Talk:Pārśvanātha
Pārśvanātha (circa 800 B. C.)
Jainism is one of the oldest religions of the world. It recognises a succession of twenty-four teachers, called ‘Tīrthaṅkaras,’ starting with Vṛsabhadeva (or Rṣabha- deva) who has been mentioned in the Bhāgavata (5.2 to 6) and other purāṇas. The last two—considered as historical personalities by the modern historians— are Pārśvanātha and Vardhamāna Mahāvīra.
Refusing to tread the path of worldly life, he started, even as a youth, to travel like a monk all over the country. He taught against hiriisā or violence of all kinds including those in the Vedic sacri¬fices. According to another version, he grew into a great warrior, fought his way up to Kaliṅga (the modern Orissa), married a princess, the daughter of Prasenajit (the king of Kosala) and lived the life of a householder till the 30th year. Later, the sight of the very picture of Neminātha (the 22nd Tīrthañkara) inspired him to renounce the world and roam about as a (Jain) monk. He taught the principles of Jainism from his 30th to the 100th year making a very large number of disciples, among whom were kings and noblemen too. The parents of Vardhamāna Mahā¬vīra were also followers of his religion. Since he is said to have passed away about 250 years before Mahāvīra, he must have lived during the 9th and the 8th centuries B. C. Some scholars opine that he must have lived from 817 B.C. to 717 B. C. or from 838 B. c. to 738 B. C. He passed away in the Pārasnāth Hill, now in North Bihar. Pārśvanātha taught his followers not to 1) injure life; 2) tell lies; 3) possess any property. Bhavadevasuri’s Pārśvanāthacarita (A. D. 1356) is the most authoritative work on his life. In Jain sculpture he is shown with a snake canopy, the snake having 3 or 7 or 9 or 11 hoods. The association with a serpent is rooted in a legend according to which Pārśvanātha is said to have saved the life of a huge snake from falling into the fire lit up by a sage Kaṭha who was performing the pañcatapa austerity. (See PANCATAPA for details.) See also JAINISM and VARDAHMĀNA MAHĀVĪRA.