Jainism, also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras, with the first in the current time cycle being Rishabhadeva, whom the tradition holds to have lived millions of years ago, the twenty-third tirthankara Parshvanatha, whom historians date to the 9th century BCE, and the twenty-fourth tirthankara Mahavira, around 600 BCE. Jainism is considered to be an eternal dharma with the tirthankaras guiding every time cycle of the cosmology. The three main pillars of Jainism are ahiṃsā (non-violence), anekāntavāda (non-absolutism), and aparigraha (asceticism).
The Śvētāmbara is one of the two main branches of Jainism, the other being the Digambara. Śvētāmbara means "white-clad", and refers to its ascetics' practice of wearing white clothes, which sets it apart from the Digambara "sky-clad" Jains, whose ascetic practitioners go nude. Śvētāmbaras do not believe that ascetics must practice nudity.
Acharya Aryanandi was a prominent Jain monk of the early 20th century. He is best known for his work in establishing several Jain schools in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Several Jain monks before him have also been named Aryanandi.
The Jains in India are the last direct representatives of the ancient Shramana tradition. People who practice Jainism, an ancient religion of the Indian subcontinent, are collectively referred to as Jains.
Ācārya Bhadrabāhu was, according to the Digambara sect of Jainism, the last Shruta Kevalin in Jainism. He was the last acharya of the undivided Jain sangha. He was the spiritual teacher of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Maurya Empire.
Kundakunda was a Digambara Jain monk and philosopher, who likely lived in the 2nd CE century CE or later.
Jainism has had a notable following in Gujarat. According to the 2011 Census of India, around 0.959% of the population of Gujarat is Jain. There are several old Jain temples that draw pilgrims from Jains around the world in places such as Palitana, Taranga, Sankheshwar, Idar.
Rishabhanatha, also Ṛṣabhadeva, Rishabhadeva, Ṛṣabha or Ikshvaku is the first Tīrthaṅkara of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain cosmology, and called a "ford maker" because his teachings helped one cross the sea of interminable rebirths and deaths. The legends depict him as having lived millions of years ago. He was the spiritual successor of Sampratti Bhagwan, the last Tirthankar of previous time cycle. He is also known as Ādinātha which translates into "First (Adi) Lord (nātha)", as well as Adishvara, Yugadideva, Prathamarajeshwara, Ikshvaku and Nabheya. Along with Mahavir Swami, Parshvanath, Neminath, and Shantinath, Rishabhanath is one of the five Tirthankaras that attract the most devotional worship among the Jains.
Jain cosmology is the description of the shape and functioning of the Universe (loka) and its constituents according to Jainism. Jain cosmology considers the universe as an uncreated entity that has existed since infinity with neither beginning nor end. Jain texts describe the shape of the universe as similar to a man standing with legs apart and arms resting on his waist. This Universe, according to Jainism, is broad at the top, narrow at the middle and once again becomes broad at the bottom.
Neminātha, also known as Nemi and Ariṣṭanemi, is the twenty-second Tīrthaṅkara of Jainism in the present age. Neminatha lived 81,000 years before the 23rd Tirthankara Parshvanatha. According to traditional accounts, he was born to King Samudravijaya and Queen Shivadevi of the Yadu dynasty in the north Indian city of Sauripura. His birth date was the fifth day of Shravana Shukla of the Jain calendar. Krishna, who was the 9th and last Jain Vasudev, was his first cousin.
A Pattavali, Sthaviravali or Theravali, is a record of a spiritual lineage of heads of monastic orders. They are thus spiritual genealogies. It is generally presumed that two successive names are teacher and pupil. The term is applicable for all Indian religions, but is generally used for Jain monastic orders.
Michchhāmi Dukkaḍaṃ, also written as michchha mi dukkadam, is an ancient Indian Prakrit language phrase, found in historic Jain texts. Its Sanskrit equivalent is "Mithya me duskrtam" and both literally mean "may all the evil that has been done be in vain".
The Songadh Jain temple is a historical temple complex in the town of Songadh, in Bhavnagar district the Saurashtra region in Gujarat, India. It is 8 km from Sihor town and 28 km from Bhavnagar town.
Simandhar Swami is a Tīrthaṅkara, an arihant, who is said to be currently living in another world in the Jain cosmological universe.
The history of Jainism in Africa is relatively short when compared with the histories of Judaism, Christianity and Islam on the same continent. There are about 20,000 Jains and around 10 Jain organizations in Africa.
Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha (DBJS), also known as the South Indian Jain Association, is a religious and social service organization of the Jains in India. The organization is headquartered at Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. The association is credited with being one of the first Jain associations to start reform movements among the Jains in modern India. The organization mainly seeks to represent the interests of the native Jains of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa.
The Nandavarta or Nandyavarta is one of the eight auspicious symbols of Jainism for the Svetambara sect. It is an ashtamangala which is used for worship, and could be made with rice grains. It is also the symbol of 18th Tirthankar Aranatha according to Śvētāmbara and 7th tirthankar Suparshvanatha according to digambar. The symbol has 4 arms with compulsorily 9 corners/ turns each.
Bharata was the first chakravartin of Avasarpini (present half time cycle. He was the eldest son of Rishabhanatha, the first tirthankara. As per Jain cosmology, The ancient name of India was named "Bhāratavarsha" or "Bhārata" or "Bharata-bhumi" after him or Bharata. He had two sons from his chief-queen Subhadra, Arkakirti and Marichi. He is said to have conquered all six parts of the world and to have engaged in a fight with Bahubali, his brother, to conquer the last remaining city of the world.
Jambudweep is a Digambara Jain temple in Hastinapur, Uttar Pradesh built under the blessings of Gyanmati Mataji in 1972. Jambudweep is a depiction of Jain cosmology Jambudvipa.
Songadh is a census town in Bhavnagar district of Saurashtra in Gujarat, India. As of the 2011 Census of India, it had a population of 6,027 across 1252 households. It is 8 km from Sihor town and 28 km from Bhavnagar town. The Songadh Jain temple is a notable landmark in the town.
