Parshwanathopasargaharini Shasandevi Shree Padmavatimata

SR No.: 005139
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Nandlal B Devluk
Publisher: Arihant Prakashan
Publication Year: 1995
Total Pages: 688
Language: Gujarati
Classification: Book_Gujarati
File Size: 33 MB

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are also shown great reverence. The literature also refers to the worship of the attendant Gods and Goddesses of the Jinas (Yaksa and Yaksini). Among the numerous deities, the cult of Padmavati and Jvalamalini gained wide popularity in South India.
[ શ્રી પાર્શ્વનાથોપસર્ગ-હારિણી
Yaksa cult was widely prevalent in ancient India among Hindus, Buddhist and Jainas as is evident from the literary as well as archaeological evidences. Yaksa were considered guardian deities of the Tirthankara. We have two attendant deities (Yaksa and Yaksini). The origin of Yaksa cult can also be traced back to animism. In due course of time Yaksa-worship gained prominence as objects of worship since they are able to intervene actively in the process of reward and retribution, whereas the Tirthankaras being Siddhas do not intervene in such process.
The Yaksi cult came into existence around 2nd C.A.D. according to P.B. Desai, in South India. According to an allusion from Silappadikaram, Jainism had to compete with the Saivaite and Vaishnavite creeds in the Tamil country. In Saivism and Vaishnavism prominence is given to the worship of the deities like Parvati and Laxmi, who are the consorts of Siva and Vishnu resp. Jain Tirthankaras had no female counterparts as in Hindu Pantheon. To make the Jaina religion popular and to capture the devotional mind of the common people they seem to have introduced and stressed the Yaksi or mother worship by raising her to a higher rank. This elevation of some Jina yaksini from the minor deities to a superior position formed the basis of the mother cult. The yaksinis, a class of attendant deities, underwent considerable change, having risen to prominence they were worshipped as independant deities among the Jainas. The Jaina preceptors, who contributed to the development of the Yaksini cult, seem to have concentrated their attention on the worship of some particular Yaksinis. Padmavati, Jvalamalini and Ambika emerged as the most popular goddesses from the minor deities.
Padmavati, the guardian deity of the 23rd Jina Parsvanatha, was one of the most popular goddesses of Jainas not only in south, where it has its origin but also in the North. She was in her ascendancy during 10th-12th C.A.D. The host of literature written on Padmavati, reflects the popularity of the goddess. There are books like Padmavati Upasana, Padmavati Mahatmaya, Bharav Padmavati Kalpa which explain the ritual connected with Padmavati worship.