Jain Journal 1994 07

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 17

OHIRA : THE 24 BUDDHAS AND THE 24 TIRTHANKARAS
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1) The earliest firthankara image belongs to the Maurya period. 2) Parsva's image is the earliest one among the firthankara images who are
identified. 3) The images identified in the Kuşāņa age are Rşabha, Sambhava, Santinātha,
Munisuvrata, Aristanemi, Pārsva and Mahāvīra. 4) The images identified in the Gupta age are Padmaprabha and Candraprabha,
in addition to those enumerated in 3. 5) A group of tirthankaras called pancendra appears in the Gupta age. 6) Rşabha, Aristanemi, Pārsva and Mahāvīra are the most popular objects of
worship elsewhere in the canonical age.
Let us see, then, in what way ttrthankaras are recorded in the Agama. Nandtsūtra 20-21, Avasyaka II and Bhagavattsūtra XX.8 mechanically enumerate the names of the 24 tirthankaras. Samavāyanga 248 lists their names, then their stereotyped biographical particulars are itemized in its 249ff. The biographical accounts of Rsabha, Aristanemi, Pārsva and Mahāvira are taken up in the Kalpasūtra, which are treated in the dry and stereotyped manner excluding the case of Mahāvira, and brief descriptions are offered as to the rest of tirthankaras again in a stereotyped way. Needless to say, Mahāvira's biographical account appears since the earliest canonical age. Pārsva's biography is not taken up in the canon except in the Kalpasūtra. Rsabha is taken up in Jambūdutpaprajñapti II. Aristanemi appears as a secondary hero in Uttarādhyayana XXII, and he often comes in the stage as the preceptor of Krsna, for instance, in Antakrddasā III. As to śāntinātha, Sambhava, Padmaprabha and Candraprabha, they never appear in a significant way in the canon. Munisuvrata is touched upon in relation to the heroes of stories narrated in Bhagavattsutra XVI. 5.575 and XVIII. 2.616, for instance. Mallt is a female tirthankara who is taken up rather in a prominent way in Jñātādharmakathā VIII. AU these texts belong to the 4-5th canonical stages, that is, the 4-5th centuries A.D. 30
It is thus confirmed that Rsabha, Aristanemi, Pārsva and Mahāvira are the important and popular tirthankaras in the canonical texts as well as in the idol worship. The rest of the tirthankaras carved in the form of images are practically neglected in the canon. Now, let us try to explain why it happened so, and how these
30. S. Ohira : Ibid., Ch.1, "Canonical Stages"