Abhinandan swami Bhagwaan

AbhLord Abhinandannath or Abhinandan Swami was the fourth 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 - Monkey

Father	Shri Samvar Raja
Mother	Mata Siddhartha
Clan Name	Ikshvaku
Source of Descent	Jayant
Date of Descent (Garbha Kalyanaka)	Vaishakh Shukla Paksh 4
Place of Birth	Vinita
Date of Birth (Janma Kalyanaka)	Magh Shukla Paksh 2
Age	50 Lac purva
Height	350 dhanusha (poles)
Body Colour	Golden
Place of Enlightenment	Ayodhya
Date of Enlightenment (Kevala Gyana Kalyanaka)	Paush Krishna Paksh 4
Date of Diksha (Diksha Kalyanaka)	Magh Shukla Paksh 2
Diksha Tree or Vat Vriksha	Priyangu (Panicum italicum)
Place of Nirvana	Sammed Shikharji
Date of Nirvana (Moksha Kalyanaka)	Vaishakh Shukla Paksh 8
Chief Disciple (Ganadhar)	Vajranabha
Head of Female Ascetics	Ajita
God of Organisation (Yaksh)	Nayaka
Goddess of Organisation (Yakshini)	Vajrasrinkhala
Heaven	Jayantavimana

Famous Abhinandannath Temples

Abhinandannath Temples, Lalitpur, U.P.
Shri Digamber Jain Teerth Kshetra, Ayodhya, U.P.

Previous Births of Abhinandannath

In his previous incarnation Lord Abhinandannath's soul was Mahabal, the king of Ratnasanchay/Mangalavati town in Purva Mahavideh Kshetra. Although a king, he was a simple and humble person. When people praised him, he thought that why people praised him even in absence of any virtues? When someone criticized him he would humbly say, "You are my true well-wisher and a friend who helps my progress by pointing out my faults." He became influenced by the sayings of Acharya Sri Vimal chandra that "World is full of challenges and our body is mortal, human life is difficult to get and only a human can attain complete 'moksh' and this is the only time when you can try and attain salvation". A feeling of detachment grew in him, he found an opportune moment and took Diksha from Vimal Suri.

Due to his simplicity and humility he became a very popular and ideal Sharman in his group. It is said that as a result of this rare disposition and deep meditational practices he purified his soul to an extent that he acquired the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma. Completing his age, he reincarnated as a god in the Vijay dimension.

Birth of Lord Abhinandannath

When the being that was Mahabal left the Vijay dimension, he descended into the womb of queen Siddhartha, wife of king Samvar of Ayodhya. The queen gave birth to the future Tirthankar on the second day of the bright half of the month of Magh.

Naming Ceremony

As a result of the simplicity of attitude inherited from the earlier birth, the soul in the womb of the queen had a soothing and pacifying influence on the outer world. The people of the kingdom were suddenly filled with the feelings of humility and fraternity. Irrespective of age, caste, creed and status every one started greeting and honoring others. Politeness and polished manners became the thing in vogue. The augurs and other scholars confirmed taht as the aura of a pious soul influences all the people around, the effusion of politeness was caused by the soul in the womb. As the influence of this soul was evident in the overt mutual greetings, the king named his son as Abhinandan (greeting).

Lord Abhinandannath as prince and king

As Abhinandan Kumar grew up, he was married to many princesses of different regions. Whenever he used to walk along with them he used to say, "This is a trap in which I am leading my life. How will I come out of it?".

Time passed by and everything was running smoothly. One day, while reading a book, King Samvar felt detached and wanted to leave the kingdom and move to the jungles to lead a life of ascetic and attain salvation. He handed over the throne to Abhinandan and became a ascetic and went into jungles for meditation.

Path of Renunciation

As time passed Abhinandan lead normal mundane life with least indulgence. One day while in meditation, King Abhinandan saw all of his past life and his true motive of getting this birth. He decided to leave everything and move towards his goal i.e. complete salvation / moksha. In the month of magh, King Abhinandan removed all the worldly belongings from his body, pulled out his hair with the fist, said, "Namo Siddhanam" and disappeared in the crowd. He became an ascetic and indulged in rigorous penance and lofty spiritual practices.

Omniscience and Nirvana

He attained omniscience on the fourteenth day of the dark half of the month of Paush. For a long period Bhagavan Abhinandan moved around to show the right path to millions of beings. On the eighth day of the bright half of the month of Vaishakah he attained Nirvana at Sammed Shikharji.

Sambhavnath bhagwaan

Sambhavanath was the third Jain 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 - Horse

Father	Jitari
Mother	Mata Sena
Clan Name	Ikshvaku
Source of Descent	Seventh Graiveyak
Date of Descent (Garbha Kalyanaka)	Falgun Shukla Paksh 8
Place of Birth	Shravasti
Date of Birth (Janma Kalyanaka)	Mangsar Shukla Paksh 14
Age	60 Lac purva
Height	400 dhanusha (poles)
Body Colour	Golden
Place of Enlightenment	Savathi
Date of Enlightenment (Kevala Gyana Kalyanaka)	Kartik Krishna Paksh 5
Date of Diksha (Diksha Kalyanaka)	Mangsar Shukla Paksh 15
Diksha Tree or Vat Vriksha	Prayala (Buchanania latifolia)
Place of Nirvana	Sammed Shikharji
Date of Nirvana (Moksha Kalyanaka)	Chaitra Shukla Paksh 5
Chief Disciple (Ganadhar)	Charu
Head of Female Ascetics	Syama
God of Organisation (Yaksh)	Trimukha
Goddess of Organisation (Yakshini)	Duritri or Prajnapti
Heaven	Uvarimagraiveka

Famous Sambhavnath Temples

Kumbharia Jain Temples, Banaskantha District, Gujrat
Sambhavnath Temple, Shravasti, U.P.
Bhagwan Sambhavnath Chaubeesi Temple, Shravasti, U.P.
Dilwara Temples, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
Jain Temples, Idar town, Gujrat

Previous Births of Sambhavnath

A long time after the Nirvana of Bhagavan Ajitnath, the city of Kshempuri in the Airavat area of Mahavideh was ruled by king Vipulvahan. He was a soft hearted and compassionate ruler who loved and cared for his subjects. Once when there was a devastating draught and the population was deprived even of a few drops of water, the king opened his grain yards for the public, his kitchen for the monks and ascetics and his treasury for the import of food grains. He instructed the caretaker of his personal kitchen that the doors of his kitchen should be open to all and sundry. All guests should be given priority over himself.

Whatever little is left should be served to him. If nothing is left he would be contented with the pleasure of serving his guests. During the drought there were many occasions when the king remained unfed and thirsty.

As a result of this sublime feeling of compassion, Vipulvahan acquired unique purity of soul and earned the Trithankr-nam-and-gotra-karma. Although, after the drought normalcy returned, the torture of the living world by the nature left a mark on Vipulvahan’s psyche. One day while he was standing on the roof top he witnessed dense rain clouds being scattered by wind. A feeling of intense detachment grew in him. He handed over his kingdom to his son and took Diksha from Svayamprabh Suri. After completing his age he reincarnated in the Anat dimension of gods.

Birth of Lord Sambhavnath

From the Anat dimension, the being that was Vipulvahan descended into the womb of queen Sena Devi, wife of king Jitari of Shravasti. Queen Sena Devi saw fourteen (sixteen according to Digambara Jain Sect) auspicious dreams. On the fourteenth day of the bright half of the month of Margshrish, the queen gave birth to a healthy son.

Naming Ceremony

While this being was still in the mother’s womb there were sufficient rains and abundant crop. One day when the king and queen were happily watching the lush green vegetation all around, from their roof top, the king said, "My dear! This time even the waste-land is filled with grain crop. It seems that all this that is impossible, has been made possible (Sambhav) due to the auspicious influence of the pious soul you carry in your womb. We shall call our son- Sambhav". So as decided the newly born son was named as Sambhavnath.

Marriage and Path of Renunciation

The little prince grew up in royal comfort but he hardly ever took more than cursory interest in the luxurious life style. At the appropriate age Sambhav Kumar was married and coronated. He was a king in real sense. He cared a lot for his people, gave them all the facilities, he looked very powerful king but at heart he was very detached. Once Sambhav Nath was sitting in deep meditation and his previous birth came in front of him as if a movie was being played on. He realized the real meaning of his birth and decided to take diksha. He decided to follow the path of truth, discipline, dedication, religion, peace, meditation. On the fifteenth day of the bright half of the month of Margshrish, while reciting ‘Namo Sidhanam’, he discarded all the worldly things attached with his mind, soul and body and went from place to place doing all the religious and spiritual activities.

Omniscience and Nirvana

After a fourteen year period of spiritual practices, he attained omniscience. Arhant Sambhavnath gave his first discourse on the ephemeral nature of the mundane existence. For a long period he worked for the spread of religion. He got Nirvana on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra at Sammed Shikharji.

Ajitnath bhagwaan

Lord Ajitnath was the second Jain 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 - Elephant

Father	Jitshatru
Mother	Vijayasena
Clan Name	Ikshvaku
Source of Descent	Vijaya
Date of Descent (Garbha Kalayanaka)	Jyeshtha Krishna Paksha 30
Place of Birth	Ayodhya
Date of Birth (Janma Kalyanaka)	Magh Shukla Paksha 10
Age	72 Lac purva
Height	450 dhanusha (poles)
Body Colour	Golden
Date of Diksha (Diksha Kalyanaka)	Magh Shukla Paksha 10
Diksha Tree or Vat Vriksha	Shala(Shorea robusta)
Place of Enlightenment	Ayodhya
Date of Enlightenment (Kevala Gyana Kalyanaka)	Paush Shukla Paksha 11
Place of Nirvana	Sammed Shikharji
Date of Nirvana (Moksha Kalyanaka)	Chaitra Shukla Paksha 5
Chief Disciple (Ganadhar)	Shimahasena
Head of Female Ascetics	Phalgu
God of Organisation (Yaksha)	Mahayaksha
Goddess of Organisation (Yakshini)	Ajitbala or Rohini
Heaven	Vijayavimana

Famous Ajitnath Temples

Shree Ajitnath Jain Temple, Taranga Hills, Mehsana, Gujrat 

Previous Births of Ajitnath

In its earlier incarnation, Lord Ajitnath's soul was the great king Vimalvahan of Susima city in Mahavideh area. He led a pious life in spite of the available princely grandeur. At an appropriate time, he became an ascetic under Arindam Suri. Meditating about the omniscient and liberated souls and indulging in harsh penance, he purified his soul to a level where he could earn the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma. Completing his age, he reincarnated as a god in the Viaya-anuttar-dimension.

Birth of Lord Ajitnath

After completing his age in the dimension of gods, the soul of Lord Ajitnath descended into the womb of queen Vijayasena, wife of king Jitashatru of Vinita town, on Jyeshtha Krishna Paksha 30 of Hindu Calendar. Queen Vijayasena saw fourteen (sixteen according to Digambara Jain Sect) auspicious dreams. Vaijyanti, the wife of king Jitashatru’s younger brother, Sumitra, also saw the same dreams. This was a queer coincidence. When the augurs were consulted they advised that queen Vijayasen would give birth to a Tirthankara and Vaijyanti to a Chakravarti King (monarch of six continents).

Queen Vijayasena gave birth to a son on the tenth day of the bright half of the month of Magh (according to Hindu Calendar). The same night Vaijyanti also gave birth to a son who was named Sagar.

Naming Ceremony

During the Vijayasena’s pregnancy, the influence of king Jitashatru was enhanced to such an extant that even the enemy kingdoms sought and negotiated friendly treaties with him. It became a common practice to say, "King Jitashatru is invincible (Ajit)." So when Vijayasena gave birth to the son King Jitashatra named him as Ajit, inspired by the popular lore.

Path of Renunciation

Time passed by and prince Ajitnath came to a marriageable age. He had, by this time, totally involved himself in religious activities. He was not intrested in marriage. But just to obey and pay respect to his mother's feeling he agreed to marry. He was married to Laxmi but, he kept himself reserved. Hardly would the couple meet. As king Jitashatru became old, he wanted to devote the last part his life to spiritual pursuit, he called his younger brother and asked him to take over the throne. Sumitra had no desire for the kingdom, he too wanted to become an ascetic. Both the princes were called and offered the kingdom. Ajit Kumar was a naturally detached person since childhood, and so he too declined. At last prince Sagar ascended the throne.

Ajit Kumar became an ascetic on the tenth of bright half of the month of Magh (according to Hindu Calendar) and went into remote and dense forests for his meditation and penance. His personality and the intensity of his lofty practices cast a pacifying influence all around. Natural enemies in the animal kingdom, like lion and cow, wolf and deer, snake and mongoose used to come and sit around him peacefully.

Omniscience and Nirvana

After twelve year period of deep meditation and other spiritual practices Ajit Kumar attained omniscience on the eleventh day of the bright half of the month of Paush. The gods created Samavsharan (the divine pavilion) and Bhagawan Ajitnath gave his eloquent and magnetic discourses. Thousands of people accepted the path of renunciation.

When his last moments were approaching, Bhagavan Ajitnath went Sammed shikharji. With one thousand other ascetics, he commenced his final meditation. He attained Nirvana on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra (according to Hindu Calendar).