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Their Revered Beings : 51 the Svetāmbara than the Digambara. Each Jain may honour the deity that suits his (or her) needs best. In temples, their statues or their images are placed in side-chapels, the central place being always given to one Tīrthankara or more. Generally, “Yakşa” and “Yakşi" are on each side of the Tīrthankara they guard or serve and also greet. Some adepts perform “pūjā" to them. Sometimes, they set one or more images or statues of these in their home, to better revere them and to have some favours by their influence.
According to the regions of India, Jains also worship: Vijaya or Jaya (Victory), Kirti (Glory), Murigan (Tamil goddess whọ destroys devils), etc. We must not forget other “Pre-eminent beings revered by some adepts, like the 12 “Cakravartin” (Emperors), the 9 “Balabhadra" (very virtuous), the 9 “Nārāyaņa" (divine heroes) and the 9 "Pratinārāyana” (similar to the divine heroes), etc. Some adepts pay respect to the 8 “Dikpāla" (guardians of the eight directions) that are also part of Hindu veneration: Indra at the East, Agni at the SouthEast, Yama at the South, Nirriti at the South-West, Varuņa at the West, Vāyu at the North-West, Kubera at the North and Işāna at the North-East. In Jain rituals for births and weddings, the father and the mother of the Tīrthankara and some “heavenly beings”, considered to be favourable, like Agni (god of the sacred fire), are also worshipped.
In Jain “Tantra” we note, apart from the attendant “Devī” and the “Yakşi” of the Tirthankara that we have mentioned above, some other female divinities as the “Mātņkā”, the “Vidyādevi”, the “Šāsanadevatā” and various “Yoginī”. ? Nuns (sādhvi) also praise 16 "Sati" (holy womens) for their virtues, the fidelity to their vows, and their renouncement. These are, by alphabetic order: Brāhmi, Candanā, Damayanti, Draupadi, Kausalyā, Kunti, Mrgāvati, Padmāvati, Prabhāvatī, Puspacūlā, Rājímatī, Sītā, Sivä, Subhadrā, Sulasā and Sundari.
As usual in India, the 9 Planets are often depicted at the entry of Jain temples: Sürya (the sun), Candra (the moon), Angāraka (Mars), Budha (Mercury), Brhaspati (Jupiter), Sukra (Venus), Śani (Saturn),
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| SR No. | 001794 |
| Book Title | Jains Today in World |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Pirre Paul AMIEL |
| Publisher | Parshwanath Vidyapith |
| Publication Year | 2008 |
| Total Pages | 360 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English, History, Religion, E000, & E005 |
| File Size | 24 MB |