Munisuvrata

Munisuvrata Swami (Munisuvratanātha) was the twentieth Tirthankara of the present half time cycle (avasarpini) in Jain cosmology. He became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of his karma. Events of the Jaina version of Ramayana are placed at the time of Munisuvratanatha. His chief apostle (gaṇadhara) was sage Malli Svāmi.

Munisuvrata
Twentieth Jain Tirthankara
Shri 1008 Munisuvratnath Bhagwan Statue
Venerated inJainism
PredecessorMāllīnātha
SuccessorNaminatha
SymbolTortoise[1]
ColorBlack
Personal information
Born
Rajgir
Died
Shikharji
Parents
  • Sumitra (father)
  • Padmavati (mother)
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Legends

Munisuvrata was the twentieth tirthankara of the present half time cycle (avasarpini) in Jain cosmology.[2] Jain texts like padmapurana place him as a contemporary of Rama.[3][4] According to Jain texts, Munisuvrata was born as 54 lakh years passed after the birth of the nineteenth tirthankara, Mallinātha.[5] According to Jain beliefs, Munisuvrata descended from the heaven called Ānata kalpa on the twelfth day of the bright half of the month of Āśvina – āśvina śukla dvādaśi– to queen Padmā and king Sumitra.[6][7] On the third day of Shraavana (month) Krishna (dark fortnight) according to Hindu calendar, queen Padmavati of Rajgir saw sixteen auspicious dreams. When she shared her dreams with her husband, king Sumitra of the Harivamsa clan, he explained that a tirthankara will be born to them soon. Then, Munisuvrata was born to them on the fifteenth day of the Shraavana Shukla (bright fortnight) in 1,184,980 BC.[2][8] His height is mentioned to be 20 bows (60 metres) and complexion as a dark one.[6][9]

According to Jain texts, after spending 7,500 years as a youth, Munisuvrata is believed to have ruled his kingdom for 15,000 years (rājyakāla). He then renounced all worldly pursuits and became a monk. According to Jain beliefs, he spent 11 months performing karma-destroying austerities and then attained the all-embracing knowledge – Omniscience (kevala jñāna) under a Champaka tree.[10][6] He is said to have 18 ganadharas headed by Malli. Puspavati or Puspadatta is believed to be the head-nun of his order.[6] Samayavayanga sutra, however, names Kumbha and Amila as the head ganadhara and head nun respectively.[6]

Munisuvrata is said to have lived for over 30,000 years and attained liberation (nirvāña) from Sammeda śikhara on the twelfth day of the dark half of the month of phālguna – phālguna kṛṣna dvādaśi.[6][10] Varuna is mentioned to be his yaksha and his yakhsini is named Bahurupini in Digambara tradition and Naradatta in Svetambara tradition.[6]

Munisuvrata finds mentions in Jain texts like Uttarapurana and Tiloyapannati.[6]

Adoration

Svayambhustotra by Acharya Samantabhadra is the adoration of twenty-four tirthankaras. Its five slokas (aphorisms) adore the qualities of Munisuvratanātha.[11]

O Lord Munisuvratanātha! You had attained the excellent observance of the vows of the sages; you are the ascetic supreme, and utterly pristine (having destroyed the inimical karmas). You stood out in the assembly of the sages like the moon in the midst of the constellations of stars.

— Svayambhūstotra (20-1-111)[12]

An idol of Munisuvrata was installed in 127 AD or 157 AD in the Devanirmita stupa, Mathura.[6]

Iconography

Mahavira is usually depicted in a sitting (or standing) meditative pose, with a lion symbol beneath him;[13] each tīrthankara has a distinct emblem, which allows worshippers to distinguish similar idols.[14] Jivantasvami represents Munisuvrata as a princely state. The Jina is represented as standing in the kayotsarga pose wearing crown and ornaments.[15]

  • State Museum Bhopal, 6th century
  • Image of Munisuvrata natha (Jahazpur district, Bhilwara)
  • 12th Century (1153 AD), hasteda, Rajasthan
  • Munisuvrata, 1466 CE, Western India, National Museum, New Delhi
  • Munisuvrata idol at Paithan made of sand

Main Temples
  • Chaturmukha Basadi
  • Shri Munisuvrata-Nemi-Parshva Jinalaya at Santhu
  • Naulakha Mandir, Rajgir
  • Hasteda, Jain temple
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See also

References

Citations
  1. Tandon 2002, p. 45.
  2. Tukol 1980, p. 31.
  3. Natubhai Shah 2004, pp. 21-23.
  4. Zvelebil 1992, p. 65.
  5. Vijay K. Jain 2015, p. 203.
  6. Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 161.
  7. Vijay K. Jain 2015, p. 203-204.
  8. Zimmer 1953, p. 226.
  9. Sarasvati 1970, p. 444.
  10. Vijay K. Jain 2015, p. 204.
  11. Vijay K. Jain 2015, p. 138-142.
  12. Vijay K. Jain 2015, p. 138.
  13. Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 162.
  14. Zimmer 1953, p. 225.
  15. Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 163.
  16. Sandhya, C D’Souza (19 November 2010), "Chaturmukha Basadi: Four doors to divinity Last updated", Deccan Herald

Sources
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