Neminatha

Neminatha
22nd Jain Tirthankara
Arishtanemi or successor
Image of Neminatha at a Jain temple in Bateshwar, Uttar Pradesh
Other names Arishtanemi
Venerated in Jainism
Predecessor Naminatha
Successor Parshvanatha
Symbol Shankha (conch)[1]
Height 10 bows (98 feet)[2]
Age 1000 years
Color Black
Personal information
Born Dwarika
Died Mount Girnar
Parents

Neminatha is the twenty-second Tirthankara (ford-maker) in Jainism.[3] He is also known simply as Nemi, or as Aristanemi which is an epithet of the sun-chariot. Along with Mahavira, Parshvanatha and Rishabhanatha, Neminatha is one of the four Tirthankaras that attract the most devotional worship among the Jains.[4]

According to Jain beliefs, Neminatha lived 84,000 years before the 23rd Tirthankara, Parshvanatha. He is one of the 24 Tirthankaras in Jain theology, in the avasarpini cycle of Jain cosmology. He is a legendary figure, who lived for 1,000 years,[2] and was the youngest son of King Samudravijaya and Queen Shivadevi. He is believed in Jainism to be the cousin of the Hindu god Krishna,[3] and his iconography includes the same conch as found with the Hindu god Vishnu.[5] He was born at Sauripura (Dvaraka) in the Yadu lineage, like Krishna.[6] His birth date is the 5th day of Shravana Shukla in the Hindu calendar. He herded cattle and became fond of animals.[6] According to Jain mythology, on his wedding day Neminatha heard the cries of animals being killed for the marriage feast,[7] and moved by the sorrow he renounced the world – a scene found in many Jain artwork.[3][8][9] He attained moksha on Girnar Hills near Junagadh, a pilgrimage center for Jains.[3]

Nomenclature

The name Neminatha consists of two Sanskrit words, Nemi which means "rim, felly of a wheel" or alternatively "thunderbolt",[10] and Natha which means "lord, patron, protector".[11] According to the Jain text Uttarapurana, as well as the explanation of Hemachandra, it was the ancient Indian deity Indra who named the 22nd Tirthankara as Neminatha, because he viewed the Jina as the "rim of the wheel of dharma". In Svetambara Jain texts, his name Aristanemi came from a dream his mother had when he was in the womb, where she saw a "wheel of Arista jewels".[12] His full name was Aristanemi which is an epithet of the sun-chariot.[13][14]

Neminatha is the 22nd Tirthankara in Jain tradition, and his name is spelled close to the 21st Tirthankara Naminatha. According to Jain history, there was a gap of 500,000 years between the two.[7]

Biography in Jain tradition

The birth of Aristanemi, Kalpa Sūtra

Neminatha was the twenty-second tirthankara (ford-maker) of the avasarpini (present descending cycle of Jain cosmology).[15][16] According to Jain beliefs, he lived 84,000 years before the 23rd Tirthankara, Parshvanatha.[17] He was the youngest son of King Samudravijaya and Queen Shivadevi.[18] He was born at Sauripura (Dvaraka) in the Yadu lineage, grew up in cattle herding family and grew fond of animals.[6] Jain legends place him in the Girnar-Kathiawad (in Saurashtra region of modern-day Gujarat).[6][19][20] His birth date is the 5th day of Shravana Shukla in the Hindu calendar.[16]

Neminatha temple complex on Girnar hills near Junagadh, Gujarat.

Neminatha was born with a dark-blue skin complexion,[21] very handsome but a shy young man.[18] Jains consider Neminatha to be the son of Samudravijaya, brother of Hindu god Krishna's father Vasudeva, therefore the cousin of Krishna.[22] He is mentioned as the cousin of Krishna in the Jain Puranas,[9] and Trishashti-salaka-purusha-charitra.[22][23] On being taunted by Satyabhama, the wife of Krishna, Neminatha blew Panchajanya, the mighty conch of Krishna. According to Jain texts, no one could lift Vishnu's conch except Krishna, let alone blow it. After this event, Jain Puranas state that Krishna decided to test Neminatha's strength and challenged him for a friendly duel. Neminatha, being a Tirthankara, defeated Krishna without any effort.[24] In the war between Krishna and Jarasandha, Neminatha participated alongside Krishna.[25]

According to Long, the Jain legends state that Neminatha taught Krishna the knowledge that he shared with Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, a historic reason that has led Jains to accept, read and cite the Bhagavad Gita as a spiritually important text, celebrate Krishna related festivals and intermingle with Hindus as spiritual cousins.[26]

Depiction of wedding procession of Neminatha. His legend states that he renounced after hearing animal cries while they were being sacrificed to prepare his wedding feast.[5]

It is further mentioned that Neminatha's marriage was arranged with Rajulakumari or Rajimati, the daughter of King Ugrasena of Dvaraka. According to Jain legends, Neminatha heard animal cries as they were being slaughtered for the marriage feast. Taken over by sorrow and distress at the sight, he gave up the desire of getting married, renounced his worldly life, became a monk, and went to Mount Girnar to lead a mendicant's life.[27][28][7] His bride-to-be followed him, became a nun and joined the ascetic order.[23] According to Kalpasutras, he led an ascetic life there by eating only once every three days,[29] meditated for 55 days, and then obtained omniscience on Mount Raivataka, under a Mahavenu tree.[21] After a life of about 1,000 years,[30] he is said to have attained moksha (nirvana) on Mount Girnar.[23][28] Of these 1,000 years, he spent 300 years as a bachelor, 54 days as an ascetic monk and 700 years as an omniscient being.[29]

Historicity

Unlike the last two Tirthankaras, historians consider Neminatha and all other Tirthankaras to be legendary characters.[3]

Literature

Brooklyn Museum - Page 65 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra recto Neminatha's initiation verso text
  • The Jain traditions about Neminatha or Arishtanemi is incorporated in the Harivamsa Purana of Jinasena.[31][32]
  • 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, Khambhat.[33]
  • Rajul's love for Neminatha is described in the Rajal-Barahmasa (an early 14th-century poem of Vijayachandrasuri).[34]
  • The conch incident is given in Kalpa Sūtra.[13]
  • The separation of Rajula and Neminatha was a popular theme among Jain poets who composed Gujarati fagus, a poetry genre. Some examples are Neminatha Fagu (1344) by Rajshekhar, Neminatha Fagu (1375) by Jayashekhar and Rangasagara Neminatha Fagu (1400) by Somsundar. A poem Neminatha Chatushpadika (1269) by Vinaychandra depicted the same story.[35][36][37][38][39]

Iconography

The largest statue of Neminath with height of 16 meters at Tirumalai built in 12th century

Neminatha is believed in the Jain tradition to be Krishna's cousin and has the same dark-bluish colored skin.[40] Painting depicting his life stories generally identify him as dark colored. His iconographic identifier is a conch carved or stamped below his statues. Sometimes, as with Vishnu's iconography, a chakra is also shown near him, as in the 6th-century sculpture found at the archaeological site near Padhavali (Madhya Pradesh).[41] Artworks showing Neminatha sometimes include Ambika yakshi, but her color varies from golden to greenish to dark-blue, by region.[42]

Idols

Temples

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Tandon 2002, p. 45.
  2. 1 2 Sarasvati 1970, p. 444.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Arishtanemi: Jaina saint". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  4. ↑ Dundas 2002, p. 40.
  5. 1 2 Jain & Fischer 1978, pp. 16–17.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Ramchandra C Dhere (2011). Rise of a Folk God: Vitthal of Pandharpur. Oxford University Press. pp. 193–196. ISBN 978-0-19-977759-4.
  7. 1 2 3 von Glasenapp 1925, pp. 317-318.
  8. ↑ Sehdev Kumar 2001, pp. 143–145.
  9. 1 2 Umakant P. Shah 1987, pp. 165-166.
  10. ↑ Monier Monier-Williams, Nemi, Sanskrit English Dictionary with Etymology, Oxford University Press, page 569
  11. ↑ Monier Monier-Williams, Natha, Sanskrit English Dictionary with Etymology, Oxford University Press, page 534
  12. ↑ Umakant P. Shah 1987, pp. 164-165.
  13. 1 2 Jain & Fischer 1978, p. 17.
  14. ↑ Zimmer 1953, p. 225.
  15. ↑ Zimmer 1953, p. 224.
  16. 1 2 Tukol 1980, p. 31.
  17. ↑ Zimmer 1953, p. 226.
  18. 1 2 Doniger 1993, p. 225.
  19. ↑ Upinder Singh 2008, p. 313.
  20. ↑ Cort 2001, p. 23.
  21. 1 2 Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 164.
  22. 1 2 Helen 2009, pp. 1–266.
  23. 1 2 3 Sangave 2001, p. 104.
  24. ↑ Doniger 1993, p. 226.
  25. ↑ Beck 2012, p. 156.
  26. ↑ Long 2009, p. 42.
  27. ↑ Kailash Chand Jain 1991, p. 7.
  28. 1 2 Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 165.
  29. 1 2 Jones & Ryan 2006, p. 311.
  30. ↑ Melton & Baumann 2010, p. 1551.
  31. ↑ Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 239.
  32. ↑ Upinder Singh 2016, p. 26.
  33. ↑ Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 253.
  34. ↑ Kelting 2009, p. 117.
  35. ↑ Amaresh Datta (1988). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature. Sahitya Akademi. p. 1258. ISBN 978-81-260-1194-0.
  36. ↑ Shastree, K. K. (2002). Gujarat Darsana: The Literary History. Darshan Trust, Ahmedabad. pp. 56–57.
  37. ↑ Nagendra (1988). Indian Literature. Prabhat Prakashan. pp. 282–283.
  38. ↑ Jhaveri, Mansukhlal; Sahitya Akademi (1978). History of Gujarati Literature. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 14, 242–243. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016.
  39. ↑ Shah, Parul (31 August 1983). "5". The rasa dance of Gujarata (Ph.D.). 1. Department of Dance, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. pp. 134–156. hdl:10603/59446.
  40. ↑ Umakant P. Shah 1987, pp. 164-168.
  41. ↑ Umakant P. Shah 1987, pp. 164-170.
  42. ↑ Umakant P. Shah 1987, pp. 264-265.

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Further reading

  • World Parliament of Religions Commemoration Volume: Issued in commemoration of the World Parliament of Religions held at Sivanandanagar, Rishikesh, in April, 1953, Published The Yoga-Vedanta Forest University Press, 1956
  • Jain Journal, Volumes 2-3, Published by Jain Bhawan 1967
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