Acharya Hasti Mala
After the 12thTīrthaṃkara Lord Vāsupūjya Lord Vimalanātha was the 13thTīrthaṃkara. His birthplace was Kaṃpilapura. King Kṛtavarman of flawless fame was his father, and his pious and virtuous queen, Śyāmā was his mother.
In his past incarnation Lord Śrī Vimalanātha was king Padmasena of the great city Mahāpurī in Dhātakīkhaṇḍa. He became disinterested after listening to the discourse of monk Sarvagupta. Taking initiation with flawless feeling he observed the vows and 20 instruments /reflections (sthānakas) attained the Tīrthaṃkara nāmakarma, and ending his life in fasting, he became a god in the 8th Sahasrāra-kalpa. Leaving his heavenly abode his soul entered the womb of queen Śhyāmā of Kaṃpilapura on the bright 12th day of Vaiśākha month under constellation Uttarābhādrapada. The mother saw the 14 auspicious dreams the same night and after a happy pregnancy, gave birth to her son on the 3rd day of the bright fortnight of Māgha month with the moon being in conjunction in Uttarābhādrapada. During the time that the child was in her womb the mother remained pure in body and mind hence the child was named Vimalanātha.
When Vimalanātha became a young boy he got married to suitable women on the request of his parents. After spending 15 lakh years as a youth he accepted the king's responsibilities. He conducted the affairs of the kingdom for 30 lakh years judiciously and righteously. After completing 45 lakh years he expressed the desire to get initiated into the arihanta-dharma. Requested by lokāntika gods he gave the year-long charities and later on the 4th day of the bright half of the Māgha month, under constellation Uttarābhādrapada, along with 1000 other kings, observed a fast at Sahasrāmravana, and giving up all bad karmas, became a mendicant. The next day he broke his fast at the home of Jaya, king of Dhānyakaṭapura with rice pudding. From here on, the Lord wandered for two years bearing with different kinds of hardships with equanimity. The, reaching the place where he took initiation, ascending the kṣapakaśreṇi, breaking the four ghātikarmas, on the 6th day of the bright half of Pauṣa month, under constellation Uttarābhādrapada, observing a fast, he attained pure intuition and knowledge.
Following his attainment of pure knowledge, wandering about, the Lord reached Dvārikā. The Vasudeva Svayaṃbhū of the time also was present in the auspicious religious gathering (Samavaśaraṇa). He accepted the dharma of self-restraint and many men and women accepted the doctrine and the practice hearing the Lord's discourse. The Lord established the four-fold order and rendered meaningful the position of Tīrthaṃkara.
His congregation had Mandara etc. 56 gaṇas and Gaṇadharas, 5500 omniscient, 5500 telepaths, 4800 clairvoyants, 1100 Fourteenpūrvadhārīs, 9000 vaikriyalabdhidhārīs, 3200 vādīs, 68000 monks, 100800 female-monks, 208000 votaries and 424000 female-votaries.
The 3rd Prati Vasudeva of that era, Meraka, Vasudeva Svayaṃbhū and Baladeva Bhadra were contemporaries of Lord Vimalanātha. During His tenure the Jain religion had influenced ordinary people as well as leaders. Vasudeva Svayaṃbhū and Baladeva Bhadra accepted samyaktva (right path) on hearing Lord's discourse. After Svayaṃbhū's death, Bhadra became a monk and after living for 65 lakh years, attained liberation in the end.
Lord Vimalanātha preached the message of truthful path among people as an omniscient for 2 years less than 15 lakh years. Sensing the end of his life-span he, along with 600 monks, observed a month's fast and destroying non obscuring karmas (aghātikarmas), attained liberation and nirvāṇa on the seventh day of the dark half of Āṣāḍha under Revatī constellation. He was aged 65 lakh years.
