World of Conquerors

Author(s): Natubhai Shah
Publisher: Natubhai Shah

Page 28

Chapter 2.2 THE LATER TIRTHANKARAS
In Jain tradition the twenty-four tirthankaras are born in each half of the cycle of time. I We are currently in the regressive half-cycle (avasarpini), when it is steadily becoming
more and more degenerative. Risabhdeva, the first tirthankara of the present halfcycle, lived during the latter part of the third phase of this half-cycle, when life was on balance rather happier than unhappy. His successors, the other twenty-three tirthankaras, lived during the fourth phase when unhappiness prevailed but did not completely exclude happiness. The twenty-four tirthankaras and their iconographic symbols are set out in table 2.1.
Table 2.1 The twenty-four tirthankaras and their iconographic symbols
tirthankara Symbol
Tirthankara Symbol 1. Risabhdeva Bull
13. Vimala Boar 2. Ajita Elephant
14. Ananta Hawk 3. Sambhava Horse
15. Dharma Thunderbolt 4. Abhinandana Ape
16. Shanti
Deer 5. Sumati Partridge 17. Kunthu
Goat 6. Padmaprabha Lotus
18. Ara
Nandyavarta 7. Suparsva Swastika
19. Malli
Water jar 8. Candraprabha Moon
20. Munisuvrata Tortoise 9. Suvidhi Crocodile
21. Nami
Blue lotus 10. Sitala Srivatsa 22. Nemi
Conch shell 11.Sreyansa Rhinoceros 23. Parsva
Cobra 12. Vasapujya Buffalo
24. Mahavira Lion [Note: the suffix nath(a) or swami meaning lord or protector is commonly added to many of these names.]
The succession was not continuous: there were long periods between one tirthankara's leaving the world and another's appearance to teach the faith to the people. The Jain scriptures relate the extraordinary attributes, dimensions and longevity of these teachers. We are on the verge of history, albeit still shadowy, with the twentieth tirthankara Munisuvrata, said to have been a contemporary of Rama, the hero of the great epic, the Ramayana, but who is also prominent in the Jain biographical literature, the Padmapuraana. Neminatha, the twenty-second, is described as a cousin of Lord Krishna who figures so prominently in the Mahabharata, and if Krishna is accepted as an historical figure, then we can probably argue that Neminatha was also historical. With Parsvanatha there is little doubt as to his historicity: according to the traditional dating he lived and preached in the eighth century BCE, 250 years before Mahavira and, of course, there can be no serious challenge to the historical existence of Mahavira. In this chapter we shall look briefly at the lives and teachings of the last two tirthankaras before Mahavira, Neminatha and Parsvanatha. The life of Mahavira, who was certainly not the founder of Jainism, though he can have some claim to be considered as the founder of the modern Jain faith, as we know it today, will be considered in the next chapter.