Neminatha

Neminatha
22nd Jain Tirthankara

Neminatha

16 meter high Neminatha Idol at Tirumalai, Tamil Nadu
Details
Alternate name(s) Arishtanemi
Predecessor Naminatha
Successor Parshvanatha
Royalty
Dynasty/Clan Harivamsa
Family
Parents Samudravijaya (father)
Shivadevi (mother)
Kalyanaka / Important Events
Chyavana date Asho Vad 12
Chyavana place Sauripura (Dvaraka)
Born Shravan Sud 5
Sauripura (Dvaraka)
Diksha date Shravan Sud 6
Diksha place Sauripura (Dvaraka)
Kevalgyan date Bhadarva Vad Amaas
Kevalgyan place Girnar
Moksha date Ashadh Sud 8
Moksha place Girnar
Characteristics/Attributes
Complexion Black
Symbol Shankha
Height 10 bows (30 metres)[1]
Age 1000 years
Kevalakāla
Yaksha Gomedh
Yakshini Ambika

Neminatha (Devanagari: नेमिनाथ) was the twenty-second tirthankara (ford-maker) of the present descending cycle (avsarpani).[2][3] According to Jain beliefs, he lived 84,000 years before the 23rd Tirthankara, Parshvanatha.[4] His full name was Aristanemi which is an epithet of the sun-chariot.[5] He was the youngest son of King Samudravijaya and Queen Shivadevi,[6] and the cousin brother of Krishna.[7][8] He was born at Sauripura (Dvaraka) in the Harivamsa clan. His birth date is the 5th day of Shravana Shukla in the Indian calendar.[3] He became a Siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma.

Historicity

Depiction of wedding procession of Lord Neminatha. The enclosure shows the animals are kept in captivity to make sure that they don't disturb the wedding celebration by coming on the way. Later the animals were fed with grass and let go. However Lord Neminath was influenced by Tirthankar Naam Karma and as such Lord Neminatha refused to marry and renounced his kingdom to become a Shramana.
Brooklyn Museum - Page 65 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra recto Neminatha's initiation verso text

Secular scholars accept the existence of Jainism as far back before BCE,[9] but for Jains the story goes back much further than Parshvanatha. Jain texts mention the names of twenty-one Tirthankaras before him. Neminatha, the 22nd Tirthankara, was the son of Samudravijaya and grandson of Andhakavrishni. Jains and some Hindus consider Neminatha to be the cousin of Krishna - the son of Samudravijaya, brother of Krishna's father Vasudeva.[10][8]

The Andhakavrishnis of Dwaraka in the Kathiawar region of present Gujarat state of India, as a republic is referred to in the Mahabharata, Arthashastra and Ashtadhyayi of Pāṇini.

In the Chandogya Upanishads, the sage Ghora Angirasa relates the life of a man to the Soma sacrifice, and the daksina (alms) to austerity, liberality, simplicity, non-violence and truthfulness. In the process, he contributes the first recorded mention of ahimsa in the sense of non-violent behaviour.[11] These values are common to Jainism and some claim Ghora Angirasa as a Jain sadhu instructing Krishna. The word Ghora Angirasa seems to be an epithet given to him because of the extreme austerities he undertook. It may be possible to suggest that Neminatha was his early name and when he had obtained Moksha after hard austerities, he might have been given the name of Ghora Angirasa.

Tradition

Neminatha was a very handsome but a shy young man.[6] On being taunted by Satyabhama, the wife of Krishna, Neminatha blew Panchajanya, the mighty counch of Krishna. It was believed that no one could lift this "jewel" except Krishna, let alone blow it. After this event, Krishna decided to test Neminatha's strength and challenged him for a (friendly) duel. Neminatha, being a Tirthankara, defeated Krishna (Vasudeva) without any effort.[12]

In the war between Krishna and Jarasandha, Neminatha participated alongside Krishna.[13]

According to both religions, Krishna negotiated his marriage with Rajamati (Rajul), the daughter of Ugrasena, but Neminatha, empathizing with the animals which were to be slaughtered for the marriage feast, left the procession suddenly and renounced the world. Some writers of the Jain scriptures say that Krishna was the master of all Tirthankars.

Nemi is said to have lived for a thousand years.[14]

Literature

Further information: Harivamsa Purana

The Jain traditions about Neminatha or Arishtanemi is incorporated in the Harivamsa Purana of Acharya Jinasena. A palm leaf manuscript on the life of Neminatha, named Neminatha-charitra, was written in 1198-1142 AD. It is now preserved in Shantinatha Bhandara, Cambay.[15]

Rajul's love for Neminatha is described in the Rajal-Barahmasa (an early 14th-century poem of Vijayachandrasuri).[16]

Images

Idols

Temples

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Sarasvati 1970, p. 444.
  2. ↑ Zimmer 1953, p. 224.
  3. 1 2 Tukol 1980, p. 31
  4. ↑ Zimmer 1952, p. 226.
  5. ↑ Zimmer 1953, p. 225.
  6. 1 2 Doniger 1993, p. 225.
  7. ↑ Helen, Johnson (2009) [1931]. Muni Samvegayashvijay Maharaj, ed. Trisastiśalākāpurusacaritra of Hemacandra: The Jain Saga. Part III. Baroda: Oriental Institute. ISBN 978-81-908157-0-3. pp. 1–266
  8. 1 2 Kumar 2001, pp. 4–5.
  9. ↑ The Encyclopædia Britannica s.v. "Jainism" has: "Jainism originated as the oldest religion on earth in the Ganges basin of eastern India"
  10. ↑ Helen, Johnson (2009) [1931]. Muni Samvegayashvijay Maharaj, ed. Trisastiśalākāpurusacaritra of Hemacandra: The Jain Saga. Part III. Baroda: Oriental Institute. ISBN 978-81-908157-0-3. pp. 1–266
  11. ↑ Schmidt, Hanns-Peter (1968). The Origin of Ahimsa (in "Melanges d'Indianism a la memoire de Louis Renou). Paris: Editions E de Boccard. p. 653.
  12. ↑ Doniger 1993, p. 226.
  13. ↑ Beck 2012, p. 156.
  14. ↑ J. Gordon Melton & Martin Baumann 2010, p. 1551.
  15. ↑ Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 253.
  16. ↑ Kelting 2009, p. 117.
  17. ↑ Protected monuments in Karnataka, Archaeological Survey of India
  18. ↑ TNN (24 November 2008), Singular pre-Portuguese monument crumbling from neglect Paul Fernandes finds that the Jain basti at Bandora requires conservation, Goa: The Times of India
  19. ↑ Shenoy, Balaji (11 February 2015), Ruins of Neminath Jain Basti at Bandora, The Navhind Times
  20. ↑ Kerkar, Rajendra; TNN (31 October 2014), Jain heritage dwindles as govt sits pretty, The Times of India

References

Further reading

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