Details of Jain Lords (14. Anantnathji), India

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Lord Anantnath was the fourteenth Tirthankar of the present age (Avasarpini). According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Symbol - Porcupine (Digambara) Falcon (Swetambara) Father Simhasen Mother Mata Suyasha Clan Name Ikshvaku Place of Birth Ayodhaya Source of Descent Pushpottar Date of Descent (Garbha Kalyanaka) Kartika Krishna 1 Date of Birth (Janma Kalyanaka) Baishak ku. 13 Age 3,000,000 years Height 50 dhanusha (poles) Body Colour Golden Date of Enlightenment (Kevala Gyana Kalyanaka) Baishak ku. 14 Date of Diksha (Diksha Kalyanaka) Baishak ku. 14 Diksha Tree or Vat Vriksha Ashoka (Jonesia asoka) Place of Nirvana Sammed Shikharji Date of Nirvana (Moksha Kalyanaka) Chaitra su. 5 First person to donate food Vishakha Period of Meditation 2 Years Chief Disciple (Ganadhar) Jaya Head of Female Ascetics Padma God of Organisation (Yaksh) Patala Goddess of Organisation (Yakshini) Ankusha or Anantamati Heaven Pranatadevaloka No. of Muni 66,000 No. of Aryika 62,000 No. of Shravak 2,06,000 No. of Shravika 4,14,000 Famous Anantnath Temples Shri Digamber Jain Teerth Kshetra, Ayodhya, U.P. Anantnath Swami Temple (also known as Puliyarmala Jain Temple), Puliyarmala, outside of Kalpetta, Dist. Wayanad, Kerala. Previous Births of Anantnath In his previous incarnation Lord Anantnath's soul was King of Arishtha town in Dhatkikhand was well known for his beauty, personality and bravery. All beautiful ladies were his fan. But he had a bend for spiritual practices and took diksha from Acharya Chitraaksh. He had purified his soul to a high extends in his life. Because of this he reincarnated in the Pushpottar dimension of gods. Birth of Lord Anantnath From Pushpotar dimensions of god, the soul of Lord Anantnath descended in the womb of Queen Suyasha Devi, wife of king Simhasen of Ayodhya. It was early in the morning and the entire Ayodhya kingdom was under the heavy showers of the rain. King Simhasena was sitting in his deep thoughts and thinking about endless questions which were coming in his mind. Queen Suyasha came behind and greeted the King. Her face also revealed as if she is also carrying lots of questions in her mind. On asking, queen told the king that early that morning she dreamt of fourteen (sixteen according to digambar jain beliefs) things and since then an endless series of questions are arising in her mind. King Simhasena told that it was a sure sort sign that she was going to give birth to a son who will be the light in dark, a savior, a ruler of hearts, a spiritual leader, a person having endless knowledge and endless qualities. On the thirteenth day of the dark half of the month of Vaishakh (according to Hindu Calendar), queen Suyasha gave birth to this great divine power. Naming Ceremony During the pregnancy the queen dreamt of a very long strands of beads whose ends were not visible – endless. The power of the king also increased manifolds during the period. Accordingly, the new born was named Anant (endless) Kumar. As a Prince and King Time passed by and small Anantnath became Young. One day king Simhasena thought of handling over the responsibilities of the kingdom to Anantnath and go on the path meditation and try to achieve Moksha. He did the same and disappeared in the jungles. As a king King Anantnath was famous all over. Many kings came to him for advise and help. He use to solve various problems of many nations. But most of his time was spent in a place near sea shore in meditation. Path of Renunciation One day while in his deep thoughts he saw everything of his past life and that was the time he felt as if they are requesting him to take Diksha and spread the light of knowledge everywhere and do some good to the humanity. The doors of his mind opened and he realized his true purpose to come on the Earth. For the entire year from that time, he distributed wealth among the people. One day, along with thousand other kings, he came out of the palace, removed his hair with his fist, uttered, “Namo Siddhanam” and became an ascetic. Omniscience and Nirvana After three years of spiritual practices he reached Ayodhya again and there under an Ashoka Tree he attained omniscience on the fourteenth day of the dark half of the month of Vaishakh. Bhagvan Anantnath got Nirvana at Sammed Shikharji on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra.