Suparshvanatha

Suparshvanatha
7th Jain Tirthankara

Suparshvanatha

Idol of Suparśvanātha
Symbol Swastika
Height 200 bows (600 meters)
Age 2,000,000 purva (141.12 Quintillion years)
Color Golden
Parents
  • Pratishtha (father)
  • Prithivī (mother)
Preceded by Padmaprabha
Succeeded by Chandraprabha
Born Varanasi
Moksha Shikharji

Suparśvanātha (Sanskrit: सुपर्श्वनाथ Suparśvanātha) was the seventh Jain Tīrthankara of the present age (avasarpini). He was born to King Pratistha and Queen Prithvi at Varanasi on 12 Jestha Shukla in the Ikshvaku clan. He is said to have attained moksha at Śikharji on the sixth day of the dark half of the month of Phālguna'.

Life story

Suparśvanātha was the seventh Jain Tīrthankara of the present age (avasarpini).[1] He was born to King Pratistha and Queen Prithvi at Varanasi on 12 Jestha Shukla in the Ikshvaku clan.[1] He is said to have attained moksha at Śikharji on the sixth day of the dark half of the month of Phālguna.[2]

Nine months before the birth of Suparśvanātha, Queen Prithivī dreamt the sixteen most auspicious dreams.[3] Suparśvanātha spent 5 lakh pūrva as youth (kumāra kāla) and ruled His kingdom for 14 lakh pūrva and 20 pūrvāṇga (rājya kāla).[2]

Suparśvanātha as a historical figure

The Yajurveda is also said to have mentioned the name of Suparśvanātha but the meaning is different. It is an epithet of God which means "All-Pure Lord".

The Mahavagga book of the Khandhaka (1. 22. 13), a Buddhist text, mentions a temple of Suparśvanātha situated at Rajgir in the time of Gautama Buddha.

At Mathura, there is an old stupa with the inscription of 157 CE. This inscription records that an image of the tīrthankara Aranatha was set up at the stupa built by the gods.

Adoration

Svayambhūstotra by Acharya Samantabhadra is the adoration of twenty-four Tīrthankaras. Its five slokas (aphorisms) are dedicated to Tīrthankara Suparśvanātha.[4]

As an inanimate equipment (a vehicle, for example) requires an animate being (a man) for its operation, so does the body, that the soul adopts as its encasement, require the soul for its functioning. The body is repugnant, foul-smelling, perishable, and a source of anxiety and, therefore, it is futile to have attachment towards it. O Lord Suparśvanātha, this is your benign precept.
— Svayambhūstotra (7-2-32)[5]

Suparshvanatha is associated with Nandyavartha (Dig.) & Svastika (Svet.) emblem, Sirisa tree, Varanandin (Dig.) & Matanga (Svet.) Yaksha and Kali (Dig.) & Santa (Svet.) Yakshi.[6]

Main Temple

Shri Mandavagadh Teerth in Mandu, Madhya Pradesh

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Suparshvanatha.

Notes

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.