Jain Spirit 2003 03 No 14

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 29

FEATURES
Masters Of Truth
L. M. Singhvi examines the lives and contributions of the last two
Tirthankaras, Parsva and Mahavir
HE IMAGES OF THE TWENTY-THIRD AND TWENTY-FOURTH TIRTHANKARAS, LORD Parsva and Lord Mahavir, shine brilliantly in the firmament of Jain tradition. The historicity of Lord
Mahavir was always beyond question but that of Lord Parsva was conclusively established by Dr. Herman Jacobi.
Lord Parsvanath was born in Kashi (Varanasi) in the ninth century BC. His parents were Asvasena, the ruler of Kashi, and Vamadevi. He grew up to be an accomplished prince and to fulfil his father's desire, married Prabhavati, the daughter of King Prasenjit. He made an ascetic, Katha Sor Kamath, see the error of his ways, as he threw a great serpent into the fire-pan while performing
the severe five fire penance (panchagni tapas). According to Parsvanathacharita, translated by
Maurice Bloomfield, one day in the spring season Parsva saw a picture of Aristanemi (or Neminath, the twenty-second Tirthankara) painted on a wall in his palace and was inspired to follow his example and renounce the world, which he did when he was thirty years old. He attained nirvana at the Sammet Mountain, also known as Parsavanath Hill, which is sacred to Jains. It is at Parsvanath Hill
that most of the Tirthankaras attained nirvana. Lord Parsvanath travelled far and wide and cast a spell over the people of India. In Prakrit literature he is referred to as purushadaniya, a great man, an ennobled exemplar. The hallmark
of his identification or his insignia is the hooded serpent. Rshabha's insignia is the royal canopy; Mahavir's emblem is the lion. Rshabha, Santinatha, Neminath, Parsva and Mahavir are the most extensively sculpted and the most widely idolised and worshipped Tirthankaras.
Parsva dispelled ignorance, resisted priestocracy and was opposed to ritual violence. He also established a sangha, a system followed both by Jains and Buddhists. He permitted women to be given diksha. The Aryans as well as the tribal people acclaimed Parsva as their spiritual master. His teachings held sway in his time and he became the living legacy for future generations for many centuries. Lord Mahavir and Lord Buddha were both heirs to Lord
Parsva's legacy. Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, the grandfather of Ashoka the Great, became a Jain monk. Emperor Kharvela of Kalinga was a Jain. During the time of Lord Mahavir and Lord Buddha, there were many Sramana monks who belonged to the order, sangha, founded by Lord Parsvanath. They eventually joined Lord Mahavir's order, Lord Buddha's order or other Sramana proponents.
The 24th and last Jain Tirthankara, Lord Mahavir was born in the sixth century BC. He inherited the mantle of Parsva and carried forward the revolution of ideas that had made Parsva the most widely acknowledged spiritual leader of his time. He consolidated the Sramana doctrines into a systematic statement of philosophy and ethics and the art and science of life. Parsva and Mahavir taught the philosophy of optimum and incremental ahimsa not only to those who had become monks but also to common men. He sought to emancipate the Indian society from the shackles of superstition and priest craft, and proclaimed the equality of men and women.
Vardhamana was born to Sidhartha and Trishala. Trishala was the sister of Chetak, head of the republic of Vaishali. Vardhamana was given the appellation of Mahavir because of his steadfast and
indomitable courage and determination. According to Shvetambara tradition, Vardhamana was married to 1 Yashoda and had a daughter named Priyadarshina. According to Digambara tradition, he remained a
bachelor. He was 28 years old when his parents passed away. At that stage, he wanted to Parshvanatha, 12th century,
become a Sramana, but his elder brother, Nandi - Vardhana persuaded him to postpone his in collection of
renunciation for two years. He left his home and became a Sramana at the age of 30. After Victoria and Albert Museum, deep meditation, severe penance and many trials and tribulations, Vardhamana Mahavir London.
attained enlightenment (kaivalya) in the seventh month of the thirteenth year of his
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Jain Spirit - March - May 2003