Simandhar

Simandhar

Simandhar

Jain cosmology being

Simandhar or Simandhara[1] is a Tīrthaṅkara, an arihant, who is said to be currently living in another world in the Jain cosmological universe.

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Residence in Jain cosmology

Simandhar resides at Mahavideh Kshetra, another land within the Jain cosmological universe (see Jain cosmology).[2][3][4]

The five lands of the Bharat Kshetra are currently in the fifth Ara (a degraded time-cycle in which Tirthankaras do not take birth).[5][6] The most recent Tirthankara present on Bharata Kshetra (present world) was Vardhamana Mahavira, whom historians estimate lived between 599 and 527 BCE, the last in a cycle of 24 Tirthankaras.[7][8]

On Mahavideh Kshetra, the fourth Ara (a spiritually elevated time-cycle) exists continuously. There, Tirthankaras perpetually are born.[9][5] There are 5 Mahavideh Kshetras, each being a separate land. At present, there are 4 Tirthankaras residing in each Mahavideh Kshetra. Thus there are a total of 20 Tirthankaras residing there, Simandhar being one among them.[3][10]

Biography per Jain tradition

Simandhar is a living Tirthankara, an Arihant, who is said to be currently present on another world in the Jain cosmological universe.[11][12] The Arihant Simandhar is believed to be currently 150,000 earth years old (equivalent to 49 years at Mahavideh Kshetra), and has a remaining lifespan of 125,000 earth years.[13][14] He lives in the city of Pundarikgiri, the capital of Pushpakalavati, one of 32 geographical divisions on Mahavideh Kshetra.[3][15][16] Pundarikgiri is ruled by King Shreyans, who is Simandhar's father. His mother is Satyaki. While pregnant with Simandhar, Satyaki had a sequence of auspicious dreams indicating that she would give birth to a Tirthankara.[17][18] Simandhar was born with three complete aspects of jnana, or self-knowledge:

As a young adult, he married Rukamani and then, later in life, took diksha, renunciation from worldly life.[17]

Simandhar's height is 500 dhanushya, approximately 1,500 feet, which is considered an average height for the people of Mahavideh Kshetra.[3]

Worship

Iconography

Simandhara is usually depicted in a sitting or standing meditative posture with the symbol of a bull beneath him.[20] Every Tīrthankara has a distinguishing emblem that allows worshippers to distinguish similar-looking idols of the Tirthankaras.[21][22][23]

  • Simandhara in Digambar Jain temple, Ujjain
  • Idol of Simandhar at Trimandir, Vadodara

Main temples

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Simandhar Swami.

Notes

  1. [1]
    Cort, John (21 January 2010). Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History. Oxford University Press. p. 185. ISBN 978-0-19-045257-5.
  2. [2]
    Natubhai Shah 2004.
  3. [3]
    University, Jain, Mahavideh Kshetra (PDF), Jain University, archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2012
  4. [4]
    Darshan, Jain. "Mahavideh Kshetra" (PDF). Jain Darshan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  5. [5]
    Jainism, My. "Kaal Chakra" (PDF). My Jainism. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2013.
  6. [6]
    Jaini 1998, pp. 30–32.
  7. [7]
    "Jain Meditation". Archived from the original on 27 April 2012.
  8. [8]
    Jaini 1998, pp. 1–41.
  9. [9]
    Tirthankaras, Jain. "24 Tirthankaras". Jain Tirthankaras.
  10. [10]
    Atmadharma.com. "Adhyatma Pravachanratnatray" (PDF). Atmadharma.com.
  11. [11]
    Pravin K Shah, pp. 1–3.
  12. [12]
    Umich. "Arihants". Umich.edu.
  13. [13]
    "Trimandir - Simandhar Swami | Lord Simandhar Swami | trimandir.org". www.trimandir.org. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  14. [14]
    Dadashri 2005, p. 24.
  15. [15]
    Gyan, Jain. "Mahavideh Kshetra". Jain Gyan. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  16. [16]
    Dadashri 2005, p. 15.
  17. [17]
    "Simandhar Swami". Jain World. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  18. [18]
    Dalal, Deepika, Arihant Simandhar Swami (PDF), JAINA, p. 3
  19. [19]
    Jaini 1998, p. 3.
  20. [20]
    Shah 1987, p. 101.
  21. [21]
    Encyclopædia Britannica.
  22. [22]
    Krishna 2014, p. 34.
  23. [23]
    Zimmer 1953, p. 225.

References
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