Padmāvatī is the protective goddess or śāsana devī (शासनदेवी) of Pārśvanātha, the twenty-third

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

tīrthāṅkara, complimenting Parshwa yaksha in Swetambara and Dharanendra in digambar the shasan deva. She is a yakshi (attendant goddess) of Parshwanatha.

Jain Biography

There is another pair of souls of a

nāga The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...

and nāginī who were saved by Parshwanath while being burnt alive in a log of wood by the tapas kamath, and who were subsequently reborn as

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

(Dharanendra in particular) and Padmavati (different from sashan devi) after their death. According to the

tradition, Padmavati and her husband

Dharanendra Dharanendra is the ''Yaksha'' (attendant deity) of Parshvanatha, twenty-third ''Tirthankara'' in Jainism. He enjoys an independent religious life and is very popular amongst Jains. According to the Jain tradition, when Lord Parshvanatha was a p ...

protected Lord Parshvanatha when he was harassed by Meghmali. After Padmavati rescued Parshvanatha grew subsequently powerful in to yakshi, a powerful tantric deity and surpassed other snake goddess ''Vairotya''.

Legacy

Worship

9th century Padmavati Devi bas-relief Jain Monuments Chitaral Tamil Nadu India

Goddess Padmavati along with

Ambika Ambika may refer to: Mythology * Ambika (goddess), an avatar of the Hindu goddesses Durga, Parvati, and Shakti * Ambika (Jainism), a Jain Yakshini goddess * Ambika (Mahabharata), the wife of Vichitravirya was also the mother of Dhritarashtra, th ...

Chakreshvari In Jain cosmology, Chakeshvari or ''Apraticakra'' is the guardian goddess or Yakshini (attendant deity) of Rishabhanatha. She is the tutelary deity of the Sarawagi Jain community. Iconography The color of the goddess is golden. Her Vehicle i ...

are held as esteemed deities and worshipped in Jains along with

tirthankaras In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' ( Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the '' dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable pas ...

. Ambika and Padmavati are associated with tantric rituals. Both Padmavati and Dharanendra are revered exclusively as powerful intercessor deities. These tantric rites involves ''yantra-vidhi'', ''pitha-sthapana'' and ''mantra-puja''. Friday of every week is particularly popular day to worship the Goddess.

In literature

* ''Bhairava-Padmavati-Kalpa'' written by Mallisena in 12th century is tantric text to worship Padmavati. The text discusses rites connected with Padmavati, namely, stambha, vasya, akarsana, nimitta-jnana, garuda tantra etc. * ''Adbhuta-Padmavati-Kalpa'' is Shvetambar text composed by Shri Chandra Suri, 12th century. * ''Padmavati-astaka'' composed by Shvetambar scholar Parshvadeva gani is commentary of various tantric rites. * ''Padmavati-catusadika'' composed by Jinaprabha suri. * ''Padmavati-Pujanama'', ''Padmavati-strota'', ''Padmavati-sahasra-nama-strota'', ''Rakta-Padmavati-Kalpa'' are tantric text dedicated to Padmavati.

Iconography

A snake's hood covers her head, and she sits on a lotus flower. Often a small image of the Lord Parshvanatha is placed in her crown. She may be depicted as four-armed, carrying noose and rosary (japa mala), elephant goad, lotus and a fruit. Yaksha-Yakshi pair sculptures of Padmavati Ambika and

are one of the most favoured along with

Gomukha In Jain cosmology, Gomukha is the guardian god or Yaksha (attendant deity) of Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara. Legacy Worship Gomukha along with Dharanendra is the most popular yaksha in Jainism. Iconography According to Jain trad ...

- Chakreshwari and Sarvahanabhuti-

. File:Indian - Mandala of Padmavati - Walters 543007.jpg, 'Mandala of Padmavati', bronze,

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...

, 11th century File:Sculpture of Yakshi Padmavathi at Akkana Basadi in Shravanabelagola.jpg, Sculpture of Goddess Padmavati in

Akkana Basadi Akkana Basadi (''lit'', temple of the "elder sister", basadi is also pronounced ''basti'') is a Jain temple (basadi) built in 1181 A.D., during the rule of Hoysala empire King Veera Ballala II. The basadi was constructed by the devout Jain la ...

, 12th century File:Padmavati Chandigarh Museum.jpg, Sculpture of Padmavati in the

Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, is a premier museum of North India having collections of Gandharan sculptures, sculptures from ancient and medieval India, Pahari and Rajasthani miniature paintings. It owes its existence to the ...

Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BC ...

, 13th century File:Padmavati Devi Walkeshwar Jain Temple.jpg, Goddess Padmavati at Walkeshwar Jain Temple File:Shri Mahaveerji temple - Padmavati Idol.jpg, Padmavati at

Shri Mahavirji Shri Mahavir Ji is an important and prominent Jain pilgrimage site situated in Shri Mahaveerji town in Hindaun Block, Karauli district in Rajasthan. Given the importance of the religious place, the Indian Railways has specifically develope ...

File:Hanumantal padmavati.jpg, Goddess Padmavati at Hanumantal Bada Jain Mandir,

Jabalpur Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. ...

Main temples

* Padmakshi Gutta * Padmavati temple, Humcha, 7th century temple File:Karkala_1.jpg, Padmavati Basadi,

Karkala ''Karkala'' also known as Karla in Tulu language, is a town and the headquarters of Karkala taluk in the Udupi district of Karnataka, India. Located about 60 km from Mangalore in the Tulu Nadu region of the state,it lies near the foothill ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

File:Backside view of Basadi in Humcha.jpg, Padmavati temple, Humcha

References

Citation

Source

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External links

* {{Jainism topics Heavenly attendants in Jainism Parshvanatha Nāgas