Dharmanath

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Dharmanatha
15th Jain Tirthankara
Lord Dharmanatha at Gruh jinalay, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Venerated inJainism
PredecessorAnantanatha
SuccessorShantinatha
SymbolVajra
Height45 bows (135 meters)
Age2,500,000 years
ColorGolden
Genealogy
Born
Ratnapuri[1]
Died
Sammed Shikhar
Parents
  • Bhānu (father)
  • Suvratā (mother)
DynastyIkṣvākuvaṁśa

Dharmanatha was the fifteenth Jain Tirthankara of the present age (Avasarpini). According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Dharmanath was born to King Bhanu Raja and Queen Suvrata Rani at Ratnapuri in the Ikshvaku dynasty. His birth date was the third day of the Magh Sukla month of the Indian calendar.[2]

Hutheesing Jain Temple, located at Ahmedabad in Gujarat, constructed in 1848 AD, is dedicated to him.

Life and legends

According to traditional Jain accounts, Dharmanatha is revered as the 15th tirthankara of the current cosmic age (avasarpini).[3][2] Jain universal history states that he was born into the ancient Ikshvaku dynasty to King Bhanu and Queen Suvrata in the city of Ratnapuri, India.[4] His birth is traditionally celebrated on the third day of the Magha Shukla month of the lunisolar Jain calendar.[2] Within the expansive framework of Jain cosmology, texts attribute to him a symbolic lifespan of 2,500,000 years and a towering physical height of 45 bows (dhanushas).[5][6] After a period of ruling his kingdom, traditional narratives describe him renouncing worldly attachments and political power to become an ascetic, eventually attaining omniscience (Kevala Jnana).[4] Like many of his spiritual predecessors, he ultimately achieved liberation from the cycle of rebirth (moksha) on the sacred peaks of Mount Shikharji (Sammed Shikhar) in modern-day Jharkhand.[7]

Dharmanatha is said to have been born 4 sagara after his predecessor, Anantanatha.[6] His successor, Shantinatha, is said to have been born 3 sagara less 3/4 palya after him.[6]

Famous Temple

As the 15th tirthankara, Dharmanatha is the primary deity of several architecturally and culturally significant temple complexes across the Indian subcontinent.[3] In western India, the Hutheesing Jain Temple in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, stands as one of the most prominent monuments dedicated to his worship.[8] Constructed in 1848 CE during a severe famine by the wealthy merchant Hutheesing family, this spectacular two-storied white marble temple is celebrated for its intricate stone carvings and features Dharmanatha as its primary enshrined deity (moolnayak).[9]

In southern India, the Kochi Jain temple located in Mattancherry, Kochi (Kerala), serves as a crucial spiritual and cultural anchor for the regional Gujarati Jain diaspora.[10] Built in 1904, it stands as a highly significant center of Jain worship and mercantile history in the deep south of the subcontinent.[10] Furthermore, marking the geographic site of his final liberation, the peaks of Mount Shikharji house a dedicated shrine (tonk) enshrining his footprints, which remains a major pan-Indian pilgrimage destination.[7]

See also

References

Citations

  1. Tandon 2002, p. 45.
  2. Tukol 1980, p. 31.
  3. Dundas 2002, p. 40.
  4. Natubhai Shah 2004, p. 16.
  5. Wiley 2009, p. 240.
  6. Finegan 1952, p. 190.
  7. Cort 2001a, p. 23.
  8. Titze & Bruhn 1998, p. 119.
  9. Yagnik & Sheth 2005, p. 102.
  10. Kumar Suresh Singh 2002, p. 490.

Sources