The word ‘Tirthankar’ is a combination of ‘Tirtha’ and ‘Samsara.’ Tirtha means a place of pilgrimage, and Samsara means worldly life. Tirthankaras are the originators of tirtha, a navigable canal through an infinite sea of births and deaths. In Jainism, Tirthankaras is called “Jin” or the “conqueror of all tendencies.” Jainism is among the ancient religions in the world. In Jainism, a savior who has managed to cross the rebirth stream of life and has paved a way through which other people can follow him or her is referred as Tirthankaras.
Spiritual leaders who teach the souls towards liberation in the Jainism religion are the 24 Jain Tirthankaras. The marks of purity, non-violence, and renunciation are starting with Rishabhanatha (Adinath) and ending with Mahavira. Each of the 24 Jain Tirthankaras is allocated a symbol that facilitates the worship and recognition of the worshippers. The Jain philosophy is founded on their teachings and they motivate individuals to live a moral life and take care of spiritual discipline.
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Tirthankara Meaning
A Tirthankar is not a divine incarnation. He is an average soul born as a human and achieves the status of Tirthankar through hard penance, serenity, and meditation practices. As a result, the Tirthankara is defined as the highest pure developed state of the soul, rather than an Avatar (god-incarnate). Tirthankaras were not religious founders but great omniscient instructors who lived at different points in human history. They attained existence’s highest spiritual objective and then taught their contemporaries how to get there by crossing over to the safe beaches of spiritual purity.
List of 24 Tirthankaras of Jainism
The 24 Tirthankaras have taken birth and taught the law of Dharma for thousands of years (Righteousness). Each of these Tirthankaras represents a symbol, which is noteworthy.
Tirthankaras of the Present Cosmic Age
In Jainism, the present cosmic age has 24 Tirthankaras, spiritual teachers who have attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience). The first Tirthankara is Rishabhanatha, and the last is Mahavira, who is also the most well-known Tirthankara.
List of 24 Tirthankaras of the Present Cosmic Age | ||||
Sl. No. | Tirthankara Name | Symbol | Birthplace | Colour |
1 | Rishabhanatha (Adinatha) | Bull | Ayodhya | Golden |
2 | Ajitanatha | Elephant | Ayodhya | Golden |
3 | Sambhavanatha | Horse | Shravasti | Golden |
4 | Abhinandananatha | Monkey | Samet Sikhar | Golden |
5 | Sumatinatha | Heron | Ayodhya | Golden |
6 | Padmaprabha | Padma | Samet Sikhar | Red |
7 | Suparshvanatha | Swastika | Samet Sikhar | Golden |
8 | Chandraprabha | Crescent Moon | Chandrapuri | White |
9 | Pushpadanta | Crocodile | Kakandi | White |
10 | Shitalanatha | Shrivatsa | Bhadrak Puri | Golden |
11 | Shreyanasanatha | Rhinoceros | Samet Sikhar | Golden |
12 | Vasupujya | Buffalo | Champapuri | Red |
13 | Vimalanatha | Boar | Kampilya | Golden |
14 | Anantanatha | Falcon | Ayodhya | Golden |
15 | Dharmanatha | Vajra | Ratnapuri | Golden |
16 | Shantinatha | Antelope or deer | Hastinapur | Golden |
17 | Kunthunatha | Goat | Hastinapur | Golden |
18 | Aranatha | Nandyavarta or fish | Hastinapur | Golden |
19 | Māllīnātha | Kalasha | Mithila | Blue |
20 | Munisuvrata | Tortoise | Kusagranagar | Black |
21 | Naminatha | Blue lotus | Mithila | Golden |
22 | Neminatha | Shankha | Dvaraka | Black |
23 | Parshvanatha | Snake | Kashi | Blue |
24 | Mahavira | Lion | Kshatriyakund | Golden |
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Tirthankaras of the Next Cosmic Age
The next cosmic age in Jainism is called the Utsarpiṇī (ascending half-cycle). It is said that 24 Tīrthaṅkaras will be born during this half-cycle. The names of the 24 Tīrthaṅkaras of the next cosmic age are as follows:
List of 24 Tirthankaras of the Next Cosmic Age | ||
Sl. No. | Tīrthankara | Previous Human Birth |
1 | Rishabhanatha | Nabhi Raja |
2 | Ajitanātha | Muni Suvrata |
3 | Sambhavanātha | King Jitāri |
4 | Abhinandananātha | King Samvaranaraja |
5 | Sumatinātha | King Megha |
6 | Padmaprabhā | King Vishvasena |
7 | Suparśvanātha | King Pratishtha Raja |
8 | Candraprabhā | King Mahasena |
9 | Pushpadanta | King Sugriva |
10 | Śītalanātha | King Dridharatha |
11 | Śreyāṃsanātha | King Shubhanasa |
12 | Vāsupūjya | King Vasupujya |
13 | Vimala | King Chandra |
14 | Anantanātha | King Dharanendra |
15 | Dharmanātha | King Bhojaka |
16 | Śāntinātha | King Nami |
17 | Kunthunātha | King Vijaya |
18 | Aranātha | King Taara |
19 | Mallinātha | King Siddhartha |
20 | Neminātha | King Samudravijaya |
21 | Pārśvanātha | King Ashvasena |
22 | Mahāvīra | King Siddhartha |
23 | Nandi Vardhana | King Yasas |
24 | Mahābala | King Rishabha |
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Significant Tirthankaras of Jainism
There are 5 significant Tirthankaras.
Rishabhdev
Rishabhdev or Adinatha, is the First Tirthankara of Jainism in the present cosmic cycle. He was born in Ayodhya and was of the Ikshvaku lineage. In Hinduism he is considered as a Vishnu avatar. According to Bhagavata Purana, his parents were King Nabhi Raja and Queen Marudevi.
A Tirthankara by giving up karma and attaining liberation becomes a role model to all beings in Jainism. A bull is his sign, and he went Nirvana at the Himalayan Kailasa as per Digambar tradition, and at the Ashtapad mountain in Shwetambar tradition.
Rishabhdev is considered to have lived before the Indus Valley Civilization. He is Vishnu incarnate according to Bhagavata Purana and his name is there in the Vedas. Bharat and Bahubali are his sons, and the huge Gomateshwara statue at Shravanabelagola, Karnataka, is the world's tallest statue and is thus dedicated to Bahubali. The name of his daughter Brahmi may have influenced the naming of the 'Brahmi' script.
Parshvanath
Parshwanath is the 23rd Tirthankara of Jainism. King Ashvasena and Queen Vama of Varanasi were blessed with a son named Parshva. He left the worldly life in the 30th year and went on to become a hermit/aindagi.
In the Jain religion, Lord Parshwanath is considered highly significant. The pictorial representation of his idol is verFy modest: it signifies the calm that the Lord imparts to people. The Puranas consider Parshwanath to be a historical person. He imparts Nirvana on Sammet Sikhar which is presently called Parshvanatha.
Parshwanath established four Ganas that were Gana, or organizations. Each Gana was managed by a Ganadhar. Parsvanatha is the only Jain Tirthankar who is shown with a naga’s hood over his head always. Yaksha Dharenendra and Yakshi Padmavati, two Yakshas, are commonly seen next to him. The snake, the chaitya tree-dhava, the Yaksha-Matang, the Yakshani-Kushmadi, and several other symbols are significant to Parshwanath.
Mahavira
Source: Ministry of Jal Shakti
Mahavir was the 24th and last Tirthankara of Lord Jainism. There are a lot of manuscripts calling Mahavira as Vira of Viraprabhu, Sanmati, Ativira, and Gnatputra. The Tamil traditions call him Arugan or Arugadevan. In the Pali canon of Buddhists, he is called Nigantha Nataputta.
Prince Vardhamana was the son of King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala of the Ikshvaku Dynasty. Later, he was called Vardhamana Mahavir and after that, he changed his name to Bhagwan Mahaveer.
Vardhamana gave up his house on the 30th day of his life and was looking for spiritual knowledge. He did very strict fasting and other forms of self-denial for the next 12 and a half years to get knowledge and he got Kaivalya (wisdom) at the age of 42 under the Sal tree. The next 30 years he was roaming barefoot all over India teaching people the eternal truth that he had found.
He brought together rich and poor, kings and commoners, men and women, princes and priests, untouchables, and touchable, and thus he gathered a huge crowd. He separated his followers into four divisions: Monks (Sadhu), Nuns (Sadhvi), Laymen (Shravak), and Laywomen (Shravak) (Shravika). Tormenting the mind’s ultimate goal, his teaching is to lead people to escape the cycle of birth, life, pain, misery, and death and find a permanent happy state of being.
Liberation, Nirvana, perfect freedom, and Moksha are all terms used to describe this state. Apart from the four restraints given by Parshvanath, Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, and Aparigraha, Mahavir Swami established the fifth abstinence, “Brahmacharya.” He preached that a combination of good faith (samyak-darshan), right knowledge (samyak-jnana), and right behaviour (samyak-charitra) will lead to self-liberation. At 72, Lord Mahavira died (527 BCE), and his soul left the body and attained complete Nirvana at a place called Pavapuri. He attained the status of Siddha, a pure consciousness, a liberated soul, eternally blissful. People celebrated the Festival of Lights (Deepavali) in his honor on the night of his salvation.
Mallinath
Mallinath was the Tirthankara number 19 in the Jain tradition. Among the 24 Tirthankaras, Lord Mallinath was the only one who was a female. She was born in the city of Mithila. Mallinath was also called Malli.
Neminatha
Neminatha is the 22nd Tirthankara. He was the nephew of Lord Krishna (A Hindu God). Also, in a number of art pieces, he is represented as having a dark complexion. Neminatha was also called Nemi.
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About Tirthankara naam karma
Tirthankara naam karma is a special type of karma in Jainism that raises a soul to the supreme status of a Tirthankara. A Tirthankara is a savior and spiritual teacher who has conquered the saṃsara, the cycle of death and rebirth, on their own, and made a path for others to follow. After understanding the true nature of the self or soul, the Tirthankara attains Kevala Gyana (omniscience).
The Tattvartha Sutra, a major Jain text, lists sixteen observances which lead to the bandha (bondage) of this karma:
- Purity of right faith
- Reverence
- Observance of vows and supplementary vows without transgressions
- Ceaseless pursuit of knowledge
- Perpetual fear of the cycle of existence
- Giving gifts (charity)
- Practising austerities according to one's capacity
- Removal of obstacles that threaten the equanimity of ascetics
- Self-control
- Purity of conduct
- Avoidance of injury to living beings
- Patience
- Truthfulness
- Non-attachment
- Celibacy
- Contemplation on the true nature of the self
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UPSC Relevance
The 24 Jain Tirthankaras are of great importance in the UPSC in the category of Ancient Indian History and Art and Culture (General Studies Paper-1). Questions are frequently directed towards their names, sequence and symbols such as Rishabhanatha, Parshvanatha and Mahavira. Their relation with cave temples and inscriptions and Jain philosophy has significance under Prelims factual knowledge and Mains analytical answers. Join the UPSC coaching today and boost your preparation.
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