Jain Remains of Ancient Bengal
by Shubha Majumder | 2017 | 147,217 words
This page relates ‘twenty-four Tirthankaras and their Yakshas and Yakshinis’ 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.
The twenty-four Tīrthaṅkaras and their Yakṣas and Yakṣiṇīs
Dig. = Digambara Jainism.
Śvet. = Śvetāmbara Jainism.
| Sl. No. | Tīrthaṅkaras | Colour | Emblem | Yakṣas | Yakṣiṇīs | Place of Birth | Place of Nirvāṇa | Kevala tree |
| 1 | Ṛṣabhanātha | Golden | Bull | Gomukha | Chakreswari | Vinitānagara (Dig.) Kailāśa |
Aṣṭapada | Nyagrodha (banyan tree) |
| 2 | Ajitanātha | Golden | Elephant | Mahāyakṣa | Rohiṇi (Dig.) Ajitavalā (Śvt.) |
Ayodhyā | Sammedaśikhara | Saptaparna |
| 3 | Saṃbhavanātha | Golden | Horse | Trimukha | Prajñapati (Dig.) Duritārī (Śvt.) |
Śrāsvatī | Sammedaśikhara | Śāla |
| 4 | Abhinandana | Golden | Monkey | Yakṣeśvara (Dig.) Nāyaka (Śvt.) |
Vajraśrṅkhalā (Dig .) Kālikā (Śvt.) |
Ayodhyā | Sammedaśikhara | Piyāla |
| 5 | Sumatinātha | Golden | Curlow (Krauncha) | Tumburu | Puruṣadattā (Dig.) Mahākāli (Śvt.) |
Ayodhyā | Sammedaśikhara | Priyaṃgu |
| 6 | Padmaprabhu | Golden | Padma (red lotus) | Kusuma | Manovegā (Dig.) Śyāmā Acyutā (Śvt.) |
Kausāṃbi | Sammedaśikhara | Banyan |
| 7 | Supārśvanātha | Golden | Nandyāvarta (Dig.) Svāstika (Śvt.) |
Varanandin (Dig.) Mātaṅga(Śvt.) |
Kāli (Dig.) Śāntā (Śvt.) |
Varānasi | Sammedaśikhara | Śirīṣa |
| 8 | Candraprabhu | Golden | Crescent | Vijaya | Bhṛkuṭi / Jvālāmālinī | Sammedaśikhara | Nagakesara | |
| 9 | Suvidhinātha | Golden | Makara | Ajita | Mahākālī Sutārī devī (Śvet.) | Kākandī | Sammedaśikhara | Nāga |
| 10 | Śītalanātha | Golden | Srivatsa | Brahmā | Mānavī Aśokā (Śvt.) | Bhadrikapura | Sammedaśikhara | Vilva |
| 11 | Śreyāṃsanātha | Golden | Rhinocerous | Yakṣeta | Mānavī | Simhapura | Sammedaśikhara | Tumbara |
| 12 | Vāsupūjya | Golden | Buffalo | Kumāra | Gāndhārī Caṇḍā (Śvt). | Campā | Mandar Hill, near the river Rajatamūlikā | Pāṭalika |
| 13 | Vimalanātha | Golden | Pig | Ṣaṇmukha | Vairoṭi Viditā (Śvt.) | Kampilya | Sammedaśikhara | Jambu |
| 14 | Anantanātha | Golden | Sneya or Hawk | Pātāla | Anantamatī | Ayodhya | Sammedaśikhara | Aśvattha |
| 15 | Dharmanātha | Golden | Vajra (Thunder-bolt) | Kinnara | Mānasī Kandarpā (Śvt.) | Ratnapur | Sammedaśikhara | Dadhiparṇa or Sapta-cchada |
| 16 | Śāntinātha | Golden | Deer | Kiṃpuraṣa Garuḍa (Śvt.) | Mahāmānasi Nirvāṇī devi (Śvt.) | Hastināpura | Sammedaśikhara | Nandi Vṛkṣa |
| 17 | Kunthunātha | Golden | Goat | Gandharva | Vijayā Balā (Śvet.) | Hastināpura | Sammedaśikhara | Tilaka taru |
| 18 | Aranātha | Golden | Nandyavarta or a kind of fish | Khendra Yakṣpāvatī (Śvt.) | Ajitā Dhāraṇī devī (Śvt.) | Hastināpura in the Kurujāngala country | Sammedaśikhara | Cūta or Mango tree |
| 19 | Mallinātha | Golden | Kalasa | Kubera | Dharaṇpriya (Śvt.) Aparājitā |
Mithilā in Vanga country | Sammedaśikhara | Aśoka |
| 20 | Muni Suvrata | Golden | Tortoise | Varuṇa | Bahurūpiṇī Naradattā (Śvt.) | Rājagṛha | Sammedaśikhara | Campaka |
| 21 | Naminātha | Golden | Nilotpala (Blue lotus) | Bhṛkuṭi | Cāmuṇḍi Gandhārī (Śvt.) | Mithilā in Vanga country | Sammedaśikhara | Bakula |
| 22 | Neminātha | Golden | Conch | Gomedha | Kuṣmāṇḍini Amra / Ambikā | Mt. Girnar, identify as Raivataka | Hahāveṇu or Vetasa | |
| 23 | Pārśvanātha | Golden | Snake | Dharaṇendra | Padmāvatī | Varanasi | Sammedaśikhara | Devadāru |
| 24 | Mahāvīra | Golden | Lion | Mātaṅga | Siddhāyikā | Kuṇḍapura | Pāvāpuri | Sāla |