Jainism · The age of Krishna (by tradition)

Neminatha (Arishtanemi): the Tirthankara who turned back from his wedding

नेमिनाथ

The twenty-second teacher, Krishna's cousin: he turned from his wedding on hearing the animals penned for the feast; the conch is his sign.

Neminatha, also called Nemi or Arishtanemi, is the twenty-second of the twenty-four Tirthankaras of Jainism. In Jain tradition he was a Yadava prince and a cousin of Krishna, who turned his chariot back on the way to his own wedding and became a monk. He reached liberation on Mount Girnar in Gujarat, and the mountain is one of the five principal Svetambara pilgrimage shrines.

Story

On the way to marry Princess Rajimati he heard the cries of the animals rounded up for the wedding feast, asked what they were, and turned his chariot around: to the forest, not the bride. Rajimati followed him into renunciation as a nun. The story is the Jain answer to the question of why one should not eat meat, and it ties the faith to the Hindu Krishna, who in the Jain telling is his cousin and admirer.

Places linked to them

Kulpakji Jain Temple (Kolanupaka) · Hyderabad

The prince, the wedding and the mountain

Jain texts make him the son of King Samudravijaya and Queen Shivadevi of Shauripura, of the Harivamsha branch of the Yadu dynasty, the same family as Krishna. His bride was to be Rajimati (also known as Rajulakumari), daughter of King Ugrasena, whom the texts make Krishna’s maternal grandfather.

The turning point is told above: the cries of the animals penned for the wedding feast, and the chariot turned towards the forest. Inspired by him, Rajimati chose to become a nun, and his brother Rahanemi also became a monk. For Jains the story is an answer to why one should not eat meat, a lesson in ahimsa, non-harm to any living being.

Neminatha withdrew to Mount Girnar and lived in severe austerity, eating once in three days. After fifty-five days of meditation he reached kevala jnana, omniscience, and in the end liberation (moksha) on the fifth peak of Girnar. Tradition gives him a life of a thousand years and a monastic following of 18,000 monks and 44,000 nuns.

As with the earlier Tirthankaras, modern scholars debate whether he was a historical person; some have connected him with Ghora Angirasa, a teacher named in the Chandogya Upanishad. His story ties the Jain faith to Krishna, who in the Jain telling is his cousin and admirer.

How to recognise him

Tirthankara images have no distinctive faces or clothing: they sit in the lotus position or stand in the meditation posture called kayotsarga, and are told apart by their emblem, usually marked on the pedestal. Neminatha’s is the conch shell (shankha), and tradition gives him a dark-bluish complexion. He is often shown with his guardian deities, the yaksha Gomedha and the yakshi Ambika.

Where to find him

Kulpakji, Telangana

One of the oldest Jain tirthas (pilgrimage places) in the south, about 80 km east of Hyderabad off the Warangal road. His image stands beside a jade-green Mahavira and Rishabhanatha. Dress modestly; leather is usually left outside.

Mount Girnar, Gujarat

The mountain above Junagadh where he is said to have reached omniscience and liberation. Its Jain temple complex is centred on the Neminatha temple of 1129, the largest of the group. It is not yet in the India GO database. Once a year, for about five days in Kartik (late October to late November), the forest circuit of about 36 km round the massif opens for the Girnar Lili Parikrama, walked by several hundred thousand people.

❓ FAQ

Who is Lord Neminath?

The twenty-second Jain Tirthankara, also called Arishtanemi, remembered for abandoning his wedding out of compassion for animals and for his liberation on Mount Girnar.

How is Krishna related to Neminath?

In Jain tradition they are cousins of the Yadu dynasty, and Neminatha’s bride Rajimati was the daughter of Ugrasena, Krishna’s maternal grandfather.

Did Neminatha and Krishna ever fight?

Not in battle. Jain texts tell of contests of strength: the young Neminatha lifted and blew Krishna’s conch Panchajanya, and in Jinasena’s account he defeated his cousin in a duel.

What is Neminatha’s symbol?

The conch shell (shankha), usually marked on the pedestal of his images.

Where did Neminatha attain moksha?

On the fifth peak of Mount Girnar, above Junagadh in Gujarat.

Is there a real photo of Neminath Bhagwan?

No. He belongs to a tradition far older than photography, and his images are temple sculptures and paintings.

Sources (4)

Five faiths in the app Open