Hitchhiker's Guide to Religion
Jain

Parsvanatha

Jain c. 9th–8th century BCE (most scholars accept him as historical, making him the oldest historically attested Jain figure) Northern India (Varanasi region birth); Gujarat and Rajasthan centers of his veneration today; Sammet Shikhar (Jharkhand) as liberation site
Portrait of Parsvanatha
Portrait of Parsvanatha
Period c. 9th–8th century BCE (most scholars accept him as historical, making him the oldest historically attested Jain figure)
Power COMMON 14

Attributes

ATK
2
DEF
9
SPR
9
SPD
3
INT
9
CHA
22
WIS
40
END
16

Combat Profile

ATK DEF SPR SPD INT CHA WIS END
Special Move

Kevala Jnana

Attains perfect omniscient knowledge of all past, present, and future, transcending mortal comprehension

Passive

Tirthankara Ascendant

Radiates spiritual enlightenment that guides souls toward liberation from the cycle of rebirth

Tirthankar | Jain

The 23rd tirthankar and the first that most scholars accept as historical, Parsvanatha lived around the 9th–8th century BCE and founded a monastic community that survived unbroken to Mahavira’s time. He taught a fourfold restraint — non-violence, truth, non-stealing, and non-possession — to which Mahavira later added a fifth: celibacy. His symbols are a serpent hood and cobra canopy, and his yakshi attendant Padmavati (associated with serpents) is among the most widely venerated figures in Jain popular devotion.

Parallels: John the Baptist (historically attested precursor whose community feeds into the next great teacher); Elijah (prophet whose tradition is inherited and completed by a successor). See also: Mahavira (Vardhamana), [Yaksha and Yakshi](#yaksha-and-yakshi----the-guardian-attendants)

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c. 9th–8th century BCE (most scholars accept him as historical, making him the oldest historically attested Jain figure) — See in timeline
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