Munisuvratanātha or Lord Munisuvrata is the 20th of the 24 Jinas of the present cycle of time.
The word Jina means ‘victor’ in Sanskrit. A Jina is an enlightened human being who has triumphed over karma through practising extreme asceticism and teaches the way to achieve liberation. A Jina is also called a Tīrthaṃkara or ‘ford-maker’ in Sanskrit – that is, one who has founded a community after reaching omniscience.
Story and images
An omniscient Jina preaches
Image by British Library © CC0 1.0 (Creative Commons Public Domain)
There is no historical evidence of Munisuvrata’s existence but traditional writings recount his life as following the usual career of a Jina. Tradition holds that this Jina was born in Kuśagranagara and achieved liberation on Mount Sammeta, also known as Pārasnātha Hill.
Munisuvrata’s symbolic colour is black and his emblem is a tortoise.
Like all Jinas, Munisuvrata has a pair of spiritual attendants, often shown in art. His yakṣa is Varuṇa. The sect of the Digambaras calls his yakṣī Bhahurūpiṇī while the Śvetāmbaras name her Naradattā.
