Siddhachakra

Siddhachakra is a popular yantra or mandala (mystical diagram) used for worship in Jainism. It is also known as Navapada in the Svetambara tradition and Navadevta in the Digambara tradition. In the Svetambara tradition it is associated with the Namokar Mantra. It is related to the legend of King Shripala and his wife Mayanasundari. It is depicted as a ''Kalasha'' with the core of a blossomed lotus representing Navapada in the centre surrounded by guarding deities on petals. It is used in some rituals.

Etymology

''Siddha'' refers to a liberated soul, while ''chakra'' means wheel. It is believed that worshiping Siddhachakra results in freedom from the cycles of life within a universal 'wheel' known as nirvana. It also means a 'circle of perfection'. ''Navapada'' means 'nine petals' in reference to the centre of the yantra, while ''Navadevta'' means 'nine deities'. It is also described as a 'saint wheel'.

History

The two major sects of Jainism, Svetambara and Digambara, differ in their concept of ''Siddhachakra''. The first five deities, known as the ''Panch Parmeshthi'' (five supreme beings) are the same in both traditions while the other four are different. They were traditionally known as Navapada in the Svetambara tradition and Navadevta in the Digambara tradition.

Svetambara

''Siddhachakra'' most likely originally had only the ''Panch Parmesthi'', ''Arihant'' in the center and the other four in petals in four different directions. It may have been inspired from ''Namaskara Valaya'' based on the Namokar Mantra as in some older ''Siddhachakra''. The four last lines describing ''phalashruti'' (benefits) are depicted in addition to the petals at the four corners. They are described by Acharya Hemachandra in ''Yogashastra''. He also noted that ''Vajraswami'' (BCE 57 – 57 CE) derived it from the lost ''Vidyanupravad parva'' text.

It seems that the other four ''pada''s were added later. Acharya Dinkara (1411 CE) described ''Navapada'' in ''Nandyavrata Mandala''. Nirvanakalika (c. 11th century) described it but replaced ''Tapa'' with ''Suchi-vidya''.

Ratnamandira Gani or Acharya Ratnashekhara wrote about the legend of Shripal in ''Siri-Sirivala-Kaha'' in Prakrit along with Siddhachakra Puja in 1372 or 1362 CE, the earliest known reference. A later popular version called ''Shripal Rajano Ras'' was written in 1682 CE by Vinayvijay and Yashovijay.

Legend

The legend takes place during the time of the twentieth Jain Tirthankara Munisuvrata, about 1.1 million years ago according to Jain traditions. There was a king named Singharth and a queen Kamalprabha of Champanagar. His brother Ajitsen captured Champanagar when he died. To save five-year-old Shripal from his uncle, Kamalprabha fled from the city and left him with a group of lepers while being chased by soldiers. Shripal was also infected by leprosy. He changed his name to Umar Rana and became the group's leader.

Eventually he reached Ujjain where King Prajapal was ruling. Out of anger from being disrespected by his daughter, Mayanasundari, he married her to the leprous Shripal. They met a Jain monk, Munichandra, who advised them to do a ritual named Ayambil Oli which is dedicated to the central ''Navpada'' in Siddhachakra. It cured Shripal's leprosy along with that of 700 other lepers. Later he conquered Ujjain and Champanagar.

Digambara

''Navdevata'' was depicted as ''Pratishtha-vidhi-mandala'' in ''Pratishtha-tilaka'' by Nemichandra (c. 15th century). It was also described in ''Pratishtha-Sirodhara'' by Ashadhar, ''Jin-samhita'' by Indranandi (c. 10th century), and ''Paratishtha-Kalpa-Tippanam'' by Kumudchanra.

''Jinasamhita'' by Ekasamdhi (c. 1250 CE) described it in detail, depicting it as similar to ''Brihad Siddhachakra''.

Types

There are two types of Siddhachakra. The small types have only a central part depicting ''Nav pada'' which only includes Arihant, Siddha (liberated souls), Acharya (leaders), Upadhyaya (teachers) and Sadhu (monks) along with the other four. Large types includes all of the structures described below called ''Brihad Siddhachakra'' or ''Siddhachakra Mahayantra''. Small types are found frequently in Jain temples and in carvings while larger ones are found in brass plate form or made of different lentils during rituals on special occasions.

Structure

It is depicted as a Kalasha with an eye on both sides and a core made of a fully blossomed lotus. It has many circles of petals marking different concepts in Jainism.

Kalasha

A ''Kalasha'' is depicted as a pot with a large base and a mouth generally covered with a lid or topped with a coronet of mango leaves and a coconut. It is decorated with clothes and ornaments in images. Two eyes are depicted around the Kalasha, symbolising right faith and right knowledge.

At the neck of the ''Kalasha'' are nine small pots known as ''Nav Nidhi'' which describe nine kinds of wealth or treasures.
Nine shrines dedicated to ''Navagraha'' are at the base of ''Kalasha'' which indicate nine 'cosmic influencers'.

Lotus

At the core is a fully blossomed lotus with many circles of petals marking different concepts in Jainism. ''Navpada'' (Nine elements) is at the core surrounded by circles of petals called ''valaya''. There is variation in the number of circles made by the petals in different images but generally there are ten circles.

Navapada

Navapada is the core of the lotus. Navapada includes five supreme beings having virtues, ''Guni'' or ''Panch Parmeshthi'', and four ''right'' virtues, ''Guna''s according to Svetambara tradition. Their attributes are described in 108 scriptures. They are also illustrated in silver or copper plates for worship. In the Digambara tradition, it has the same ''Panch Parmeshthi'' but the other four elements are different.

Valaya

''Navapada'' is surrounded by circles of petals called ''valaya'' which describe various concepts and guarding deities as mantras.

Some have additional petals describing four ''vira'' (guarding deities) and ten ''Digpala'' (protectors of ten directions).

Surroundings

The sun and moon are depicted on the right and left side of the ''Kalasha'', respectively. There are four shrines with guarding deities in the four corners: Kshetrapala, Vimaleshwar, Chakreshvari, and Aprasiddha Siddha Chakradhisthanak. Sometimes King Shripal and Queen Mayanasundari are depicted on the sides of the ''Kalasha'' as based on a legend.

Rituals

Navapada Aradhana and Ayambil Oli

Navapada Aradhana is associated with the Shripal-Mayanasundari legend. Navapada Aradhana is performed by meditating on ''Navapada'' and doing an ayambil. In an ayambil, only one meal is eaten each day of plain food without any spices, sugar, salt, oil, butter, milk, vegetables or fruits. It is performed for nine days, twice a year. It is called Ayambil Oli. It falls in the months of Chaitra (March/April) and Ashwin (September/October) of the Jain calendar. A procession of ''Siddhachakra'' is carried out in towns known as ''Jalayatra''.

Siddhachakra Puja

It is a complex ritual taking a half day in which a whole Siddhachakra is created on a floor using lentils. Mantras are recited along with performing ''puja'' starting in the centre of the Siddhachakra and moving towards the outside.

See also

* Jain rituals and festivals
* Jain symbols
* Tirthankara

References

Further reading

*

External links

Siddhachakra in JainpediaStory of Śrīpal and Mayṇasundarī in JainpediaVideo explaining Siddhachakra provided by the Victoria and Albert Museum in LondonManuscript of Śrīpāla-rāsa and Gujarati commentary by Vinayvijaya and Yashovijaya of the 17th or 18th century

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Jain symbols