________________
HISTORICITY OF TIRTHANKARA PARSVANATHA AND ...
१२७
This auspicious news spread throughout the country. The king Asvasena and Vamadevi, his parents alongwith the princes and subjects, came and offered their respects. According to the Digambara tradition, the first disciple was Svayambhu and the Prathama Aryika was Sulocana'3. Bhagvan Parsvanatha establishes the Tirtha of the four orders of society. His preachings were effective and various groups called ganas were established. Digambara tradition maintains that there were 10 Ganadharas and 10 Ganas'4. But according to Svetambara tradition 8 Ganadharas and Ganas were established's..
In his wanderings from place to place preaching his doctrine Tirthankara Parsvanatha came to the mountain Sammeda Shikhara, with 33 munis. This was the finale and the consummation of his life as a Tirthankara. He took the vow of fasting and sat for meditation on the auspicious day of Sravana sukla astami (8th day of the brighter half of Sravana). In the Vishaka Naksatra, Tirthankarą Parsvanatha attained the highest state of Perfection - Moksha'
· Parsvanatha is supposed to have attained nirvana about 250 years before the nirvana of the 24th Tirthankara Vardhamana Mahavira. He lived for one hundred years. He renounced the world at the age of thirty and practised severe penance on the mount Sammeda Shikhara. It is located in Bihar nearer to West Bengal. The mount is even now called as Parsvanatha Hill. He preached his doctrines to the people for seventy years, and after attaining the age of one hundred years in 777 B.C. attained the supreme state of Nirvana. WORSHIP OF PARSVANATHA
Parsvanatha worship finds prominence among the Jains since very ancient times, and the same affirmed by the very large number of images of this Tirthankara. There are evidences to say that
