Study of Jainism

Author(s): T G Kalghatgi
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 68

Other Tirthankaras
episodes of the biographies - the attainment of fulfilment - Samvara's attack on Parsvanatha corresponds to that of Māra, the god of desire and death, on the meditating Gautama Sakyamuni”.67
2. We now come to the discussion of the concept of the Yakşa Yakșiņi Dharaṇendra and Padmavati and the symbolism involved in the cult of Yakşa Yakşiņi. It is woven round a mythological story in the life incident of tirthankara Parsvanatha. One day as we saw earlier, when Parsva, the future tirthankara was engrossed in meditation, a celestial deity by name Samvara, who was his brother and avowed enemy in the former lives, stopped in his celestial journey by the sudden splendour of the saint Parsva. Samvara realised that his enemy Parsvanatha was to get the enlightenment. He wanted to distract him from the austere path to enlightenment. He brought down a dense and terrible darkness and conjured up the howling cyclone. Trees splintered and hurled through the air. The god, exceedingly wrathful, became as hedious as he could, face black, mouth vomiting fire, and he was like the god of death. The whole subterranean world began to tremble. Then Dharanendra and his consort Padmavati came to Lord Parsva sensing danger to him, who was deeply engrossed in meditation and was not aware of it. They made obeisance to Parsvanatha, stood on either side of him spreading their hoods so that not a drop of the torrent touched his body. The apparitions were so large and terrifying that the god Samvara, the deity who was the enemy of Parsva, turned his chariot and fled.
This incident has its antecedent incident of the previous life of Dharanendra and Padmavati. Parsvanatha, the young boy, the future tirthankara, was full compassion to the dying couple of serpents when they were axed to death by Mahipala, his maternal grandfather. Parsvanatha had remonstrated to Mahipala not to cut the log of wood, as 'a serpent and his mate are dwelling inside'. Do not murder them for nothing'. But Mahipala turned with scorn, raised his axe and cut the log into two. And there the serpent couple was writhing in pain as they were cut in half. The young prince chanted the mantras to the dying serpents out of compassion and they died a calm and meritorious death. And they were reborn in the underworld as Dharanendra and Padmavati