Neminath

Jain sources

Neminatha's separation from his betrothed, Rajmati, is a major theme in Jain poetry, used to contrast unfulfilled worldly love with spiritual sacrifice. This story is featured in Vijayachandrasuri's 14th-century poem Rajal-Barahmasa and Vinaychandra's 1269 poem Neminatha Chatushpadika. It also shaped the medieval Gujaratifagu poetry genre, including works like Rajshekhar's Neminatha Fagu (1344), Jayashekhar's Neminatha Fagu (1375), and Somsundar's Rangasagara Neminatha Fagu (1400). In South India, the 13th-century Kannada poet Janna wrote the incomplete epic Arddha Nemi (The Unfinished Life of Nemi). Devotional works also feature him extensively, such as the Nemidutam written by Acharya Jinasena in the ninth century.