Bhagwan Kunthunath - 17th Tirthankar

The name of the powerful and illustrious king of Khadgi town in Purva Mahavideh area was Simhavaha. He was a very devoted and religious person when his son became young and capable, he handed over his kingdom to the son and took Diksha from Samvaracharya. As a result of his vigorous penance and devotion for the Arhat, he earned the Tirthankar-nam-and gotra-karma. Completing his age he reincarnated in the Sarvarthsiddha dimension of gods.

From the dimension of gods he descended into the womb of queen Shri Devi, wife of king Shursen of Hastinapur. During her pregnancy the queen saw a heap of gemstones known as Kunthu in her dreams. This inspired the king to name him Kunthu Kumar. The pious deeds of earlier birth resulted in unlimited power and grandeur for Kunthu Kumar. After Shursen became an ascetic, Kunthu Kumar ascended the throne. Soon the disc weapon appeared in his armory and he proceeded to conquer the world with his mighty army. Without any confrontation all the kings accepted his sovereignty and Kunthunath became a Chakravarti. Many mighty kings and princes used to be present in his court all the time. After a long and peaceful reign of twenty three thousand seven hundred and fifty years he became an ascetic along with one thousand kings immediately after Diksha he acquired Manah paryav Jnan. He spent sixteen years as an ordinary ascetic. Indulging in penances and other spiritual practices, he attained omniscience on the third day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra under a Tilak tree in Sahasramara jungle outside Hastinapur. His first discourse was on the subject of "inner purity".

As an omniscient ascetic Kunthunath wandered around and preached true religion for a very long period. He then went to Sammetshikhar and observed a month long fast before breathing his last. His followers were deeply devoted to him. As such, a large crowd was present at the moment of his Nirvana and cremation ceremony. They witnessed the ceremony with heavy hearts and tear filled eyes. The mortal remains of Bhagavan Kunthunath were taken away by the gods for worship.

Bhagwan Shantinath - 16th Tirthankar

The account of the earlier incarnations of Bhagavan Shantinath indicates that his being had taken the path of discipline that lead toward purity of soul many births before. As a result of this uplifting during his incarnations as Shrisen and Vajrayudh it was born as Meghrath, the son of king Dhanrath of Pundarikini town in Purva Mahavideh area. At the proper time, king Dhanrath gave the kingdom to Meghrat and became an ascetic.

Protection to a Refugee

Meghrath was a benevolent and religious ruler. He was compassionate and protected all living things. Being a Kshatriya and a warrior he had the chivalry to sacrifice all he had in order to protect those in trouble.

One day while observing the partial renunciation vow (Paushadh) he was about to start a discourse on the religion propagated by the Tirthankars. All of a sudden a pigeon, trembling with fear, fell in his lap and uttered in choking human voice, "Save me, O king! Give me refuge, take me under your protection!" The compassionate king comforted the bird and took it under his protection.

The pigeon was followed by a falcon who too uttered in human language, "O king! This pigeon is my food, leave it alone." The king tried to explain, "It has taken refuge with me, as such I am duty bound to protect it. I will give you any type of food you want; why kill a living thing just to fill your stomach?"

The falcon insisted, "If you will not leave it I may die of hunger. I am a carnivore; who will provide me food. If I die, you will be responsible and bear the sin."

When the falcon did not yield, Meghrath said at last, "O falcon! As long as I exist, I will not allow you to die. I will cut out flesh from my body equivalent to the weight of this little pigeon and give it to you. You may satisfy your urge to eat. But under no circumstance I shall allow you to kill the bird that has taken refuge with me."

The falcon agreed to this proposal and the king put the pigeon in one pan of balance and in the other started putting pieces of flesh cut out from his own body. Surprisingly, the weight of the pigeon continued to increase as the king went on putting his flesh in the pan. Witnessing this pathetic scene, the queens and the members of the assembly were moved to tears. They requested the king not to sacrifice his precious life for a mere pigeon. The falcon, was also requested relent but he too declined.

The king continued to cut flesh from his body and put it in the pan of the balance. At last, when the pieces of flesh were not enough, the king got up from his seat and sat down in the pan. Everyone present was dumb struck at this lofty compassion and chivalry displayed by the king. Suddenly there was a flesh of divine light and a divine personage appeared. The pigeon and the falcon disappeared. The god addressed the king, "Maharaj! The king of gods was praising your compassion and courage, in his assembly. I could not contain myself and came around to test you myself. All this was my creation. You come out with flying colors. You are worthy of the praise bestowed on you by the King of gods. Please forgive me." The god filled Meghrathï wounds instantaneously and left for his abode.

Whenever there is a talk about chivalry and compassion king Meghrathï's name is taken with respect.

Unflinching Discipline

Disturbed by the miseries of the mundane life, one day king Meghrath was doing mediation. He transcended to a very high level of purity. Knowing about this uncommon purity and determination of Meghrath the king of gods bowed to him with reverence, "My salutations to you O citizen Yogi! there are but a few in this world who could reach this level of detachment and purity." Two senior consorts of Indra, Surup and Atirup did not like this gesture of praise of a mere human. They both came to disturb the meditation of Meghrath. They made several beautiful and voluptuous damsels appear before the king. These beauties tried to disturb Meghrath by a display of dances and inviting gestures. When these night long seductive afflictions failed to disturb king Meghrath, the goddesses, before returning to their abode, appeared themselves and asked the king to forgive them.

King Meghrath, then, coronated his on and took Diksha from Arhat Dhanrath. Due to his increasing purity in meditation in the face of many afflictions, he earned the Tirthankar-nam and gotra-karma. Completing his age he reincarnated in the Sarvarthsiddha dimension of gods.

From the dimension of gods, the being that was Meghrath descended into the womb of queen Achira, wife of king Vishvasen of Ikshvaku clan and ruler of Hastinapur.

Once there was a great storm in the Hastinapur area. There were heavy rains and many other calamities. An epidemic followed these calamities and hundreds of people started dying every day. The masses appealed to the king to save them, but the king took a vow that he will not eat or drink as long as peace and normalcy does not return to his kingdom.

Move by this harsh vow of king Vishvasen, the king of gods himself appeared before the king said, "O king! You are disturbed unnecessarily. Is there any death at the place where the wish-fulfilling trio of Chintamani, Kalpavriksha, and Kamdhenu (divine gem, tree and cow) exist? The embodiment of peace is being carried by queen Achira Devi in her womb and you still feel disturbed. It surprises me!" The Indra then sang a panegyric in praise of the Tirthankar and advised the king, "Let the queen got to the roof top and sing this panegyric. After this, let her throw a glance at the vast expanses of your kingdom all around. This pacifying glance of the queen will remove all miseries from wherever it reaches."

On the thirteenth day of the dark half of the month of Jyeshta the queen gave birth to the great and illustrious son. The whole universe, including even the hell, was pervaded by a soothing glow and a feeling of joy and happiness. Due to the pacifying influence during the period of pregnancy, the new born named Shanti Kumar (Shanti = Peace). When he came of age he was married. At proper time king Vishvasen gave the kingdom Shantinath and took Diksha.

After a few years king Shantinath got a son who was named Chakrayudh. Several years later, the divine disc weapon appeared in the armory. When the traditional worship rituals of this weapon were concluded, it started moving toward the east on its own. Shantinath followed the Chakra with his armed forces. Most of the kings on the way surrendered. After defeating the remaining few Shantinath became a Chakravarti.

When, after a long and peaceful reign, he realized that the moment for his renunciation was approaching, Shantinath went into the Sahasramra jungle, and, becoming an ascetic commenced his practices.

After wandering as an ascetic for one year he returned to the same jungle and there, on the ninth day of the bright half of the month of Paush, he attained omniscience under a Nandi tree. His first discourse was on the subject of disciplining the senses. He came to Sammetshikhar after a long period wandering and propagating true religion. There, along with nine hundred other ascetics, he observed a month long fast that started his final meditation. On the thirteenth day of the dark half of the month of Jyeshta, Bhagavan Shantinath attained Nirvana.

Bhagwan Dharmnath - 15th Tirthankar

The being that was to become Bhagavan Dharmnath was king Dridhrath of Bhaddilpur in Mahavideh area, in its earlier incarnation. Although he had enormous wealth and a large kingdom, he led a detached and pious life like a lotus in a pond. Even great saints praised him as the embodiment of religion. During the later part of his life king Dridhrath became an ascetic and as a result of his unblemished character and sincere spiritual practices he earned the Tirthankar-nam and gotra-karma. Completing his age he reincarnated as a god in the Vaijayant dimension.

This being then descended into the womb of queen Suvrata, wife of king Bhanuraja of Ratnapur. During the pregnancy the queen devoted all her time in religious activities. Even the king and all other members of the family were inclined to devote maximum time to various religious activities like charity, righteousness, penances, studies etc. On the third day of the bright half of the month of Magh a son was born to the queen. Due to the religious influence during the pregnancy period, the king gave him the name Dharmnath. In due course he became young, was married and then ascended the throne. He ruled successfully for a long period.

One day he terminated all worldly attachments and became and ascetic. After two years of spiritual practices he became omniscient. His first religious discourse was attended by the fifth Vasudev Purush Simha and Sudarshan Baldev.

In his first discourse he mainly dealt with the subject of form and ill effects of passions. A large audience was benefited by this eloquent discourse. At last he went to Sammetshikhar and got Nirvana.

Bhagwan Anantnath - 14th Tirthankar

Queen Suyasha Devi, wife of king Simhasen of Ayodhya, gave birth to an illustrious son on the thirteenth day of the dark half of the month of Vaishakh. During her pregnancy the queen dreamt of a very long strand of beads whose ends were not visible. The power and the glory of the king also increased manifold during this period. Accordingly the new born was named Anant (endless) Kumar.

After leading a normal life, first as a price and then as the king he became an ascetic along with one thousand other persons. He became an omniscient on the fourteenth day of the dark half of the month of Vaishakh under an Ashok tree. In his first discourse he elaborated the subject of the fundamentals-matter and life. He had fifty chief disciples including the senior most named Yash. Purushottam Vasudev and Suprabh Baldev reigned during his period of influence.

Bhagavan Anantnath got Nirvana at Sammetshikhar on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra.

Bhagwan Vimalnath - 13th Tirthankar

King Kritvarma and queen Shyanan Devi of Kampilpur were both spiritualists and devotees of the Jina. The queen one day saw fourteen auspicious things in her dream and the augurs announced that she will give birth to a Tirthankar. It was the pious soul that in its earlier birth was king Padmasen of Mahapuri town in Datakikhand and had descended into the queens womb from the Mahardhik dimension of gods.

During her pregnancy the queen radiated a soothing glow. Her temperature also became congenial, kind, and generous. When the child was born the whole atmosphere was also filled with a soothing glow. Inspired by this spread of purity, the king named his new born son as Vimal (pure/untarnished).

In due course, prince Vimal Kumar became young, was married, and then ascended the throne. After a long and successful reign he became a Shraman along with one thousand other kings and princes on the fourth day of the bright half of the month of Magh. After two years of spiritual practices he attained omniscience and established the religious ford. Merak Prativasudev, Svayambhu Vasudev, and Bhadra Baldev were his contemporaries.

Bhagavan Vimalnath got Nirvana at Sammetshikhar on the seventh day of the dark half of the month of Ashadh.

Bhagwan Vasupujya - 12th Tirthankar

King Padmottar ruled over Mangalavati town of Ardhapushkar island. He was a person devoted to spiritual pursuits. In later part of his life he took Diksha from Acharya Vajranabh. Reducing the tarnish of Karma by penance and spiritual practices he earned the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma and incarnated as a god in the Pranat dimension.

Vasupujya was the king of Champa town in the Bharat sub-continent. His queen was Jaya Devi. Besides being a great warrior King Vasupujya was a compassionate and charitable person. The queen too was benevolent and she inspired the king in his charitable activities.

The being that was Padmottar was born to queen Jaya Devi. It is said that when the queen was pregnant, the king of gods came to convey his veneration to the future Tirthankar and his mother. As Indra is also known as Vasu, the newborn was named Vasupujya (venerated by Vasu).

As Vasupujya grew, so grew his inherent detachment and apathy for mundane affairs. He had no attraction for the regal splendor and grandeur. When he became young his parents wanted him to marry but he declined. He even conveyed that he had no intention of ascending the throne. In spite of all persuasions from his family members, he renounced the worldly life and became a Shraman on the fifteenth day of the dark half of the month of Phalgun along with six hundred other persons.

The intensity of his spiritual practices was so deep that he became an omniscient within one month. At that moment he was practicing under a Patal tree in a garden outside Champa town. He established the four pronged religious ford and preached for a long period.

The second Vasudev, Dwiprishtaha, was his devotee. He and his brother Baldev Shrivijay conquered Prativasudev Tark and brought his oppressive rule to an end. Shrivijay later joined the ascetic order of Bhagavan Vasupujya.

Bhagavan Vasupujya got Nirvana in Champa town on the fourteenth day of the bright half of the month of Ashadh.

Bhagwan Shreyansnath - 11th Tirthankar

In his earlier incarnation, the being that was to become Bhagavan Shreyansnath purified his soul as king Nalingulm, and went to the Mahashakra dimension of gods. From there he descended and took birth as Shreyans Kumar, the son of king Vishnuraja and queen Vishnu Devi of Simhapur. Shreyans Kumar was born on the twelfth day of the dark half of the month of Bhadrapad.

He had a normal princely life and ascended the throne when Vishnuraja retired. After a long reign Shreyans Kumar became a Shraman and within a short span of two months attained omniscience on the fifteenth day of the dark half of the month of Magh under a mango tree. He got Nirvana at Sammetshikhar on the third day of the dark half of the month of Shravan.

It was during his period that the being that was to be Bhagavan Mahavir reigned as the first Vasudev Triprishta. After the death of Triprishtha, his brother Baldev Achal became a disciple of Dharmghosh who was a follower of Shreyansnath. Achal got liberated in this birth.