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{{short description|Second Tirthankara in Jainism}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Jain
| deity_of = 2nd Jain [[Tirthankara]]
| image = Idol of Ajitnatha at Taranga.jpg
| caption = Tirthankara Ajitnatha at Shri Ajitnath Bhagwan Shwetamber Jain Derasar, [[Taranga Jain temple|Taranga]]
| alt = Ajitanatha
| venerated_in = [[Jainism]]
| symbol = [[Elephant]]
| color = [[Gold (color)|Golden]]
| father = Jitaśatru
| mother = Vijayādevī
| height = 450 ''[[Dhanusha (unit)|dhanush]]'' (1,350 meters)
| age = 72 lakh purvas (508.032 x 10<sup>18</sup> years old)
| tree = ''Saptaparna'' ([[Alstonia scholaris]])
| predecessor = [[Rishabhanatha]]
| successor = [[Sambhavanatha]]
| birth_place = [[Ayodhya (Ramayana)|Ayodhya]]
| dynasty = [[Solar dynasty|Ikṣvākuvaṁśa]]
| siblings = [[Sagara (Hinduism)#Jainism|Sagara]] <br> (step-brother/cousin)
}}
{{Jainism}}
'''Ajitanatha''' (lit. invincible) was the second ''[[tirthankara]]'' of the present age, ''avasarpini'' (half [[Jain cosmology#Time cycle|time cycle]]) according to [[Jainism]]. He was born to king Jitashatru and Queen Vijaya at [[Ayodhya (Ramayana)|Ayodhya]] in the [[Ikshvaku dynasty]]. He was a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its ''[[Karma in Jainism|karma]]''.

==In Jain texts==
Ajitnatha (lit. invincible){{sfn|Vijay K. Jain|2015|p=183}} was the second [[tirthankara]] of the present age, ''avasarpini'' (half [[Jain cosmology#Time cycle|time cycle]] in [[Jain cosmology]]) according to [[Jainism]].{{sfn|Tukol|1980|p=31}} Ajitnatha was born in the town of Saketa to King Jitashatru and Queen Vijaya at [[Ayodhya (Ramayana)|Ayodhya]] (Vinita-Saketa)<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Shah |first=Umakant Premanand |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m_y_P4duSXsC&q=jaina+rupa+mandana |title=Jaina-rūpa-maṇḍana |date=1987 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-208-6 |location=New Delhi |pages=128 |language=en |trans-title=Jaina Iconography}}</ref> in the [[Ikshvaku dynasty]] on ''magha-shukla-dashmi'' (the tenth day of the bright half of the month of ''[[Magha (month)|Magha]]'').{{sfn|Tukol|1980|p=31}} His height was 450 [[Dhanusha (unit)|bows]] or 2,700 feets.{{sfn|Finegan|1952|p=190}}{{sfn|Finegan|1952|p=191}} He lived for a span of 72 [[lakh]] ''[[purva]]''.{{sfn|Vijay K. Jain|2015|p=183}}{{sfn|Finegan|1952|p=190}}

According to [[Hemachandra]], he was named Ajita because the king father was unable to defeat his mother in gambling until he was in her womb. ''Uttarapurana'', a Digambara text, explains that he was named Ajita because he could not be defeated by sins or all heretics.<ref name=":0" /> He attained ''kevala jnana'' under the ''saptaparna'' tree ([[Alstonia scholaris]])<ref name=":0" /> and ''[[Moksha (Jainism)|Moksha]]'' on ''chaitra-shukla-panchmi'' (fifth day of the bright half of the month of ''[[Chaitra]]'') from [[Shikharji]].{{sfn|Krishna|Amirthalingam|2014|p=46}}{{sfn|Vijay K. Jain|2015|p=183}}<ref name=":0" /> He had 90 ''[[Ganadhara]]s'' and Simhasena was his chief among them. Falgu (according to [[Śvetāmbara|Swetambara]] tradition) or Prakubja (according to [[Digambara]] tradition) was a chief of his order of the nuns.{{sfn|Vijay K. Jain|2015|p=183}}<ref name=":0" />

The ''[[Yajurveda]]'' mentions the name of Ajitanatha, but the meaning is not clear. According to Jain traditions, his younger cousin brother was [[King Sagara|Sagara]]. Sagara, who became the second [[Chakravartin]], is known from the traditions of both [[Hinduism|Hindu]] and Jain scriptures.<ref>{{citation |last=Jain |first=Kailash Chandra |title=Antiquity of Jainism |url=http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~pluralsm/affiliates/jainism/article/antiquity.htm |publisher=[[Jainism Literature Center]] |author-link=Kailash Chandra Jain}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

Ajitanatha is said to have been born 50 ''lakh crore sagara'' after his predecessor, [[Rishabhanatha]].{{sfn|Finegan|1952|p=190}} His successor, [[Sambhavanatha]], is said to have been born 30 ''lakh crore sagara'' after him.{{sfn|Finegan|1952|p=190}}

== Iconography ==
[[Śvetāmbara|Swetambara]] as well as [[Digambara]] sects consider his complexion golden and elephant as his symbol.<ref name=":0" /> He is associated with ''saptaparna'' tree; Mahayaksha as attendant [[Yaksha]]; and Ajita (as per Swetambra) or Rohini (as per Digambara) as attendant [[Yakshi]]s.{{sfn|Tandon|2002|p=44}}<ref name=":0" /> The elephant, symbol of Ajitanatha, is a [[vahana]] (mount) of the Mahayakshya and Ajita Yakshi seems named after Ajitanatha.<ref name=":0" />

==In literature, art and architecture==
===Literature===
* The [[Ajitha purana]], by [[Ranna (Kannada poet)|Ranna]] narrates the story of Ajitanatha.
* ''Ajitashanti Stotra'' compiled by Nandisena in 7th century is a praise to Ajitnatha and [[Shantinatha]].{{Sfn|Cort|2001|p=236}}

===Major temples===
* [[Taranga Jain temple|Taranga Jain Temple]]
* [[Vasai Jain Temple]] in [[Bhadresar]]
* [[Bandhaji]]{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
* [[Chaturmukha Basadi, Gerusoppa]]
* [[Dehra Temple]]
<gallery>
File:Kutch Bhadreshwar Jain Temple.jpg|[[Vasai Jain Temple]]
File:Tarangaji Jain temple.jpg|[[Taranga Jain temple|Taranga]], [[Gujarat]] (1121 AD) constructed by [[Kumarapala (Chaulukya dynasty)|King Kumarapala]]
File:Rangmandap, Taranga Jain Temple.jpg|[[Mandapa|Rang mandapa]] of the [[Śvetāmbara|Svetambara]] Jain Temple at Taranga which was originally constructed by [[Kumarapala (Chaulukya dynasty)|Kumarpala]] in 1161
File:Chaturmukha basadi, Gerusoppa (cropped).jpg|[[Chaturmukha Basadi, Gerusoppa]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{commons}}
* [[Arihant (Jainism)]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
* {{citation |last=Finegan |first=Jack |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ae4nAAAAYAAJ |title=The archeology of world religions |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=1952 }}
* {{citation |last=Jain |first=Vijay K. |author-link=Vijay K. Jain |title=Acarya Samantabhadra's Svayambhustotra: Adoration of The Twenty-four Tirthankara |date=2015 |publisher=[[Vikalp Printers]] |isbn=978-81-903639-7-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xI8HBgAAQBAJ |quote={{PD-notice}} |ref={{sfnref|Vijay K. Jain|2015}} |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916101903/https://books.google.com/books?id=xI8HBgAAQBAJ |archive-date=16 September 2015 }}
* {{citation |last1=Krishna |first1=Nanditha |author-link=Nanditha Krishna |last2=Amirthalingam |first2=M. |author-link2=M. Amirthalingam |title=Sacred Plants of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_xsAwAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |date=2014 |orig-year=2013 |isbn=978-9-351-18691-5 }}
* {{citation |last=Tandon |first=Om Prakash |author-link=Om Prakash Tandon |title=Jaina Shrines in India |publisher=[[Publications Division]], [[Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India)|Ministry of Information and Broadcasting]], [[Government of India]] |isbn=81-230-1013-3 |date=2002 |orig-year=1968 |edition=1 |location=[[New Delhi]] }}
*{{citation |last=Tukol |first=T. K. |author-link=T. K. Tukol |title=Compendium of Jainism |publisher=[[University of Karnataka]] |date=1980 |location=[[Dharwad]] }}
* {{citation |last=Johnson |first=Helen M. |author-link=Helen Moore Johnson |title=Ajitanathacaritra (Book 2 of the Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra) |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/trishashti-shalaka-purusha-caritra/d/doc212572.html |publisher=[[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda#Oriental Institute|Baroda Oriental Institute]] |date=1931 }}
* {{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PZk-4HOMzsoC |title=Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India |first=John E. |last=Cort |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=2001 |isbn=9780198030379 }}

{{Jain Gods}}
{{Jainism topics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ajitnath}}
[[Category:Tirthankaras]]
[[Category:Solar dynasty]]
[[Category:People from Faizabad]]
[[Category:Ancient Indian people]]

Ajitanatha - Revision history

CleanupBot at 06:24, 22 March 2026