Parshvanatha, the Twenty-Third Tirthankara

3D Model

•Unidentified artist(s) Godhra, Gujarat, India

•Velvet, silk cloth, gold and silver-gilt thread, plated metal sequins, cotton thread, wire, glass

•Parshvanatha is closely associated with the monastic philosophy of “fourfold restraint,” which emphasizes non-violence (ahimsa), non-stealing (asetya), non-lying (satya), and non-possession (aparigraha). Crowned with a serpent hood, he is flanked by the attendant deities Dharanendra (left) and Padmavati (right). According to one tradition, these protective figures were reborn from snakes rescued by the Tirthankara from a sacrificial fire stoked by Kamatha, Parshvanatha’s adversary in several previous lifetimes; he is depicted at the top of the chhod pata, trying to disrupt Parshvanatha’s final meditation before achieving omniscience. Kamatha is prevented from doing so by Dharanendra’s true form as a seven-headed serpent (naga), who shelters the meditating ascetic from the storm Kamatha rains down on him.