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Bhagavan Parshvanath
(श्रीपार्श्वनाथ)
Cintamani Parshvanath
Nearly 1200 years old.
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(23rd Tirthankara)
Name
..................................Parshva Nathji
Father's Name .................................Asvasena
Mother's Name .............................. .Vama
Birth Place
.............................. .Varanasi (Kasi)
Birth Thithi
.............................. ..Paush ku. 10
Diksha Thithi .............................. ..Chaitra ku.4
Kevalgyan Thithi ......................... ..Chaitra ku.4
Naksharta
.............................. ...Trivisakha
Diksha Sathi ............................... . 300
Shadhak Jeevan .......................... 70 years
Age Lived
............................. . .100 years
Lakshan Sign ............................... Nag
Neervan Place ............................ .. Sameed Shikar
Neervan Sathi ............................. 33
Neervan Thithi ............................. Shravan su.8
Colour
............................. Blue
Thirthankara Parshvanath
or Lord Parsva or Parasvanatha
was the son of King Asvasena and Queen Vama of Varanasi. At the age of
thirty he renounced the world and became an ascetic. He practiced
austerities for eighty three days. on the eighty fourth day he obtained
omniscience. Lord Parshvanath preached his doctrines for seventy years. At
the age of one hundred he attained liberation on the summit of Mount
Sammeta (Parsnath Hills).
Lord Parshvanath is always represented with the hood of a snake shading his
head. The Yaksha Dharanendra and the Yakshi Padmavati are often shown flanking
him. Once prince Parshvanath was walking into a forest. He saw an
an false ascetic Mahipala surrounded by five fires for his practice of
austeroty. With a special type of knowledge called Avdhignan Parsva could tell that a pair of snakes
was in one of the logs in the fire. He quickly warned the Mahipala that he was
burning the snakes, but instead of acting rapidly to save them, the man became
angry at Parshvanath and denied the presence of the snakes. Parshavanath pulled
out the right log and put it out, then gently split it, revealing two badly
burned snakes. He recited the Navkar Mantra, a prayer, for them before they
died. It was said that the snakes were reincarnated into the two previously
mentioned Yakshas, Dharanendra and Padmavati. Mahipala after death born a
Deva by name Sanbra.
Once Lord Parsa was engaged in yogic contemplation. While he was
absorbed in yogic contemplation, Sambaradeva was passing along that place
in his aerial vehicle. When the vehicle was just passing over the yogi, it
did not move. He looked down and saw Parsva engaged in yogic
contemplation. He became angry and wanted to destroy the yogi. He hurled
at him various weapons. He cast thunder and rain over him. He hurled rocks
over him. Thus he continued the attack for nearly a week. Learning the
awful situation Dharmendra appeared there and protected the body of the
Lord Parsva by spreading his thousands hoods over him. The weapons aimed
at by Sambra all fell as flowers at the feet of the Lord.
The four vows preached by Lord Parshvanath are: not to kill, not to
lie, not to steal, and not to own property. The vow of chastity was
without a doubt, implicitly included in the last vow, but in the two
hundred and fifty years that elapsed between the Nirvän of Parshvanath
and the preaching of Lord Mahavira, considering the situation of that time,
included the fifth vow of chastity explicitly to the existing four vows.
Thus, the number of vows preached by Lord Mahavir was five instead
of four. There were followers of Lord Parshvanath headed by Keshi Kumar at
the time Lord Mahavir. It is a historical fact that Kesi Kumar and Gandhar
Gautam, chief disciple of Lord Mahavir met and discussed the
differences. After satisfactory explanation by Gandhar Gautam, Keshi Kumar
and monks and nuns of Lord Parshvanath tradition accepted the leadership
of Lord Mahavira and they were reinitiated.
After realizing Arhanta sage, Lord Parswa spent 69 years 9
months in preaching the Dharma to all people and in all places, Finally,
he spent one month in he summit of Sammedagiri engaged in yogic
contemplation his remains four Akhati Karmas were destroyed. Thus he
attained Nirvana, the state of infinite immortal bliss of spiritual
sovereignty over the three worlds in the year 939 B.C. |
