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Pārśvanātha (), or ' and Pārasanātha ', was the 23rd of 24 Tirthankara ("Ford-Maker" or supreme preacher of Dharma) of Jainism. Pārśvanātha is the earliest Jaina tīrthaṅkara who is acknowledged as probably a historical figure, with some teachings attributed to him that may be accurately recorded, and a possible historical nucleus within the legendary accounts of his life from traditional hagiographies. Historians consider that he may have lived between 8th to 6th century BCE, founding a proto-Jaina ascetic community which subsequently got revived and reformed by Mahavira (6th or 5th century BCE).
According to traditional Jaina narratives, he was born to King Aśvasena and Queen Vāmādevī of the Ikshvaku dynasty in the Indian city of Benaras, 273 years before Mahavira, which places him between the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. Renouncing worldly life, he founded an ascetic community. He was the spiritual successor of the 22nd Tirthankar . He is popularly seen as a supreme propagator and reviver of Jainism. Pārśvanātha is said to have attained moksha on Mount Parasnath (Madhuban, Jharkhand) popular as Parasnath hill in the Ganges basin, an important Jaina pilgrimage site. His iconography is notable for the serpent hood over his head, and his worship often includes Dharaṇendra and Padmāvatī (Jainism's serpent Devtā and Devī).
Texts of the two major Jain sects differ on the teachings of Pārśvanath and Mahāvīra. The believe that there was no difference between the teachings of Pārśvanātha and Mahāvīra. According to the Śvētāmbaras, Mahāvīra expanded Pārśvanātha's first four restraints with his ideas on ahimsa () and added the fifth monastic vow (celibacy). Pārśvanātha did not require celibacy and allowed monks to wear simple outer garments.
According to some scholars, Jainism's origin as a distinctive system can be traced to him, although possibly drawing upon earlier existing doctrines. According to Paul Dundas, Jain text such as section 31 of Isibhasiyam (a description of his teachings, which may be historical) provide circumstantial evidence that he lived in ancient India. Historians such as Hermann Jacobi have accepted him as a historical figure because his Caturyāma Dharma (Four Vows) are mentioned in Buddhist texts. In the Manorathapurani, a Buddhist commentary on the Anguttara Nikaya, Vappa, the Gautama Buddha's uncle, was a follower of Pārśvanātha.
There may be a "historical nucleus" within the traditional accounts of his life, although these hagiography writings are otherwise considered later, legendary, and not historically reliable. The earliest biographical description of his life is from a chapter of the Kalpa Sūtra (traditionally ascribed to sage Bhadrabahu during 4th-3rd century BCE, but most likely dating from 2nd-1st century BCE): it is "extremely short in extent and probably modelled on that of Mahāvīra", so as it is of a and hagiographic nature, "its value as a historical document is somewhat doubtful".
However, some other scholars are more skeptical in their considerations. According to Gough, "the historicity of Pārśva is not, however, firmly established". Gough additionally notes that the stories about Pārśva are rather reflective of the much later historical context when they were written: according to Gough, "since early Jaina biographical accounts of the tīrthaṅkaras were composed in north India around the turn of the first millennium", "there is no evidence that he lived in Varanasi", which more likely reflects the city's status as "an important commercial center of north India in the early centuries of the Common Era", i.e., "the time periods when monks composed and developed these stories."
Doubts about Pārśvanātha's historicity are also supported by the oldest Jaina texts, which present Mahāvīra with sporadic mentions of ancient ascetics and teachers without specific names (such as sections 1.4.1 and 1.6.3 of the Acaranga Sutra). The earliest layer of Jaina literature on cosmology and universal history pivots around two jinas: the Adinatha (Rishabhanatha) and Mahāvīra. Stories of Pārśvanātha and Neminatha appear in later Jaina texts, with the Kalpa Sūtra the first known text. However, these texts present the tīrthaṅkaras with unusual, non-human physical dimensions; the characters lack individuality or depth, and the brief descriptions of the tīrthaṅkaras are largely modelled on Mahāvīra. The Kalpa Sūtra is the most ancient known Jaina text with the 24 tirthankar, but it lists 20; three, including Pārśvanātha, have brief descriptions compared with Mahāvīra. Early archaeological finds, such as the statues and reliefs near Mathura, lack iconography such as lions and serpents.
Two of the early bronze images of Pārśvanātha can be found on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya and Patna Museum dating back to the second century BCE to the first century CE. A first century BCE Ayagapata is in State Museum Lucknow containing the image of Pārśvanātha. A seventh century CE statue was found in the Asthal Bohar village of Rohtak, Haryana.
Section 2.15 of the Ācārāṅga Sūtra says that Mahāvīra's parents (Triśalā and Siddhārtha) were lay devotees of Pārśvanātha, which "has led to the widespread scholarly conclusion that Mahāvīra must have renounced within Pārśva's ascetic lineage." Despite the generally accepted historicity of Pārśva, some historical claims such as the link between him and Mahāvīra, whether Mahāvīra renounced in the ascetic tradition of Pārśvanātha, and other biographical details have led to different scholarly conclusions. Dundas further states, "It is impossible to be certain about the relationship between Mahāvīra and Pārśva and in actuality the chronological distance between the two teachers may have been much less than two and a half centuries."
Long points out "some scholars have suggested that Pārśvanātha and Mahāvīra were actually closer in time than the tradition claims", referring to studies by Madhusudan Dhaky—who has identified certain Jaina texts containing wording which implies that not so many years had elapsed between the two, leading Dhaky to suggest "Pārśva could not have started his ascetic career before the beginning of the sixth century BC" and "may have passed away only a few decades before Vardhamāna i.e., had started his preaching career". In Jaina tradition, Pārśva is said to have visited some cities which, according to archaeological and historical evidence, first came to prominence during India's Second Urbanisation period, in the 7th–6th century BCE.
Pārśvanātha was born with blue-black skin. A strong, handsome boy, he played with the gods of water, hills and trees. At the age of eight, Pārśvanātha began practising the twelve basic duties of the adult Jaina householder. He lived as a prince and soldier in Varanasi. The temples in Bhelupur were built to commemorate place for Panch Kalyanaka of Pārśvanātha.
According to the Digambara school, Pārśvanātha never married; Śvētāmbara texts say that he married Prabhavati, the daughter of Prasenajit (king of Kusasthala). Heinrich Zimmer translated a Jaina text that sixteen-year-old Pārśvanātha refused to marry when his father told him to do so; he began meditating instead because the "soul is its only friend".
Ahichchhatra is believed to be the place where Pārśvanātha attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience). According to Vividha Tirtha Kalpa, Kamath in an attempt to obstruct Pārśvanātha from achieving Kevala Jnana caused continuous rain. Pārśvanātha was immersed in water up to his neck and to protect him the serpent god Dharanendra held a canopy of thousand hoods over his head and the goddess Padmavati coiled herself around his body. Ahichchhatra Jaina temples are built to commemorate Pārśvanātha attaining Panch Kalyanaka. On the 14th day of the moon's waning cycle in the month of Chaitra (March–April), Pārśvanātha attained omniscience. Heavenly beings built him a samavasarana (preaching hall), so he could share his knowledge with his followers.
After preaching for 70 years, Pārśvanath attained moksha at Shikharji on Parasnath hill at the age of 100 on Shravana Shukla Saptami according to Lunar Calendar. His moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death) in Jaina tradition is celebrated as Moksha Saptami. This day is celebrated on large scale at Parasnath tonk of the mountain, in northern Jharkhand, part of the Parasnath Range by offering Nirvana Laddu (Sugar balls) and reciting of Nirvana Kanda. Pārśvanātha has been called (beloved of the people) by Jains.
King Aravinda, after the death of his minister's son, renounced his throne and led an ascetic life. When an angry Vajraghosha approached Aravinda, the ascetic saw that the elephant was the reborn Marubhuti. Aravinda asked the elephant to give up "sinful acts, remove his demerits from the past, realize that injuring other beings is the greatest sin, and begin practicing the vows". The elephant realized his error, became calm, and bowed at Aravinda's feet. When Vajraghosha went to a river one day to drink, the serpent Kamath bit him. He died peacefully this time, however, without distressing thoughts.
Agnivega was reborn as a god with a life of "twenty-two oceans of years", and the serpent went to the sixth hell. The soul of Marubhuti-Vajraghosa-Sasiprabha-Agnivega was reborn as Pārśvanātha. He saved serpents from torture and death during that life; the serpent god Dharanendra and the goddess Padmavati protected him, and are part of Pārśvanath's iconography.
According to Digambara tradition (including the Avasyaka niryukti), Pārśvanātha had 10 ganadhars and Svayambhu was their leader. Śvētāmbara texts such as the Samavayanga and Kalpa Sūtras cite Pushpakula as the chief aryika of his female followers, but the Digambara Tiloyapannati text identifies her as Suloka or Sulocana. Pārśvanātha's Digambara monk (without bonds) monastic tradition was influential in ancient India, with Mahāvīra's parents part of it as lay householders who supported the ascetics.
Keśī's (the 4th head of the monastic order in Pārśvanātha's monastic lineage) disciple Swayamprabhasuri9788192373027, Panchshil Publications. . ISBN 9788192373027 The monastic lineage of Upkeśa Gaccha is particularly important as it narrates the history of Jainism before Mahavira and describes the creation of three of the most prominent castes of Jaina followers. It also suggests the antiquity of the Śvetāmbara tradition and that white-clad ascetics were the original followers of Jainism and of Pārśvanātha, who preceded naked ascetics of the Digambara sect.
According to the Śvētāmbara tradition, Pārśvanātha and the ascetic community he founded exercised a fourfold restraint; Mahāvīra stipulated five great vows for his ascetic initiation. This difference and its reason have often been discussed in Śvētāmbara texts.
The Uttardhyayana Sutra (a Śvētāmbara text) describes Keśin Dālbhya as a follower of Pārśvanātha and Indrabhuti Gautama as a disciple of Mahāvīra and discusses which doctrine is true: the fourfold restraint or the five great vows. Gautama says that there are outward differences, and these differences are "because the moral and intellectual capabilities of the followers of the ford-makers have differed".
According to Wendy Doniger, Pārśvanātha allowed monks to wear clothes; Mahāvīra recommended nude asceticism, a practice which has been a significant difference between the Digambara and Śvētāmbara traditions.
According to the Śvētāmbara texts, Pārśvanātha's four restraints were ahimsa, aparigraha (non-possession), asteya (non-stealing) and satya (non-lying). Ancient Buddhist texts (such as the Samaññaphala Sutta) which mention Jaina ideas and Mahāvīra cite the four restraints, rather than the five vows of later Jaina texts. This has led scholars such as Hermann Jacobi to say that when Mahāvīra and the Buddha met, the Buddhists knew only about the four restraints of the Pārśvanātha tradition. Further scholarship suggests a more complex situation, because some of the earliest Jaina literature (such as section 1.8.1 of the Ācārāṅga Sūtra) connects Mahāvīra with three restraints: non-violence, non-lying, and non-possession.
The "less than five vows" view of Śvētāmbara texts is not accepted by the Digambaras, a tradition whose canonical texts have been lost and who do not accept Śvētāmbara texts as canonical. Digambaras have a sizable literature, however, which explains their disagreement with Śvētāmbara interpretations. Prafulla Modi rejects the theory of differences between Pārśvanātha's and Mahāvīra's teachings. Champat Rai Jaina writes that Śvētāmbara texts insist on celibacy for their monks (the fifth vow in Mahāvīra's teachings), and there must not have been a difference between the teachings of Pārśvanātha and Mahāvīra.
Padmanabh Jaini writes that the Digambaras interpret "fourfold" as referring "not to four specific vows", but to "four modalities" (which were adapted by Mahāvīra into five vows). Western and some Indian scholarship "has been essentially Śvētāmbara scholarship", and has largely ignored Digambara literature related to the controversy about Pārśvanātha's and Mahāvīra's teachings. Paul Dundas writes that medieval Jaina literature, such as that by the 9th-century Silanka, suggests that the practices of "not using another's property without their explicit permission" and celibacy were interpreted as part of non-possession.
Pasanaha-chairu is a hagiography of Pārśvanātha composed by Shridhara in 1132 AD. Pārśvanath bhavaantar is a kirtan (devotion song), compiled by Gangadas in 1690 AD, which narrates life of previous nine births. The medieval forty-four verse hymn Kalyanamandira stotra, composed by Digambar kumudachandra, is a praise to Pārśvanātha is popular among both Digambar and Śvētāmbara. Pārśvanātha charite is a poem composed by Shantikirt Muni in 1730 AD, this poem narrates the seven siddhis of Pārśvanātha.
Guru Gobind Singh wrote a biography of Pārśvanātha in the 17th-century Paranath Avtar, part of the Dasam Granth.
Pārśvanātha is usually depicted in a Lotus position or kayotsarga posture. Statues and paintings show his head shielded by a multi-headed serpent, fanned out like an umbrella. Pārśvanātha's snake emblem is carved (or stamped) beneath his legs as an icon identifier. His iconography is usually accompanied by Dharnendra and Padmavati, Jainism's snake god and goddess.
Serpent-hood iconography is not unique to Pārśvanātha; it is also found above the icons of Suparshvanatha, the seventh of the 24 tīrthaṅkaras, but with a small difference. SuPārśvanātha's serpent hood has five heads, and a seven (or more)-headed serpent is found in Pārśvanātha icons. Statues of both tīrthaṅkaras with serpent hoods have been found in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, dating to the 5th to 10th centuries. Earliest images of Pārśvanātha having seven snakes over his head date back to first century BCE.
Archeological sites and medieval Pārśvanātha iconography found in temples and caves include scenes and yaksha. Digambara and Śvētāmbara iconography differs; Śvētāmbara art shows Pārśvanātha with a serpent hood and a Ganesha-like yaksha, and Digambara art depicts him with serpent hood and Dhranendra. According to Umakant Premanand Shah, Hindu gods (such as Ganesha) as yaksha and Indra as serving Pārśvanātha, assigned them to a subordinate position.
The Parsvanatha ayagapata, a circa 15 CE ayagapata excavated from Kankali Tila, is a tablet of homage dedicated to Pārśvanātha. The table represents Pārśvanātha in the center surrounded by a bunches of lotus. Pārśvanātha is depicted in dhyāna mudrā with ankle crossed in lotus position seated on a pedestal with a seven-hooded sesha hood above his head and shrivatsa on the chest.
The Kahaum pillar, erected in 460 CE during the reign of Skandagupta, Gupta Empire, bears an inscription that is adoration to Arihant and features a carving of Pārśvanātha.
Important Pārśvanātha temple complexes include: Shikharji (Sammet Sikhar) in Jharkhand, Mirpur Jaina Temple, Kanakagiri Jaina tirth, Panchasara Jaina temple, Humcha Jaina temples, Ahi Kshetra, Kallil Temple, Mel Sithamur Jaina Math, Pateriaji, Nainagiri, Kundadri, Bijoliaji, Jirawala, Gajpanth, Andeshwar, Bada Gaon, Akkana Basadi, and Guru Basadi.
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