Tirthankaras

Tirthankara also called Jina (“Victor”), in Jainism, a saviour who has succeeded in crossing over life’s stream of rebirths and has made a path for others to follow. A tirthankara appears in the world to teach the way to moksha, or liberation. A Tirthankar is not an incarnation of the God. He is an ordinary soul that is born as a human and attains the states of a Tirthankar as a result of intense practices of penance, equanimity and meditation.

Jains believe that their tradition does not have a historical founder. The first Jain figure for whom there is reasonable historical evidence is Parshvanatha (or Parshva), a renunciant teacher who may have lived in the 7th century bce and founded a community based upon the abandonment of worldly concerns

The origins of Jainism are obscure. The Jains claim their religion to be eternal, and consider Rishabhanatha the founder in the present time-cycle, who lived for 8,400,000 purva years. He is believed to have been born 592.704 x 10¹⁸ years ago and lived for a span of 8,400,000 purva. His height is described in the Jain texts to be 500 bows (1312 ells), or about 4920 feet/1500 meters

A few points of discussions about Tirthankaras are:

In Jainism, it is believed that each cosmic age produces 24 Tirthankaras.
The Tirthankaras in the art are shown in the Kayotsarga pose (dismissing the body).
The other famous pose to depict Tirthankar in art is a mediation pose where he is seated cross-legged on a lion throne.
The 24 Tirthankaras are distinguished with each other by the symbolic colours or emblems.
The names of 24 Tirthankaras are inspired by the dreams their respective mothers had before their birth or related circumstances surrounding their births.
Kalpasutra is a religious text of Jains which mentions the life histories of 24 Tirthankaras.
Kalpasutra mentions the first Tirthankara to be Rishabhnath

The names of 24 Tirthankaras along with their symbols, emblems and colours are mentioned in the table below:

Rishabhnath

Rishabhnath is said to exist before Indus Valley Civilization. It is mentioned that in Bhagavata Purana, he is referred to as Lord Vishnu. Vedas also mention the name of Rishabhnath. He had many sons including – Bharat and Bahubali. It is also believed that the name of the script ‘Brahmi’ is inspired by his daughter’s name.

Symbol- Bull

Colour- Golden

Ajitnath

The Yajurveda mentions the name of Ajitanatha, but the meaning is not clear. According to Jain traditions, his younger brother was Sagara. Sagara, who became the second Chakravartin, is known from the traditions of both Hindu and Jain scriptures.

Symbol- Elephant

Colour- Golden

Sambhavnath

Sambhavanatha was the third Jain Tirthankara of the present age (Avasarpini). Sambhavanatha was born to King Jitari and Queen Susena at Sravasti.

Symbol- Horse

Colour- Golden

Abhinandan

Abhinandananatha or Abhinandana Swami was the fourth Tirthankara of the present age (Avasarpini). He is said to have lived for 50 lakh purva. He was born to King Sanvara and Queen Siddhartha at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku clan.

Symbol- Ape

Colour- Golden

Sumatinath

Sumatinatha was the fifth Jain Tirthankara of the present age (Avasarpini). Sumatinatha was born to a Kshatriya King Megha (Megharatha) and Queen Mangalavati (Sumangalavati) at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku dynasty.

Symbol- Heron

Colour- Golden

Padmaprabh

In the Jain tradition, it is believed that Padmaprabha was born to King Shridhar and Queen Susimadevi in the Ikshvaku dynasty at Kausambi which is in today’s Uttar Pradesh, India. Padmaprabha means ‘bright as a red lotus’ in Sanskrit. It is said in Śvetāmbara sources that his mother had a fancy for a couch of red lotuses – padma – while he was in her womb.

Symbol- Lotus

Colour- Red

Suparshvanath

According to Jain legends, When he observed tree leaves falling and flower wilting, he renounced his worldly life. He gave his kingdom to his son and became a Jain ascetic. After 9 months and then obtained Kevala Jnana (omniscience).

Symbol- Swastika

Colour- Golden

Chandraprabh

He decided to renounced his worldly life, soon after his ascension to throne and after 3 months he obtained Kevala Jnana (omniscience) while mediating under Naga tree.

Symbol- Moon

Colour- White

Suvidhinath

After 4 months of diksha and worldly life abandonment Lord Suvidhinath attained (kevalgyan )salvation on 3rd day of the bright half of the month of Kartik and constellation of Moola .

Symbol- Dolphin/ Sea Dragon

Colour- White

Sheetalnath

According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Jains believe Shitalanatha was born to King Dradhrath and Queen Nanda at Bhaddilpur into the Ikshvaku dynasty.

Symbol- Shrivatsa

Colour- Golden

Shreyansnath

Shreyansanatha was born to King Vishnu and Queen Vishna at Simhapuri, near Sarnath in the Ikshvaku dynasty. His birth date was the twelfth day of the Falgun Krishna month of the Indian calendar.

Symbol- Rhinoceros

Colour- Golden

Vasupujya

He attained Kevala Jnana within one month of Tapsya and Moksha at Champapuri, Bhagalpur in India on the fourteenth day of the bright half of the month of Ashadh.

Symbol- Buffalo

Colour- Red

Vimalnath

Vimalanatha was born to King Kratavarma and Queen Shyama Devi at Kampilaji of the Ikshvaku dynasty.

Symbol- Boar

Colour- Golden

Anantnath

Anantanatha was born to King Sinhasena and Queen Suyasha at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku dynasty.

Symbol- Hawk/ Bear

Colour- Golden

Dharmnath

Dharmanatha was the fifteenth Jain Tirthankara of the present age (Avasarpini). According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma.

Symbol- Thuderbolt

Colour- Golden

Shantinath

Shantinatha was born to King Vishvasena and Queen Aiira at Hastinapur in the Ikshvaku dynasty. He was also a Chakravartin and a Kamadeva. He ascended to the throne when he was 25 years old. After over 25,000 years at the throne, he became a Jain monk and started his penance.

Symbol- Antelope/ Deer

Colour- Golden

Kunthunath

According to the Jain belief, he was born in 27,695,000 BC, Like all other Chakravartin, he also conquered all the lands and went to write his name on the foothills of mountains. Seeing the names of other Chakravartin already there, he saw his ambitions dwarfed. He then renounced his throne and became an ascetic for penance.

Symbol- Goat

Colour- Golden

Arnath

He was also the eighth Chakravartin and thirteenth Kamadeva. According to Jain beliefs, he was born around 16,585,000 BCE.

Symbol- Nandyavarata/ Fish

Colour- Golden

Mallinath

Malli was the 19th Tirthankara. It is often debated that Malli was a woman however, some Digambara sect Jains believe that she was reborn as a man and then became a Tirthankara.

Symbol- Water Jug

Colour- Blue

Munisuvrat

According to Jain texts, after spending 7,500 years as a youth, Munisuvrata is believed to have ruled his kingdom for 15,000 years (rājyakāla). He then renounced all worldly pursuits and became a monk. According to Jain beliefs, he spent 11 months performing karma-destroying austerities and then attained the all-embracing knowledge – Omniscience (kevala jñāna) under a Champaka tree.

Symbol- Tortoise

Colour- Black

Naminath

He was born to the King Vijaya and Queen Vipra of the Ikshvaku dynasty. King Vijaya was the ruler of Mithila at that time. Naminatha lived for 10,000 years. When Naminatha was in his mother’s womb, Mithila was attacked by a group of powerful kings. The aura of Naminatha forced all the kings to surrender to King Vijaya.

Symbol- Blue Lotus

Colour- Golden

Arishtanemi

He was the youngest son of king Samudravijaya and queen Shivadevi. Krishna, who was the 9th and last Jain Vasudev, was his first cousin. On his wedding day Neminatha heard the cries of animals being killed for the marriage feast, he left marriage and freed animals and he renounced the world to become a monk – a scene found in many Jain artwork.

Symbol- Counch shell

Colour- Black

Parshvanath

He is popularly seen as a propagator and reviver of Jainism. Parshvanatha attained moksha on Mount Sammeda (Madhuban, Jharkhand) popular as Parasnath hill in the Ganges basin, an important Jain pilgrimage site. His iconography is notable for the serpent hood over his head, and his worship often includes Dharanendra and Padmavati (Jainism’s serpent Devtā and Devī).

Symbol- Snake

Colour- Green

Mahavir

Mahavira taught that observance of the vows of ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity), and aparigraha (non-attachment) are necessary for spiritual liberation. He taught the principles of Anekantavada (many-sided reality): syadvada and nayavada. Mahavira’s teachings were compiled by Indrabhuti Gautama (his chief disciple) as the Jain Agamas.

Symbol- Lion

Colour- Golden

Source:

https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/tirthankaras/

https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/list-of-jain-tirthankaras-1405075897-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Tirthankaras

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