Sumatinatha

Sumatinatha
5th Jain Tirthankara
Tirtankara Sumatinatha at Vile Parle, Mumbai
Venerated in	Jainism
Predecessor	Abhinandananatha
Successor	Padmaprabha
Symbol	Goose
Height	300 bows (900 meters)
Age	4,000,000 purva (282.24 Quintillion Years Old)
Tree	Priyangu
Color	Golden
Genealogy
Born	Ayodhya
Died	Sammed Shikhar
Parents	Megharatha (father) Mangalāvatī (mother)
Dynasty	Ikṣvākuvaṁśa

Sumatinatha was the fifth Jain Tirthankara of the present age (Avasarpini). Sumatinatha was born to a Kshatriya King Megha (Megharatha) and Queen Mangalavati (Sumangalavati) at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku dynasty. His Janma Kalyanak (birthday) was the eighth day of the Vaisakha Sudi month of the Jain calendar.

Tradition

Sumatinatha was the fifth Jain Tirthankara of the present age (Avasarpini). Sumatinatha was born to Kshatriya King Megha (Meghaprabha) and Queen Mangala (Sumangala) at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku dynasty. His birth date was the eighth day of the Vaisakha Sudi month of the Jain calendar. His height is mentioned as 300 dhanusha. He is said to have lived for 4,000,000 purva.

He attained Kevala Jnana under sala or priyangu tree. He became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Sumithanatha is associated with Heron (Krauncha) emblem, Priyangu tree, Tumburu (Purushadatta) Yaksha and Mahakala Yakshi.

Sumatinatha is said to have been born 9 lakh crore sagara after his predecessor, Abhinandananatha. His successor, Padmaprabha, is said to have been born 90,000 crore sagara after him.

In his previous incarnation, Sumatinatha was an Indra in the Jayanta Vimana.

Adoration

Svayambhustotra by Acharya Samantabhadra is the adoration of twenty-four tirthankaras. Its five slokas (aphorisms) are dedicated to Sumatinātha. Last of which is:

The attributes of existence and non-existence in an object are valid from particular standpoints; the validity of the statement is contingent on the speaker's choice, at that particular moment, of the attribute that he wishes to bring to the fore as the other attribute is relegated to the background. O Lord Sumatinātha, you had thus explained the reality of substances; may your adoration augment my intellect!

Main temples

• Bhandasar Jain Temple, Bikaner
• Talajaji
• Sumati Dham, Indore

• 
  Outer part of Sumati Dham Digambar Jain Temple

See also

• God in Jainism
• Arihant (Jainism)
• Jainism and non-creationism
• Ikshvaku dynasty
• 24 Tirthankaras of present time cycle

References

Sources

• Finegan, Jack (1952), The archeology of world religions, Princeton University Press
• Johnson, Helen M. (1931), Sumatinathacaritra (Book 3.3 of the Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra), Baroda Oriental Institute
• Jain, Vijay K. (2015), Acarya Samantabhadra's Svayambhustotra: Adoration of The Twenty-four Tirthankara, Vikalp Printers, ISBN 978-81-903639-7-6, archived from the original on 16 September 2015, This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Krishna, Nanditha; Amirthalingam, M. (2014) [2013], Sacred Plants of India, Penguin Books, ISBN 978-9-351-18691-5
• Shah, Umakant Premanand (1987), Jaina-rūpa-maṇḍana: Jaina iconography, Abhinav Publications, ISBN 81-7017-208-X
• Tandon, Om Prakash (2002) [1968], Jaina Shrines in India (1 ed.), New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, ISBN 81-230-1013-3
• Tukol, T. K. (1980), Compendium of Jainism, Dharwad: University of Karnataka