| Shantinatha | |
|---|---|
 A 12th century Śvetāmbara idol of Tirthankara Shantinatha at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya | |
| Venerated in | Jainism |
| Predecessor | Dharmanatha |
| Successor | Kunthunatha |
| Symbol | Deer or Antelope |
| Height | 40 bows (120 metres) (393.701 feet) |
| Age | 100,000 years |
| Tree | Nandi tree |
| Color | Golden |
| Genealogy | |
| Born | |
| Died | |
| Parents |
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| Spouse | Yaśomatī |
| Dynasty | Ikshvaku dynasty |
| Part of a series on |
| Jainism |
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Śāntinātha (Sanskrit: शान्तिनाथ) or Śānti is the sixteenth Tīrthaṅkara of Jainism in the present age (Avasarpini).[2] According to traditional accounts, he was born to King Vishvasena and Queen Aćira of the Ikshvaku dynasty in the north Indian city of Hastinapur. His birth date is the thirteenth day of the Jyest Krishna month of the Indian calendar. He was also a Chakravarti and a Kamadeva. He ascended to the throne when he was 25 years old. After over 25,000 years on the throne, he became a Jain monk and started his penance.
After renunciation, the legends state that he travelled without food and sleep and after sixteen years received his first ahara (food) after achieving kevala gnana. He attained Moksha on Sammed Shikharji and became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma.
Along with Rishabhanatha, Neminatha, Parshvanatha and Mahavira, Shantinatha is one of the five Tirthankaras who attract the most devotional worship among the Jains. His icons include the eponymous deer as his emblem, the Nandi tree, Garuda Yaksha, and Nirvani Yakshi.
Śhāntinātha is believed to be an idea of peace and tranquillity, hence prayed to avert calamities and epidemics and bestows welfare to worshippers and hymns to Śhāntinātha are recited during the last rites.
- ^ Tandon 2002, p. 45.
- ^ Tukol 1980, p. 31.