Mallinatha

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Mallinatha
Sri Mallinatha
Idol of Mallinatha in female form at Keshavrai Patan, Rajasthan
Venerated inJainism
PredecessorAranatha
SuccessorMunisuvrata
SymbolKalasha[1]
Height25 dhanusha (75 meters)
Age56,000
ColorBlue
GenderMale (Digambara)
Female (Shvetambara)
Genealogy
Born
Mithilapuri Jain Teerth, Mithila
Died
Sammed Shikhar
Parents
  • Kumbha (father)
  • Prajnavati (mother)
DynastySomavaṁśa—Ikṣvākuvaṁśa

Mallinatha (Prakrit Mallinātha, Devanagari: मल्लिनाथ, Sanskrit: मल्लिनाथः, 'Lord of jasmine or seat') was the 19th tīrthaṅkara "ford-maker" of the present avasarpiṇī age in Jainism.

In Jain history

A diorama in Jain Museum of Madhuban, Giridih depicting Mallinatha teaching six kings the futility of bodily beauty, as per Swetambara tradition.
Mallinath Tonk on Shikharji from where Mallinatha attained Nirvana

Jain texts indicate Mālliṇātha was born at Mithila into the Ikshvaku dynasty to King Kumbha and Queen Prajnavati. Their height is mentioned as 25 dhanusha.[2] Tīrthaṅkara Māllīnātha lived for over 56,000 years, out of which 54,800 years less six days, was with omniscience (Kevala Jnana).[3] They were said to have lived for 55,000 years by other authors.[2]

Mallinatha is believed to be a woman named Malli Devi by Shvetambara Jains while the Digambara sect believes all 24 tirthankara to be men including Māllīnātha. Digambara tradition believes a woman can reach to the 16th heaven and can attain liberation only being reborn as a man. Digambara tradition says Mallinatha was a son born in a royal family, and worships Mallinatha as a male.[4][5] However, the Shvetambara tradition of Jainism states that Māllīnātha was female with a name Mallivati.[6][7]

According to Jain beliefs, Mālliṇātha became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma.[8]

Mallinatha is said to have been born 1,000 crore less 6,584,000 years after their predecessor, Aranatha.[2] Their successor, Munisuvrata, is said to have been born 54 lakh years after them.[2]

Sectarian dispute on gender

The gender of Mallinatha constitutes one of the most fundamental theological divisions between the two major Jain sects.[9] The Śvētāmbara tradition firmly maintains that Mallinatha was a woman named Mallī.[10] According to Śvētāmbara texts, in a previous incarnation as a king named Mahabala, Mallinatha engaged in deceit (maya) by secretly outperforming friends in ascetic fasting.[11] This karmic deceit resulted in rebirth with female physiology (stri-veda), while the simultaneous accumulation of immense spiritual merit (tirthankara-nama-karma) resulted in the destiny of a tirthankara.[12] The Śvētāmbara sect heavily utilizes this narrative to assert that women are fully capable of attaining ultimate spiritual liberation (moksha).[13]

Conversely, the Digambara tradition vehemently rejects this narrative, asserting that Mallinatha was male.[14] Digambara theology dictates that complete non-attachment (aparigraha) requires absolute monastic nudity, a practice strictly prohibited for women in traditional Jain monastic codes.[15] Consequently, Digambara scholars argue that female biology and societal restrictions inherently prevent the attainment of the final stages of spiritual purity, making a female tirthankara an ontological impossibility.[16] Therefore, Digambara texts, universal histories, and iconography consistently depict Mallinatha as a male figure.[17]

Literature

  1. Jnatrdharmakathah gives the story of Lord Mallinath, which is said to be composed by Ganadhara Sudharmaswami.
  2. Mallinathapurana was written by Nagachandra in 1105 CE.[18]

Main temples

Mallinatha is highly venerated by both major Jain traditions, resulting in the construction of numerous historically and architecturally significant temple complexes across the Indian subcontinent.[19] In South India, the Mannargudi Mallinatha Swamy Jain Temple in Tamil Nadu stands as one of the most prominent historical shrines dedicated to this specific tirthankara.[20] Constructed during the era of the Chola Empire, this ancient temple features classic Dravidian architecture and serves as a crucial religious center for the regional Tamil Jain community.[20] Further west in Karnataka, the Chaturmukha Basadi in Karkala is a renowned late 16th-century stone monument.[21] Completed in 1586 CE, this symmetrical, four-faced temple prominently enshrines life-size idols of Mallinatha alongside the tirthankaras Aranatha and Munisuvrata, facing all four cardinal directions.[21][22]

In western India, the Shri Mallinath Jain Derasar located in Bhoyani, Gujarat, operates as a major regional pilgrimage center, particularly for the Śvētāmbara sect.[23] This temple complex houses a highly revered white marble idol of Mallinatha seated in the traditional lotus position (padmasana).[17] According to regional historical records, this primary deity was discovered submerged in a well during the mid-19th century, prompting the immediate construction of the surrounding temple infrastructure to accommodate visiting pilgrims.[17] Additionally, the ancient city of Mithila, traditionally identified in Jain universal history as Mallinatha's royal birthplace, remains a foundational point of sacred geography and a site of continuous devotional reverence.[24]

See also

References

Citations

  1. Tandon 2002, p. 45.
  2. Finegan 1952, p. 190.
  3. Vijay K. Jain 2015, p. 203.
  4. Dundas 2002, p. 56.
  5. Umakant P. Shah 1987, pp. 159–160.
  6. Vallely 2002, p. 15.
  7. Vyas 1995, p. 19.
  8. Jaini 1998, p. 40n.
  9. Dundas 2002, p. 49.
  10. Jaini 2018, p. 1.
  11. Jaini 2018, p. 14.
  12. Dundas 2002, p. 50.
  13. Vallely 2002, p. 11.
  14. Jaini 2018, p. 3.
  15. Dundas 2002, p. 55.
  16. Jaini 2018, p. 32.
  17. Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 156.
  18. Ashton 1976, p. 20.
  19. Dundas 2002, p. 40.
  20. Titze & Bruhn 1998, p. 122.
  21. Michell 1990, p. 320.
  22. Sandhya, C D’Souza (19 November 2010), Chaturmukha Basadi: Four doors to divinity Last updated, Deccan Herald
  23. Cort 2001a, p. 145.
  24. Natubhai Shah 2004, p. 16.

Sources