Bhagwan Parshvanathji (850 –776 BC) is the 23rd Tirthankar (spiritual leader) of the Jain religion. He is depicted as being seated in deep meditation, and is adorned by his emblem, the Snake.
Legend has it that Lord Parshvanath was once attacked by a demon who hurled stones at him while he was meditating. At that moment, a snake whom he had helped in a past life came and formed a hood on his head, thus protecting him from the stones.
Parshvanathji renounced the world and became an ascetic at the age of thirty. He practiced austerities for eighty three days, and on the eighty fourth day he obtained omniscience. Lord Parshvanath preached his doctrines for seventy years. The four vows preached by Lord Parshvanath are: not to kill, not to lie, not to steal, and not to own property. At the age of one hundred he attained liberation on the summit of Mount Sammeta (Parsnath Hills).
Legend has it that Lord Parshvanath was once attacked by a demon who hurled stones at him while he was meditating. At that moment, a snake whom he had helped in a past life came and formed a hood on his head, thus protecting him from the stones.
Parshvanathji renounced the world and became an ascetic at the age of thirty. He practiced austerities for eighty three days, and on the eighty fourth day he obtained omniscience. Lord Parshvanath preached his doctrines for seventy years. The four vows preached by Lord Parshvanath are: not to kill, not to lie, not to steal, and not to own property. At the age of one hundred he attained liberation on the summit of Mount Sammeta (Parsnath Hills).
The Namokar Mantra (also known as Mahamantra Namokar) is employed to pay respects to spiritually advanced beings and to destroy the forces of ignorance and darkness. The mantra says:
“I bow to the Arihants, the perfected human beings.
I bow to the Siddhas, liberated bodiless souls.
I bow to the Acharyas, the masters and heads of congregations.
I bow to the Upadhyayas, the spiritual teachers.
I bow to the spiritual practitioners in the universe, Sadhus.
This fivefold obeisance mantra,
Destroys all sins and obstacles,
And of all auspicious repetitions,
Is the first and foremost.”
At the Shiv Mandir, the marble tablet bearing the Mahamantra depicts it as centred within an outline representing a human form with the hands on the hips, according to Jain cosmology. The three dots at the top represent Right Faith, Conduct & Knowledge. The lone dot above them represents the liberated soul. The upright palm within the outline admonishes man to stop sinning.
The word within the palm is AUM, the divine syllable signifying completeness.
“I bow to the Arihants, the perfected human beings.
I bow to the Siddhas, liberated bodiless souls.
I bow to the Acharyas, the masters and heads of congregations.
I bow to the Upadhyayas, the spiritual teachers.
I bow to the spiritual practitioners in the universe, Sadhus.
This fivefold obeisance mantra,
Destroys all sins and obstacles,
And of all auspicious repetitions,
Is the first and foremost.”
At the Shiv Mandir, the marble tablet bearing the Mahamantra depicts it as centred within an outline representing a human form with the hands on the hips, according to Jain cosmology. The three dots at the top represent Right Faith, Conduct & Knowledge. The lone dot above them represents the liberated soul. The upright palm within the outline admonishes man to stop sinning.
The word within the palm is AUM, the divine syllable signifying completeness.
Bhagwan Mahavir (599 – 527 BC) is the 24th and last Tirthankar (spiritual leader) of the Jain religion.
Born near Patna in Bihar State to a royal family, he left all material pleasures behind at the age of thirty to become a monk. He spent the next twelve and a half years in deep silence and meditation so as to conquer any desires, feelings and attachments. He realized Keval-Jnan (The Supreme Knowledge) and spent the next 30 years traveling barefoot throughout India and preaching the eternal truth he had realized. He explained that from eternity, every living being (soul) is in bondage of karmic atoms, that are accumulated by its own good or bad deeds. Under the influence of karma, the soul is driven to seek pleasures in material belongings and possessions, the root causes of self-centred violent thoughts, deeds, anger, hatred, greed, and such other vices. These result in accumulating more karma. The ultimate objective of his teaching is how one can attain total freedom from the cycle of birth, life, pain, misery, and death, and achieve a permanently blissful state. This is also known as liberation, nirvana, absolute freedom, or Moksha.
Mahavirji attained Nirvana at the age of 72 in 527 BCE. His emblem is the Lion.
Born near Patna in Bihar State to a royal family, he left all material pleasures behind at the age of thirty to become a monk. He spent the next twelve and a half years in deep silence and meditation so as to conquer any desires, feelings and attachments. He realized Keval-
Mahavirji attained Nirvana at the age of 72 in 527 BCE. His emblem is the Lion.
Adapted from http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/mahavira.html
