveland Museum of Art
  9th century - Cleveland Museum of Art
• Lotus position
  10th-century copper, inlaid with silver and gemstones (LACMA)
• Lotus position
  11th century, Maharaja Chhatrasal Museum
• Ancient Idol of Amizara Parshwanath in a Cave Temple at Girnar Hill
  Ancient Idol of Amizara Parshwanath in a Cave Temple at Girnar Hill
• Lotus position
  Karnataka, 12th century (Art Institute of Chicago)
• Pañcāsara Pārśvanātha at Patan (Gujarat)
  Pañcāsara Pārśvanātha at Patan (Gujarat)

Colossal statues

1. The Navagraha Jaina Temple has the tallest statue of Pārśvanātha: 61 feet (18.6 m), on a 48-foot (14.6-m) pedestal. The statue, in the kayotsarga position, weighs about 185 tons.
2. The Gopachal rock cut Jaina monuments were built between 1398 and 1536. The largest cross-legged statue of Pārśvanātha – tall and wide – is in one of the caves.
3. An 11th-century Pārśvanātha basadi in Shravanabelagola enshrines an statue of Pārśvanātha in a kayotsarga position.
4. Pārśvanātha basadi, Halebidu, built by Boppadeva in 1133 AD during the reign of King Vishnuvardhana, contains an black granite kayotsarga statue of Pārśvanātha.
5. A kayotsarga statue was installed in 2011 at the Vahelna Jaina Temple.
6. VMC has approved construction of 100 foot tall statue in Sama pond in Vadodara.

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  colossal at Navagraha Jaina Temple
• Script error: No such module "convert". Pārśvanātha statue in lotus position, Gopachal
  Pārśvanātha statue in lotus position, Gopachal
• Outdoor standing statue
  statue at Vahelna Jaina temple
• Standing statue in niche
  statue at Pārśvanātha basadi, Shravanabelgola
• Standing statue
  statue at Pārśvanātha temple in Halebidu
• Script error: No such module "convert". rock-carved image inside Ellora Jaina temple, 1234 CE
  rock-carved image inside Ellora Jaina temple, 1234 CE

Temples

File:Sikharji jalmandir.jpg

Jal Mandir, Shikharji, Parasnath

Pārśvanātha is one of the five most devotionally revered tīrthaṅkaras, along with Mahāvīra, Rishabhanatha, Neminatha and Shantinatha. Various Jaina temple complexes across India feature him, and these are important pilgrimage sites in Jainism. Mount Parasnath of Jharkhand, for example, which is believed to have been a place where 20 out of 24 tīrthaṅkaras achieved nirvana, along with Pārśvanātha. Shankheshwar Pārśvanath in northern Gujarat, along with Mount Shatrunjaya is considered the holiest shrine among Śvētāmbara murtipujaka. The replicas of Pārśvanath temples are popular among Śvētāmbara murtipujaka, for example, Godiji is located in Sindh has a replica in Mumbai. According to Jaina belief, worshipping these local replication idols allow them to directly worship to the original idol. Pārśvanath is prayed to obtain various desires, especially tantric rites, is therefore also known as Chintamani (wish fulfilling gem) and a tantric diagram called 'Chintamani yantra' is also worship.

Important Pārśvanātha temple complexes include: Shikharji (Sammet Sikhar) in Jharkhand, Mirpur Jaina Temple, Kanakagiri Jaina tirth, Panchasara Jaina temple, Humcha Jaina temples, Ahi Kshetra, Kallil Temple, Mel Sithamur Jaina Math, Pateriaji, Nainagiri, Kundadri, Bijoliaji, Jirawala, Gajpanth, Andeshwar, Bada Gaon, Akkana Basadi, and Guru Basadi.

• Pārśvanātha temple, Khajuraho, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  Pārśvanātha temple, Khajuraho, UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Pattadakal Jaina Temple, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  Pattadakal Jaina Temple, UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Parshavanth temple, Jaisalmer Fort, UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of Hill Forts of Rajasthan
  Parshavanth temple, Jaisalmer Fort, UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of Hill Forts of Rajasthan
• Pārśvanātha basadi at Halebidu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  Pārśvanātha basadi at Halebidu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Calcutta Jaina Temple
  Calcutta Jaina Temple
• Nana Poshina Parshwanath Śvetāmbara Jaina Temple
  Nana Poshina Parshwanath Śvetāmbara Jaina Temple
• Antwerp Jaina Temple, Belgium
  Antwerp Jaina Temple, Belgium
• Shri Nakodaji
  Shri Nakodaji
• Samovsaran Mandir, Palitana
  Samovsaran Mandir, Palitana
• Lodhurva Jaina temple
  Lodhurva Jaina temple
• Lal Mandir
  Lal Mandir
• Kere Basadi
  Kere Basadi
• Godiji Parshwanath (Gori) Temple at Tharparkar - tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage
  Godiji (Gori) Temple in Tharparkar - tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage

See also

• Naminath
• Mahāvīra

External links

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