Jainism - Eighteenth Tirthankar Lord Arhanathji

Previous Births of Arahnath In his previous incarnation Lord Arahnath's soul was King Dhanpati of Sushima city in Mahavideh area. He took diksha from Samvar Muni and did deep spiritual practices. As a result of his vigorous penance and devotion for the Arhant, he earned Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra. Completing his age he reincarnated in the Graiveyak dimension of gods. Birth of Lord Arahnath From the dimension of gods he descended into the womb of queen Mitradevi, wife of king Sudarshana of Hastinapur. Queen saw the auspicious fourteen (sixteen according to the digamabar jain beliefs) dreams. This indicated that the coming soul would be a conqueror – a chakravarti king. And these dreams also indicated that he would be a Tirthankar. On the 10th day of the Margshirsh Krishna month of the Hindu calendar, queen Mritradevi gave birth to a son. Naming Ceremony Besides the fourteen (sixteen according to the digamabar jain beliefs) great dreams that precede the conception of a Tirthankar, queen Mitra Devi also saw a gem studded wheel (Arah). Accordingly, after the birth the boy was named Arah Kumar. As a Prince and King When Ara Kumar became young he was married to many beautiful princesses. Later king Sudarshan gave the kingdom to Ara Kumar and became an ascetic. For some years Arnath ruled as a regional king. Gradually his power and glory increased. Soon the disc weapon "Chakra" appeared in his armory and he proceeded to conquer the world with his mighty army. He conquered the six continents and became a Chakravarti. In his attendance were thirty two thousand kings. Path of Renunciation After a long and successful reign, one day emperor Arnath was thinking about the ever changing seasons. This triggered a chain of sublime thoughts that lead to complete detachment. He renounced all the wealth, power and glory and became an ascetic. He did spiritual practices and wandered around. Omniscience and Nirvana After spending three years as an ascetic he arrived in the Sahasramra jungle outside Hastinapur and stood in mediation under a mango tree. With the fire of higher meditation he burnt one after another the four vitiating Karmas including illusory, knowledge obstructing, perception obstructing, and power hindering. Consequently he attained omniscience. His first discourse after attaining omniscience was on the subject of "How to win over the enemies like attachment and aversion." In this first religious assembly thousands of individuals became ascetics including his 32 chief disciples headed by Kumbh. Spending a long period of twenty one thousand years wandering and promoting religion, he finally arrived at Sammed shikharji and attained liberation. The sixth and seventh Vasudevas and Baldevas and the eighth Chakravarti (Subhum) were his followers.