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- रणकपुर की संध्या आरती
This article delves into the life of Lord Parshvanatha, covering His previous births and the longstanding animosity of Meghmali with Him. It also explains the divine intervention of Dev Dharnendra and Devi Padmavati, who protected Lord Parshvanatha from Meghmali. Additionally, the article provides historical authentication of Lord Parshvanatha and explores His iconography.
Historicity of Lord Parshvanatha
Among the twenty-four Jain Tirthankaras, historians agree that Lord Parshvanatha and Lord Mahaveera are the two with substantial historical evidence. Lord Parshvanatha preceded Lord Mahaveera by approximately two hundred and fifty years. Jains believe that during Lord Mahaveera’s time, a lineage of Lord Parshvanatha’s spiritual followers existed, and it was led by Muni Keshi Kumar.
The acceptance of Lord Mahaveer as the twenty-fourth Tirthankara
Jain texts document that Muni Keshi Kumar met Gandhar Gautam, the chief disciple of Lord Mahaveera, to discuss the beliefs of the two separate lineages that existed at that time. They discussed the spiritual quest and the differences between their respective sets of followers. Muni Gandhar Gautam’s answers convinced Muni Keshi Kumar, leading him to accept Lord Mahaveera as the twenty-fourth Tirthankara, resulting in the merging of the two groups.
Iconography of Lord Prashvanath
In the idols of early periods Lord Parshvanatha often appears as meditating deeply under the protective hood of a snake with three, five, or seven hoods. As time progressed, artists began introducing variations in the canopy of snake hoods.
In this plaque, artisans intricately carved a thousand-hooded snake, forming a beautiful arch over the body of the meditating Jina. This plaque was installed in the Ranakpur Temple in 1847.
The thousand-hooded snake in the plaque represents Yaksha Dev Dharnendra. In this plaque he is present on right hand side of Lord Parshvanatha with his wife Devi Padmavati on left hand side and the two other Nagin chauri bearers, one on each side of both of them. The carving shows Dev Dharnendra actively protecting Lord Parshvanatha from Meghmali dev. The snake in this plaque covers the entire frame with its entwined tail. This vivid and eloquent depiction symbolizes the never-ending cycles of life and death.
The story of Lord Parshvanatha
Story of Kamath and Marubhuti; animosity with Meghmali dev started in this birth
The story behind the animosity of Meghmali with Lord Parshvanatha goes back several births. It started when they were born as brothers—Kamath (the soul of Meghmali) and Marubhuti (the soul of Lord Parshvanatha). Their father was Rajpurohit.
Kamath, the elder brother, was cruel and debauch. Due to these vices, Kamath was sidelined during the time of accession, allowing Marubhuti to succeed their father as Rajpurohit. This sidelining infuriated Kamath. One day, Kamath seduced Marubhuti’s wife. Upon discovering this, Marubhuti informed the king, resulting in Kamath’s exile.
These events further fueled Kamath’s animosity and jealousy, leading him to undertake rigorous tapasya (austerities). Later, Marubhuti felt remorseful for his brother’s humiliation and exile. He looked for Kamath, bowed before him, and sought his forgiveness. However, Kamath, could not forgive him and consumed by extreme anger, he picked up a large stone and killed Marubhuti.
Births and rebirths with Lord Parshvanatha elevating his soul every time
This marked the beginning of a cycle of births and rebirths. In every birth, Lord Parshvanatha’s soul continued to elevate and purify itself through amnesty and compassion, while Kamath’s soul degraded, driven by animosity and an unrelenting desire for revenge.
The previous birth – Lord Parshvanatha as prince and Meghmali dev as wandering mendicant
In his final birth, Lord Parshvanatha was born as a prince, the son of King Asvasena and Queen Vamadevi of Varanasi. Meanwhile, Kamath’s soul was reborn as a wandering mendicant.
As Kamath roamed, he reached Varanasi and began performing the Panchagni penance. His impressive display attracted the admiration and worship of many city residents.
During this time, the young Parshvanatha developed a strong belief in non-violence, firmly opposing the killing of any form of life. One day, He passed by the area where the mendicant was conducting a public Anushthan.
Saving Dev Dharnendra and Devi Padmavati – The story of Lord Parshvanatha
When Lord Parshvanatha saw the sacrificial fire, he tried to dissuade the mendicant from taking unnecessary lives that were burning in that fire. The mendicant disagreed, believing his actions did not harm any life.
With His divine vision, Lord Parshvanatha realized that the last piece of wood placed on the fire contained a snake couple. He urgently pleaded with the monk to remove the wood from the fire, saving the innocent snakes from being burned alive
Parshvanatha’s persistent interference annoyed the mendicant. He accused Parshvanatha of speaking blatant lies to belittle him, claiming there were no snakes. Without wasting any time, young Parshvanatha removed the log of wood from the fire and split it in two, revealing a half-burnt snake couple.
This incident turned the public away from the mendicant. Insulted and proven wrong in front of a large crowd, his grudge against Parshvanatha deepened further.
Driven by his resentment, the mendicant began performing even more severe penance. After his death, he was reborn as a Dev, having accumulated good karma from his penance. He also possessed a celestial craft that responded to his wishes. Meanwhile, the snake couple was reborn as Dev Dharnendra and Devi Padmavati.
The final confrontation – Story of Lord Parshvanatha
Lord Parshvanatha decided to take sanyas (renunciation) at the age of thirty. While meditating in a forest, Meghmali Dev’s celestial craft passed over Him; however, the power of Parshvanatha’s meditation rendered it immovable.
Upon investigating, Meghmali Dev discovered that Parshvanatha’s presence was the cause behind his plane’s immobility. The hostilities from their previous births fueled Meghmali Dev’s extreme anger, leading him to believe that Parshvanatha intentionally immobilized his craft. In his rage, he unleashed heavy rains and storms upon Parshvanatha.
Dharnendra Dev and Devi Padmavati saving Lord Parshvanatha
Heavy rains poured, and the water level rose, threatening to drown Lord Parshvanatha. Recognizing Meghmali’s ill intentions, Dharnendra Dev and Devi Padmavati (the reincarnated souls of the snake couple) intervened. Dharnendra shielded Lord Parshvanatha under his hood, rendering all of Meghmali Dev’s attempts to harm Parshvanatha futile.
Dharnendra then reproached Meghmali, warning him not to trouble the graceful muni. Realizing the futility of his actions, Meghmali fell at Lord Parshvanatha’s feet, begging for forgiveness.
Throughout this episode, Lord Parshvanatha remained in deep meditation. Having attained the highest inner spiritual level and perfect equanimity, He held no affection even for Dharnendra for protecting Him, nor any hatred towards Meghmali.
Nirvana attained by Lord Parshvanatha
Bhagwan Parshvanatha attained nirvana at Sammed Shikar after living for one hundred years, spending seventy of those years as an ascetic. Some historians interpret Dharnendra’s presence, protecting Lord Parshvanatha, as evidence of Lord Parshvanatha’s following among the Naga tribes.
Never had such a huge info about Lord Parshvanatha. Beautiful narration.Thanks for the story.
Thanks Rocky for your comment and that you find the article interesting 🙂