1. Neminatha, known as Nemi and Aristanemi, is the twenty-second tirthankara of Jainism in the present age.
31 Facts About Neminatha
1. 2.
Neminatha, when heard the cries of animals being killed for his marriage feast, freed the animals and renounced his worldly life and became a Jain ascetic.
3.
Neminatha had attained moksha on Girnar Hills near Junagadh, and became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma.
4.
Neminatha's icons include the eponymous deer as his emblem, the Mahavenu tree, Sarvanha or Gomedha Yaksha, and Ambika Yakshi.
5.
Neminatha's full name is mentioned as Aristanemi which is an epithet of the sun-chariot.
6.
Neminatha's name is spelled close to the 21st tirthankara Naminatha.
7.
Neminatha was the twenty-second Tirthankara of the avasarpini.
8.
Neminatha is mentioned as the youngest son of king Samudravijaya and queen Shivadevi of the Yadu lineage, born at Sauripura.
9.
Neminatha is believed to have become fond of animals in his early life due to being in a cattle-herding family.
10.
Neminatha is believed to have been born with a dark-blue skin complexion, a very handsome but shy young man.
11.
Neminatha's father is mentioned as the brother of Vasudeva, Krishna's father, therefore he is mentioned as the cousin of Krishna in Trishashti-salaka-purusha-charitra.
12.
In one of the legends, on being taunted by Satyabhama, wife of Krishna, Neminatha is depicted to have blown Panchajanya, the mighty conch of Krishna through his nostrils.
13.
Neminatha, being a Tirthankara, is believed to have defeated Krishna easily.
14.
Neminatha is mentioned as spinning a great Chakra with the right leg toe during his childhood.
15.
Neminatha is believed to have taught Krishna the five vows, namely, honesty, asceticism, charity, non-violence and truthfulness.
16.
Jain tradition holds that the Neminatha's marriage was arranged with Rajulakumari or Rajimati or Rajamati, daughter of Ugrasena.
17.
Neminatha is believed to have heard animal cries as they were being slaughtered for the marriage feast.
18.
Neminatha's sangha consisted of 18,000 sadhus and 44,000 sadhvis as per the mentions in Kalpa Sutra.
19.
Neminatha is said to have lived 1,000 years and spent many years spreading his knowledge and preaching principles of ahimsa and aparigraha in the Saurashtra region.
20.
Neminatha is said to have attained moksha on the fifth peak or tonk of Mount Girnar.
21.
The yaksha and yakshi of Neminatha are Sarvanha or Gomedha Yaksha, and Ambika Yakshi.
22.
The yaksha and yakshi of Neminatha are Sarvanha and Ambika according to Digambara tradition and Gomedha and Ambika according to Shvetambara tradition.
23.
The Jain traditions about Neminatha are incorporated in the Harivamsa Purana of Jinasena.
24.
The incident where Neminatha is depicted as blowing Krishna's mighty conch is given in Kalpa Sutra.
25.
Rajul's love for Neminatha is described in the Rajal-Barahmasa.
26.
Neminatha is believed to have had the same dark-bluish-colored skin as Krishna.
27.
Neminatha's iconographic identifier is a conch carved or stamped below his statues.
28.
Artworks showing Neminatha sometimes include Ambika yakshi, but her colour varies from golden to greenish to dark-blue, by region.
29.
The earliest known image of Neminatha was found in Kankali Tila dating back to c 18 CE.
30.
Neminatha is one of the five most devotionally revered Tirthankaras, along with Mahavira, Rishabhanatha, Parshvanatha and Shantinatha.
31.
Mount Girnar of Gujarat, for example, which is believed to have been a place where Neminatha is believed to have achieved nirvana.