Details of Jain Lords (17. Kunthunathji)

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Lord Kunthunath was the seventeenth 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 - Goat Father Surasen Mother Mata Sridevi Clan Name Ikshvaku Place of Birth Hastinapur Source of Descent Sarvarthasiddha Date of Descent (Garbha Kalyanaka) Shravana Krishna 10 Date of Birth (Janma Kalyanaka) Vaishakh ku. 14 Age 95,000 years Height 35 dhanusha (poles) Body Colour Golden Date of Enlightenment (Kevala Gyana Kalyanaka) Chaitra su. 5 Date of Diksha (Diksha Kalyanaka) Vaishakh ku. 5 Diksha Tree or Vat Vriksha Bhilaka Place of Nirvana Sammed Shikharji Date of Nirvana (Moksha Kalyanaka) Vaishakh su. 1 First person to donate food Dharmamitra Period of Meditation 16 Years Chief Disciple (Ganadhar) Samba Head of Female Ascetics Damini God of Organisation (Yaksh) Gandharva Goddess of Organisation (Yakshini) Bala or Vijaya Heaven Sarvarthasiddha No. of Muni 60,000 No. of Aryika 60,600 No. of Shravak 1,79,000 No. of Shravika 3,81,000 Famous Kunthunath Temples Shri Hastinapur Teerth Kshetra, Hastinapur, Uttar Pradesh Shri Munigiri Teerth, Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu Dilwara Temples, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan Previous Births of Kunthunath In his previous incarnation Lord Kunthunath's soul was King Simhavaha of Khadgi town in Mahavideh area. He was a powerful and illustrious king. He had a bend for spiritual practices and after handling over the responsibilities of the kingdom to his son, he took diksha from Samvaracharya and did deep spiritual practices. As a result of his vigorous penance and devotion for the Arhant, he earned Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra. Completing his age he reincarnated in the Sarvarthasiddha dimension of gods. Birth of Lord Kunthunath From the dimension of gods he descended into the womb of queen Shri Devi, wife of king Shursen of Hastinapur. At the dawn of the ninth day of Shravan Krishna, queen saw the auspicious fourteen (sixteen according to the digamabar jain beliefs) dreams. This indicated that the coming soul would be a conqueror – a chakravarti king. And these dreams also indicated that he would be a Tirthankar. On the 14th day of the Vaishakh Krishna month of the Hindu calendar, queen Shridevi gave birth to a son. Naming Ceremony 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. As a Prince and King 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 "Chakra" 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. There was no blood shed anywhere and after conquering almost entire world, Kunthunath returned Hastinapur. After returning to his kingdom, he announced 12 years of the victory celebrations. He excused all the taxes taken from the people and took care that no body is in trouble in his reign. Many mighty kings and princes used to be present in his court all the time. Path of Renunciation One day King Kunthunath was sitting in his deep thoughts when he realized that someone is sending him the message that he should now leave the vicious circle and move towards the path of Moksha. 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 Manahparyav Jnan. He spent sixteen years as an ordinary ascetic. Indulging in penances and other spiritual practices. Omniscience and Nirvana 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 Sammed shikharji 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.