Jainism And The Temples Of Mount Abu And Ranakpur: Jainism And The Temples Of Mount Abu And Ranakpur (27)

At sixteen, Parsva undertook the greatest sacrifice and meditated standing in the forest. He was surrounded by an aura of peace. His brother, reborn as a low-level god due to the sustained asceticism, discovered him there and attacked him with all the supernatural powers at his disposal. However, a pair of snakes, the reincarnation of the two killed earlier by Kamatha, spread a gigantic hood over him as protection. This explains why Parsva represented with gigantic snake hood.

Gradually, the Tirthankara broke free of the last shackles of his karma and achieved omniscience and moksha. Thereafter, he preached for almost seventy years and during this time, he was finally able to convert his brother. At the age of a hundred years, his soul, finally liberated, rose to the summit of the universe.

I have narrated the cycle of his births in detail as it could serve as an example of the ideal evolution towards moksha as imagined by the Jains. At the same time, these stories about Parsva, who was probably a historic personage, provide enough parallels with other religions of ancient times.