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Devādhideva Tirthankara mirrors, fans, music etc. Meanwhile the throne of Sakra (Indra) shakes and he comes in a heavenly car with a host of gods to celebrate the birth-bath ceremony ( janma-kalyanaka) of the newly born Jina. With his magic (avasvāpinividya) the Saudharma Indra induces the Mother into deep sleep when the baby-Jina is carried by gods to the top of the Meru mountain where an elaborate bathing ceremony is performed by gods with the Jina seated on the lap of the Indra who assumes more forms and in paintings we find him doing the lustration (abhiseka) in the form of two bulls.91 Then the Indra performs thirty-two types of dances before the Lord and ultimately brings the Jina back to his mother's side. This and the descent are the first two auspicious events known as the Cyavana and the Janma Kalyānakas, in the life of a Tirthankara.
The Jina grows up and obtains training in various arts and sciences and is sometimes said to marry a princess. Some Tirthankaras do not marry at all. According to the Digambara sect, Mahavira did not marry while the Svetămbaras hold a contrary belief.
As in the life of the Buddha, Jaina traditions often describe some incidents in the lives of Tirthankaras which precipitate their decisior to renounce the worldly life. The Digambaras, for example, say that while Rşabha was seeing the dance of Nilāñjanā (sent by Indra for the purpose) she suddenly disappeared and Rşabha realised the transitoriness of human life (Fig. 18). In the case of Pärsvanatha, it is said that he saw a pata depicting the life of the preceding Tirthankara Neminātha which roused in him the desire to turn a Jaina monk. The Lokäntika gods appear before the Jina to-be and respectfully inform him that the time for taking dikşă had approached and pray to him to save the afflicted humanity by founding the Jaina 'tirtha'.
Then for full one year the would-be Jina gives handsome charities (called vārșika or varsi-dana in Kalpa-sútra miniatures) at the end of which period, he is carried in a palanquin to a park outside his city-gates where he plucks out his hair in five fistfuls (pañca-muști-lonca), removes all ornaments, garments, etc., and turns a Jaina monk. Indra and other gods attend and perform the cermony, Indra catches the plucked out hair in a costly piece of cloth and throws them in the milk-ocean. This is the Dik şa-kalyanaka in the life of every Jina.92
The Jina then begins his austerities, sometimes he fasts, and for all times he bears all hardships. Jaina texts always mention the name of the fortunate donor who was the first person to give alms to the Jipa (for breaking his first long fast). At the end of wanderings and austerities for some years the Jina obtains Kevalajñāna while he is standing or sitting in meditation under a tree. Such trees become holy trees and are called caitya-vskşas.
The Saudharma Indra comes to know that the Jina has obtained kevalajñāna or highest knowledge, omniscience. Again he comes with all the retinue and celebrates this auspicious event known as the Jñana-kalyānaka. Gods erect a special extensive structure, a sort of an amphitheatre, big like a city, with three fortifications and a central dias for the Jina to sit on and deliver his first Sermon to the congregation (Samavasarana) of celestial and human beings and animals assembled in this structure which is called the Samavasarana (Fig. 182).93
For several years again the Jina wanders from place to place and preaches the doctrine, organising the Jaina Tirtha or Sargha constituted of sädhus, sådhvis, sråvakas and śrāvikas. Ultimately he gives up food and drink, sits or stands in meditation and discards his last bondage, namely, the earthly body and becomes a Siddha. The Siddha has no physical body (Fig. 185). His soul ascends to the lşatprāgbhåra world on top of the Loka, where there is a crescent-shaped platform (siddha-sila) whereon stay all such liberated souls.94 This auspicious event is the Nirvana-kalyanaka which is generally represented by showing the Jina sitting on the Siddha-sila. Again Indra and other gods come at the time of Nirvana and celebrate the event. They lay the body of the Jina on a sandal-wood pyre, perform the cremation rite, collect the Jina's bones and return to heavens where they install the bones (dadha) in round diamondboxes on top of Mänavaka-Sthambhas (pillars) and worship them.95
Belief in Kalyanakas is very old. The Kalpa-sūtra text suggests that its main object was the narration of the various kalyánakas or chief auspicious events in the lives of Rşabha, Nemi, Parsva and Mahā. vira. The conception has its parallel in Buddhism where representations of the main events in the life of
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