Jain Remains of Ancient Bengal

by Shubha Majumder | 2017 | 147,217 words

This page relates ‘Meaning of Tirthankara’ of the study on the Jain Remains of Ancient Bengal based on the fields of Geography, Archaeology, Art and Iconography. Jainism represents a way of life incorporating non-violence and approaches religion from humanitarian viewpoint. Ancient Bengal comprises modern West Bengal and the Republic of Bangladesh, Eastern India. Here, Jainism was allowed to flourish from the pre-Christian times up until the 10th century CE, along with Buddhism.

In Jainism the principal cult images was that of a Tīrthaṅkara or Arhat (Mitra 2006: 632). “The term Tīrthaṅkara means one who helps human beings to cross the ocean of saṃsāra by providing them with a vessel to sail in the form of Dharma. Jina-dharma is a boat which is provided for the human beings for the purpose of crossing the ocean of saṃsāra and for of this noble task of helping the mankind Jina is called Tīrthaṅkara (Chakravarti 1971: 7980).

According to the Jain literary definition “A Tīrthaṅkara is the one by whom was shown the place of virtue, the best of all, reaching which man overcome sorrow” (Bṛhatsvayambhu-stotra 9). Accordingly “Tīrtha” means Dharma or the religious system and the one who expounds Dharma is called Tīrthaṅkara. According to another version, “Tīrthaṃ” or Dharma by which this ocean of the universe or transmigration can be crossed, is called Tīrthaṅkara (Adhyāya II).

Indeed Tīrthaṅkara is the one, who after attaining omniscience, preaches law in order to literate others, while other omniscient ones are hardly able to do so. The Tīrthaṅkara leaving the physical body is believed to reach the top end of the universe and in that capacity he is believed to be a Siddha who is like any other soul residing in the universe. This class of Siddhas are recognized as the deities by the Jainas and adored and praised as perfect souls. Among the Jainas, Tīrthaṅkaras are the main subjects of worship and they build temples (caityālaya) for the Tīrthaṅkaras. Tīrthaṅkaras are represented by a pratibimba or an image. This pratibimba is always in the form of a human being, because it represents the Jina or Tīrthaṅkara who spent the last portion of his life on earth in noble task of proclaiming to the world the Mokṣamārga (path to salvation). The idol of a Tīrthaṅkaras will be either in a standing posture i.e., kāyotsarga or in the seated posture of padmāsana. Weather standing or sitting it represents the Divine Lord absorbed in the selfrealization as a result of yogā. Therefore, the facial expression would reveal the intrinsic knowledge (kevala-jñana). People who worship the Jina in this form installed in Jinālaya and who follow the religious tenets proclaimed by the Jina are called the Jainas and their religion is Jainism (Bhattacharya 1974: 11-18; Shah 1987: 33-38).

In every great cycle twenty-four Tīrthaṅkaras appeared at certain intervals and preached the religion for the salvation of the world.

The names of the twenty four Tīrthaṅkaras are:

  1. Ṛṣabhanātha,
  2. Ajitanātha,
  3. Saṃbhavanātha,
  4. Abhinandana,
  5. Sumatinātha,
  6. Padmaprabhu,
  7. Supārśvanātha,
  8. Candraprabhu,
  9. Suvidhinātha,
  10. Śītalanātha,
  11. Śreyāṃsanātha,
  12. Vāsupūjya,
  13. Vimalanātha,
  14. Anantanātha,
  15. Dharmanātha,
  16. Śāntinātha,
  17. Kunthunātha,
  18. Aranātha,
  19. Mallinātha,
  20. Muni Suvrata,
  21. Naminātha,
  22. Neminātha,
  23. Pārśvanātha and
  24. Mahāvīra.

The present Jain pantheon is very extensive. It consists, besides the twenty-four Tīrthaṅkaras, twenty-four Yakṣas and Yakṣiṇīs, sixteen Śrutadevīs/Vidyādevīs, ten Dikpālas, nine Planetary deities and some miscellaneous deities including few Brahmanical divinities.

There are several controversies regarding the historicity of the Tīrthaṅkaras. This tradition of twenty-four Tīrthaṅkaras must have had some historical basis, though a section of modern scholars doubt the historicity of the twenty-third Tīrthaṅkara. According to Jacobi and others the 23rd Tīrthaṅkara, Pārśvanātha was a historical figure and Davids (Davids 1911: 543) mentions that Pārśvanātha was the real founder of Jainism. Mahāvīra, the 24th and last Tīrthaṅkara of Jainism, was more a reformer of an existing religion and possibly of a church, than the founder of a new faith (Ghatage 1980: 412). It is true that the historicity of the first 22nd Tīrthaṅkaras lies buried in the lap of hoary times, almost mythical. At the same time, there is no doubt regarding the historicity of the 24th Tīrthaṅkara, Mahāvīra. His immediate predecessor Pārśvanātha, is also regarded as a historical figure and is believed to have lived in the 8th century BCE (Pal 1994: 14).

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