Product Code Database
In Jainism, a Tirthankara (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the dharma (righteous path). The word tirthankara signifies the founder of a tirtha, a fordable passage across saṃsāra, the sea of interminable birth and death. According to Jains, tirthankaras are the supreme preachers of dharma, who have conquered saṃsāra on their own and made a path for others to follow. After understanding the true nature of the self or soul, the Tīrthaṅkara attains kevala jnana (omniscience). A Tirthankara provides a bridge for others to follow them from saṃsāra to moksha (liberation).
In Jain cosmology, the wheel of time is divided into two halves, Utsarpiṇī, the ascending time cycle, and avasarpiṇī, the descending time cycle (said to be current now). In each half of the cycle, exactly 24 tirthankaras grace this part of the universe. There have been infinitely many tirthankaras in the past. The first tirthankara in the present cycle (Hunda Avsarpini) was Rishabhanatha, who is credited with formulating and organising humans to live in a society harmoniously. The 24th and last tirthankara of the present half-cycle was Mahavira (599 BC–527 BC). History records the existence of Mahavira and his predecessor, Parshvanatha, the 23rd tirthankara.
A tirthankara organises the sangha, a fourfold order of Jain monasticism, srāvakas (male followers) and śrāvikās (female followers).
The tirthankara's teachings form the basis for the Jain Canon law. The inner knowledge of tirthankara is believed to be perfect and identical in every respect, and their teachings contain no contradictions. The degree of elaboration varies according to society's spiritual advancement and purity during their period of leadership. The higher the level of society's spiritual advancement and purity of mind, the lower the elaboration required.
While Jains document and revere tirthankaras, their grace is said to be available to all living beings regardless of religion.
Tīrthaṅkaras are arihants who, after attaining Kevala Jnana (pure infinite knowledge), preach the dharma. An Arihant is also called Jina (victor), one who has conquered inner enemies such as anger, attachment, pride, and greed. They dwell exclusively within the realm of their soul and are entirely free of kashayas, inner passions, and personal desires. As a result of this, unlimited , or spiritual powers, are readily available to them, which they use exclusively for living beings' spiritual elevation. Through darśana, divine vision, and deshna, divine speech, they help others attain kevalajñana and moksha (final liberation).
In Jain tradition, the 20 tirthankaras attained moksha on Mount Shikharji, in the present Indian state of Jharkhand. Rishabhanatha attained nirvana on Mount Ashtāpada (Mount Kailash), Vasupujya in Champapuri, Bihar, Neminatha on Mount Girnar, Gujarat, and Mahavira, the last tirthankara, at Pawapuri, near modern Patna. Twenty-one of the tirthankaras are said to have attained moksha in the kayotsarga (standing meditation posture), while Rishabhanatha, Neminatha, and Mahavira are said to have done so in the Padmasana (lotus position).
| Golden |
| Golden |
| Golden |
| Golden |
| Golden |
| Red |
| Green |
| White |
| White |
| Golden |
| Golden |
| Red |
| Golden |
| Golden |
| Golden |
| Golden |
| Golden |
| Golden |
| Blue |
| Black/Dark Blue |
| Golden |
| Black/Dark Blue |
| Green |
| Golden |
| King Bimbisara |
| Mahavira's uncle Suparshva |
| King Kaunik's son king Udayin |
| The ascetic Pottil |
| Śrāvaka Dridhayadha |
| Kartik's Shreshti |
| Shravak Shamkha |
| Shravak Ananda |
| Shravak Sunand |
| Sharavak Shatak |
| Satyaki of Mahabharata |
| Krishna |
| Satyaki Rudhra |
| Krishna's brother Balbhadra also known as Balrama |
| Shravika Sulsa |
| Krishna's brother's mother Rohini Devi |
| Revati Gathapatni |
| Sharavak Shattilak |
| Rishi Dwipayan |
| Karna of Mahabharata |
| Nirgranthaputra or Mallanarada |
| Shravak Ambadh |
| Shravak Amar |
| Swati |
Tirthankara images have no distinctive facial features, clothing, or (mostly) hairstyles, and are differentiated based on the symbol or emblem ( Lanchhana) belonging to each tirthanakara except Parshvanatha. Statues of Parshvanatha have a snake crown. The first Tirthankara, Rishabha, is identifiable by the locks of hair falling on his shoulders. Sometimes Suparshvanath is shown with a small snake-hood. The symbols are marked in the centre or the corner of the statue's pedestal. The Jain sects Digambara and Śvetāmbara have different depictions of idols. Digambara images are naked without any ornamentation, whereas Śvetāmbara ones are clothed and decorated with temporary ornaments. The images are often marked with Srivatsa on the chest and Tilaka on the forehead. Srivatsa is one of the ashtamangala (auspicious symbols), which sometimes resembles fleur-de-lis, an endless knot, a flower, or a diamond-shaped symbol.
The bodies of tirthankara statues are exceptionally consistent throughout over 2,000 years of the historical record. The bodies are rather slight, with very wide shoulders and a narrow waist. Even more than is usual in Indian sculpture, the depiction takes relatively little interest in accurate depiction of musculature and bones but is interested in modeling outer surfaces as broad swelling forms. The ears are extremely elongated, alluding to the heavy earrings the figures wore in their early lives before they took the path to enlightenment, when most were wealthy, if not royal.
Sculptures with four heads are not uncommon in early sculpture, but unlike the comparable Hindu images, these represent four different tirthanakaras, not four aspects of the same deity. Multiple extra arms are avoided in tirthanakara images, though their attendants or guardians may have them.Srinivasan, Doris, Many Heads, Arms, and Eyes: Origin, Meaning, and Form of Multiplicity in Indian Art, pp. 329-330, 1997, BRILL, , 9789004107588, google books
Champat Rai Jain, a 20th-century Jain writer, claimed that the "Four and Twenty Elders" mentioned in the Book of Revelation (the final book of the Christian Bible) are "Twenty-four Tirthankaras".
|
|
