Jai Neminath Swami

Neminatha (Arishtanemi) is the 22nd Tirthankara of Jainism. Tradition places his birth at Shauripura, as a son of King Samudravijaya, and makes him a cousin of Krishna, since Samudravijaya was the brother of Vasudeva. According to the Uttaradhyayana Sutra (chapter 22), he renounced the world on the eve of his wedding to Rajimati after hearing the cries of animals gathered for the feast, and he attained liberation on Mount Girnar.

Verse 3 places the Lord in the samavasarana, the preaching hall where a Tirthankara gives his teaching. It is usually described as a vast tiered hall in which beings of every kind, including humans, animals and gods, sit together and hear the same message.

Verse 5 describes the Yaksha and Yakshini fanning the Lord with chowries (ceremonial whisks). Each Tirthankara has a pair of guardian attendants, and for Neminatha the Shvetambara lists name Gomedha and Ambika, while the Digambara lists name Sarvahna and Kushmandini.

The three umbrellas over the Lord's head (Verse 6) are the chatra-traya, one of the eight divine attendants of a Tirthankara. They signify his sovereignty over the three realms of heaven, earth and the lower world.

Verse 2 addresses Neminatha as 'bhav-dadhi tarak', one who helps souls cross the ocean of birth and rebirth, a common devotional image of the Tirthankara as the guide who shows the way to liberation.