Ajitanatha

Ajitanatha
2nd JainTirthankara
Idol of Tirthankar Ajitnath at Bateshwar Digambar Jain Temple, Agra
Venerated in	Jainism
Predecessor	Rishabhanatha
Successor	Sambhavanatha
Symbol	Elephant
Height	450 dhanush (1,350 meters)
Age	72 lakh purvas (508.032 x 1018years old)
Tree	Saptaparna(Alstonia scholaris)
Color	Golden
Personal information
Born	Ayodhya
Parents	Jitaśatru (father) Vijayādevī (mother)

Ajitanatha(lit. invincible) was the secondtirthankaraof the present age,avasarpini(halftime cycle) according toJainism.He was born to king Jitashatru and Queen Vijaya atAyodhyain theIkshvaku dynasty.He was a liberated soul which has destroyed all of itskarma.

In Jain texts

Ajitnatha (lit. invincible)was the secondtirthankaraof the present age,avasarpini(halftime cycleinJain cosmology) according toJainism.

Ajitnatha was born in the town of Saketa to King Jitashatru and Queen Vijaya atAyodhya(Vinita-Saketa)in theIkshvaku dynastyonmagha-shukla-dashmi(the tenth day of the bright half of the month ofMagha).His height was 450dhanusha.He lived for a span of 72lakhpurva.

According toHemachandra,he was named Ajita because the king father was unable to defeat his mother in gambling until he was in her womb.Uttarapurana,a Digambara text, explains that he was named Ajita because he could not be defeated by sins or all heretics.

He attainedkevala jnanaunder thesaptaparnatree (Alstonia scholaris)andMokshaonchaitra-shukla-panchmi(fifth day of the bright half of the month ofChaitra) fromShikharji.

He had 90Ganadharasand Simhasena was his chief among them. Falgu (according toSwetambaratradition) or Prakubja (according toDigambaratradition) was a chief of the his order of the nuns.

TheYajurvedamentions the name of Ajitanatha, but the meaning is not clear. According to Jain traditions, his younger cousin brother wasSagara.Sagara, who became the secondChakravartin,is known from the traditions of bothHinduand Jain scriptures.

Iconography

Swetambaraas well asDigambarasects consider his complexion golden and elephant as his symbol.He is associated withsaptaparnatree; Mahayaksha as attendantYaksha;and Ajita (as per Swetambra) or Rohini (as per Digambara) as attendantYakshis.The elephant, symbol of Ajitanatha, is avahana(mount) of the Mahayakshya and Ajita Yakshi seems named after Ajitanatha.

In literature, art and architecture

Literature

• TheAjitha purana,byRannanarrates the story of Ajitanatha.
• Ajitashanti Stotracompiled by Nandisena in 7th century is a praise to Ajitnatha andShantinatha.

Major temples

• Taranga Jain Temple
• Vasai Jain TempleinBhadresar
• Bandhaji
• Chaturmukha Basadi, Gerusoppa
• Ajitnathji Jain Temple, Pal gam, Surat

• 
  Vasai Jain Temple
• 
  Taranga,Gujarat(1121 AD) constructed byKing Kumarapala
• 
  Chaturmukha Basadi, Gerusoppa

See also

• Arihant (Jainism)

References

Sources

• Jain, Vijay K.(2015),Acarya Samantabhadra's Svayambhustotra: Adoration of The Twenty-four Tirthankara,Vikalp Printers,ISBN978-81-903639-7-6,archived fromthe originalon 16 September 2015,This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
• Krishna, Nanditha;Amirthalingam, M.(2014) [2013],Sacred Plants of India,Penguin Books,ISBN978-9-351-18691-5
• Tandon, Om Prakash(2002) [1968],Jaina Shrines in India(1 ed.),New Delhi:Publications Division,Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,Government of India,ISBN81-230-1013-3
• Tukol, T. K.(1980),Compendium of Jainism,Dharwad:University of Karnataka

Further reading

• Johnson, Helen M.(1931),Ajitanathacaritra (Book 2 of the Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra),Baroda Oriental Institute
• Cort, John E. (2001),Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India,Oxford University Press,ISBN9780198030379