Dharma

Basic information

Parents

The important feature of a Jina’s father is that he is a king, from the kṣatriyacaste. A Jina’s mother has an important role because she gives birth to a future Jina, and in practice a Jina is often called ‘the son of X’. Another reason for her importance is that the names given to the various Jinas are said to originate either in pregnancy-whims or in a dream their mothers had. This dream is specific, and adds to the traditional auspicious dreams that foretell the birth of a child who will become a Jina. In the case of Dharmanātha or Lord Dharma, it is reported in Śvetāmbara sources that his mother showed a special inclination towards religious duties – dharma – during this period.

Parents of Dharma

Mother	Father
Suvratā – Śvetāmbara Suprabhā – Digambara	Bhānu

Places

Of the five auspicious events that mark a Jina’s life – kalyāṇakas – four take place on earth and are associated with a specific village or town in the sources. Archaeological evidence often helps to identify the old names with modern places. Even when it is lacking, there is a tendency to carry out this identification process. Associating auspicious events with certain locations makes these places sacred to Jains, so that they are potential or actual pilgrimage places and temple sites.

Places associated with Dharma

Birth place	Initiation and omniscience	Emancipation
Ratnapura	Vaprakāñcana in Ratnapura	Mount Sammeta

In the modern-day state of Uttar Pradesh, Ratnapura or Ratnapurī is a small place 24 kilometres to the west of Ayodhya, near Ronahi and Sohaval railway station in the Faizabad district. It is a sacred site because it is the scene of the birth, initiation and omniscience of Dharmanātha or Lord Dharma. The 14th-century Śvetāmbara monk Jinaprabha-sūri devotes one section of his work on Jain sacred places – the Vividha-tīrtha-kalpa – to Ratnapura. He reports the existence of a temple dedicated to this Jina, along with an image of a nāga. He also tells of worship to Dharma being performed with offerings of milk and shouts of ‘Dharmarāja’ or ‘King Dharma’.

Dates and numbers

The five auspicious events that mark a Jina’s life – kalyāṇakas – are traditionally associated with a specific date. This is given according to the system of the Indian calendar:

• month
• fortnight
• day in the fortnight.

Astrological considerations also play a role here and the texts normally mention the constellations when an auspicious event takes place.

Dates associated with Dharma

Last incarnation	Birth	Initiation	Omniscience	Emancipation
7th day of the bright half of Vaiśākha – Śvetāmbara 7th day of the dark half of Bhadrapada – Digambara	3rd day of the bright half of Māgha – Śvetāmbara 14th day of the dark half of Jyeṣṭha – Digambara	13th day of the bright half of Māgha – Śvetāmbara 14th day of the dark half of Jyeṣṭha – Digambara	15th day (full moon) of the bright half of Pauṣa – Śvetāmbara 10th day of the bright half of Puṣya – Digambara	5th day of the bright half of Jyeṣṭha – Śvetāmbara 14th day of the dark half of Jyeṣṭha – Digambara

The dates associated with these events are potential or actual dates of commemoration. These may be marked in festivals, which determine the Jain religious calendar. There may be variations in the dates in different sources, Śvetāmbara on one side, Digambara on the other. But there are also cases of differences within the same sectarian tradition. There are also other numbers connected with the life of this Jina.

Other numbers associated with Dharma

Height	Total lifespan
45 bows	1,000,000 years

Monastic and lay communities

Identification

All Jinas have individual emblems – lāñchanas – and colours that help to identify them in artwork. They also have attendant deities known as yakṣa and yakṣī, who often appear flanking them in art.

Colour, symbol, yakṣa and yakṣī of Dharma

Colour	Symbol	Yakṣa	Yakṣī
gold	thunderbolt	Kinnara – Śvetāmbara Kinnara or Kiṃpuruṣa – Digambara	Kandarpā – Śvetāmbara Mānasī or Anantamatī – Digambara

More details

Besides the basic information, the sources provide more details on various topics. These are almost infinite and vary depending on the sources. Such information differs between Śvetāmbaras and Digambaras. Here are only a few instances of extra detail. All of the princes who become Jinas are carried on a palanquin to the park where they perform the ritual gesture of initiation into monastic life – dīkṣā. The palanquin of Dharmanātha or Lord Dharma is named Nāgadattā. On this occasion, he is accompanied by one thousand kings. He performs a two-day fast. The next day he breaks his fast at the house of Dharmasiṃha or Dhanyasena, depending on the version. Dharma wanders for two years as an ordinary ascetic and reaches omniscience under a tree of the dadhiparṇa variety.

Events, stories, hymns

The life of Dharmanātha or Lord Dharma is almost eventless. In the 9th-century Lives of the 54 Jain Great Men – Cauppaṇṇa-mahāpurisa-cariya – written in Prakrit by the Śvetāmbara monk Śīlānka, the chapter about the 15th Jina is hardly more than one page. The 12th-century Sanskrit text Tri-ṣaṣṭi-śalākā-puruṣa-caritra, written by Hemacandra, has become the standard Śvetāmbara version of the Jinas’ lives. This text gives Dharma’s life more substance because the story of the triad of Sudarśana, Puruṣasiṃha and Niśumbha is inserted within the general frame of the story and told at length. The first two were half-brothers who were very close, especially after their parents died when they were quite young. King Niśumbha sent a messenger, pretending he wished to protect them from their enemies’ attacks. The Vāsudeva Puruṣasiṃha, who received the messenger, felt seriously insulted and refused the offer. A war started between Puruṣasiṃha and the Prati-vāsudeva king, whose mutual hatred continues from their previous births. Then Puruṣasiṃha had been a king defeated by the king who was Niśumbha’s previous birth, and had formed the resolution that he would take revenge on him in his next life. Thus it came to pass that Puruṣasiṃha killed him. Dharma is mainly praised alongside other Jinas in hymns dedicated to the 24 Jinas. One instance is the devotional song dedicated to this Jina in the Gujarati set of hymns composed by Yaśovijaya in the 17th century. This example can be found among the manuscripts digitised on JAINpedia.

Temples and images