Shri Amar Muni
Important facts about the
- The southern part of the Jambu continent is Bharat area,
the northern is the Airavat area and the central part is
Mahavideh area. In the Bharat and Airavat areas there are
twenty four Tirthankars in each during every ascending
and descending cycle of time.
- In the Mahavideh area the Tirthankars are always present.
- The being that earns the Tirthankar-nam-karma gets
liberated in the third birth, counted from the birth of
gaining this potency and purity.
- The auspicious influence and indications of a future
Tirthankar start appearing six months before the
conception or descent (Garbh-kalyanak). The Tirthankars
in the Bharat and Airavat areas have five auspicious
events (Kalyanak) during their life time.
- During this descending cycle all the beings that became
Tirthankars descended from the dimensions of gods in the
Bharat area. Six months before the moment of descent, all
the other gods get infused with special feeling of
reverence for these would be Tirthankars and they express
the feelings by bowing.
- Six months before the end of their life in hell, the
beings that become Tirthankars are relieved from the
hellish afflictions through the interference of gods.
- Even during pregnancy, the being destined to be a
Tirthankar possesses three fold knowledge-Mati
(intellect), Shruti (literal), and Avadhi (extrasensory)
Jnan. He even uses this knowledge if and when need
- The Tirthankars do not feed on the mothers milk.
The king of gods appoints various goddesses as
governesses to take care, with due respect, of chores
like bathing, dressing, feeding, and nursing.
- After the birth of a Tirthankar, 56 goddesses of
directions arrive and perform the post-birth rituals. 64
Indras and other gods perform their traditional duties of
joyous birth celebrations taking the new born Tirthankar
Pandukvan on Meru mountain.
- There are four unique congenital attributes of a
1. The divine physical structure is free of sweat, glime
or slime, and ailment.
2. His breath is fragrant.
3. Due to extreme compassion and tranquillity the reed
blood corpuscles of a Tirthankar turn white. As such the
color of flesh and blood of a Tirthankar is Milky white.
4.. His food intake and excretion is invisible to normal human
- If the karma responsible for mundane indulgences
precipitate, when young, he is married to a good woman
from a family of high status. However, he has no fondness
for a luxurious family life.
- During the year preceding his renunciation he gives 10.8
million gold coins in charity every day, making it 388
million gold coins during the year.
- The moment he takes the vow of abandoning all intentional
sinful activities he acquires the Manahparyav Jnan (the
capacity to perceive the subtle and gross thoughts,
feelings and attitudes of every being).
- At the time of taking Diksha (the formal initiation to
become an ascetic) the Tirthankars utter Namo Siddhanam,
offering salutations only to the Siddhas or the liberated
- At the time of taking Diksha the Tirthankar pulls five
fistful of his hair and gives them to Indra. The Indra
(king of gods) puts these into a gem studded golden box
with due care and immerses in the milky sea.
- All the Tirthankars remain silent during the period of
their spiritual practices, beginning from the moment of
initiation till they acquire omniscience. Their
discourses start only after they have become omniscient.
- During their period of practices the Tirthankars move
about alone, detached, and unscheduled.
- As ordinary ascetics they neither give away any
discourses nor make any disciples.
- When they destroy the vitiating Karmas as a result of
their higher spiritual practice and acquire virtues like
omniscience, ultimate perception, all power, and capacity
to propagate religions, then they attain the status of
- They are endowed with thirty four unique attributes and
thirty five unique speech attributes.
- They are free of all the eighteen vices.
The eighteen vices are:
1-5. The five power hindrances (hindrance of charity,
progress, pleasure, facility, and potency); 6. mirth; 7.
fondness; 8. irritation; 9. fear; 10. hatred; 11. distress;
12. lust; 13. dogma; 14. ignorance; 15. slumber; 16.
indulgence; 17. attachment; and 18. aversion.
There is another such list of vice:
1. dogma; 2. ignorance; 3. pride; 4. anger; 5. illusion;
6. greed; 7. fondness; 8. irritation; 9. slumber; 10.
distress; 11. falsity; 12. larcency; 13. jealousy; 14. fear;
15. violence; 16. love; 17. enjoy; and 18. mirth.
- The first Tirthankar, Rishabhdev, in his earlier
incarnation, had the knowledge of all fourteen subtle
canons. All the other twenty three Tirthankars, In their
earlier incarnations had the knowledge of only eleven
- As soon as the status of Tirthankar is attained Indra
creates the divine pavilion (Samavasaran). In the
assembly in this pavilion the Tirthankar gives discourses
in the Ardha-Magadhi language with the view that the
common man may be benefited. The Samavasaran is attended
by all, including men, gods, and animals. In this first
discourse at least one individual gets inspired to
abandon mundane life and become and ascetic. Bhagavan
sits in the lotus pose in the Samavasaran.
- Tirthankar Munisuvrat and Arishtanemi were born in the
Harivamsha clan and the remaining twenty two in the
- At the moment of their renunciation Bhagavan Rishabhdev
was the oldest in age (8.4 million Purva). Bhagavan
Parshvanath and Mahavir were the youngest in age (30
- The tallest among the Tirthankars was Bhagavan Rishabhdev
(500 Dhanush) and the smallest was Bhagavan Mahavir
- Vasupujya, Malli, Nami, Parshva, and Vardhaman became
ascetics as princes during the first third part of their
life. Remaining nineteen Tirthankars became ascetics as
kings during the last third part of their life. (The
three divisions of age are equal parts of average age of
human beings of a specific era).
- From Rishabh to Shreyans all Tirthankars not only did
marry but ruled also, Vasupujya altered this tradition by
becoming and ascetic when he was a young prince. The
nineteenth and twenty second Tirthankar remained
- Bhagavan Rishabh started the process of renunciation at
Vinita town and Arishtanemi at Dwarka. All the remaining
Tirthankars did theirs at their birth places.
- Bhagavan Mahavir was initiated alone, Parshvanath and
Mallinath with three hundred persons each, Vasupujya with
six hundred, Rishabh with four thousand and the remaining
Tirthankars with one thousand persons each.
- Tirthankar Shreyans, Malli, Munisuvrat, Arishtanemi, and
Parshva all took Diksha during forenoon, and the
remaining nineteen during the afternoon. Sumati took
Diksha after having meals, Malli and Parshva after a
three day fast, Vasupujya after one day fast, and the
remaining Tirthankars after two days fasts (on the last
day of the fasting period).
- Tirthankar Rishabh broke his fast after one year since
the day of initiation, all remaining Tirthankars broke
the next day.
- Tirthankar Rishabh got sugar-cane juice as the first alms
and the remaining ones got Ksheer (rice cooked in milk);
- The places where the Tirthankars got their first alms
were blessed with a shower of gold equivalent to the
dimensions of their respective bodies.
- All the Tirthankars of Bharat and Airavat areas except
the first and last propagate for dimensional religion or
the religion with four great vows as its central theme.
The four vows are abandonment of or refraining from: 1.
all types of violence, 2. all types of falsity, 3. all
types of unoffered acquisition, and 4. all types of
possessions. The first and the last Tirthankars propagate
five dimensional religion by adding the vow of
abandonment of all types of lustful activities to the
- The Ashok tree under which Mahavir got initiated was of
32 Dhanush height. The Chaitya tree of Rishabhdev of a
height equivalent to three times that of his body. All
the remaining Tirthankars were initiated under trees
having the height equivalent to 12 times the height of
their respective bodies.
- Bhagavan Rishabh attained omniscience after a thousand
years of his initiation and Mallinath just after four and
a half hours.
- The area of the divine pavilion of Rishabh was 12 Yojans.
There was a gradual reduction of 2 Kosa (1/2 Yojan) in
this area for succeeding Tirthankars till Naminath (22nd).
The area of the divine pavilion of the twenty-third
Tirthankar, Parshvananth, was 1.5 Yojans and that of
Mahavir was one Yojan. These dimensions are for the
descending cycle, that for the ascending cycle are the
same but in reverse order. In the Videh area the
dimension is 12 Yojans uniformly. Indranilmani (Sapphire)
is essentially used in the decoration of these
- The maximum number of chief disciples was one hundred for
Bhagavan Sumatinath and the minimum for Parshvanath -
- When the Karmic ties are completely broken the Tirthankar
stops the speech completely.
- Before the Nirvana (liberation) Rishabhdev had observed a
last penance (Santhara) of six days, Mahavir that of two
days, and the remaining Tirthankars that of one month.
- Rishabh, Arishtanemi, and Mahavir all three were sitting
in the Paryankasan (a specific yogic posture) and the
remaining twenty one were standing in the Kayotsarg Mudra
(a yogic posture) at the moment of liberation.
- Rishabhdev was liberated at the Ashtapad mountain,
Arishatanemi at Girnar mountain, Vasupujya at Champa
town, Mahavir at Pava town and all the rest at
Sammetshikhar (Parasnath hills).