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| Neminath | |
|---|---|
22nd Tirthankara | |
| Member of Tirthankar, Salakapurusha, Arihant and Siddha | |
 Idol of Neminath at Girnar Hill, Gujarat | |
| Other names | Nemi, Nem |
| Venerated in | Jainism |
| Predecessor | Naminatha |
| Successor | Parshvanatha |
| Symbol | Shankha (conch) [1] |
| Height | 10 bows – 98 feet (30 m)[2] |
| Age | 1000 |
| Color | Black |
| Gender | Male |
| Genealogy | |
| Born | Ariṣṭanemi |
| Died | |
| Parents |
|
| Dynasty | Yadu clan [3][4] |
| Part of a series on |
| Jainism |
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Neminātha (Devanagari: नेमिनाथ) (Sanskrit: नेमिनाथः), also known as Nemi and Ariṣṭanemi (Devanagari: अरिष्टनेमि), is the twenty-second tirthankara of Jainism in the present age (Avasarpini). Neminath lived 81,000 years before the 23rd Tirthankar Parshvanath. According to traditional accounts, he was born to King Samudravijaya and Queen Shivadevi of the Yadu dynasty in the north Indian city of Sauripura. His birth date was the fifth day of Shravan Shukla of the Jain calendar. Balarama and Krishna, who were the 9th and last Baladeva and Vasudeva respectively, were his first cousins.
Neminatha, when heard the cries of animals being killed for his marriage feast, freed the animals and renounced his worldly life and became a Jain ascetic. The representatives of this event are popular in Jain art. He had attained moksha on Girnar Hills near Junagadh, and became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma.
Along with Mahavira, Parshvanatha and Rishabhanatha, Neminath is one of the twenty-four Tirthankars who attract the most devotional worship among the Jains. His icons include the eponymous deer as his emblem, the Mahavenu tree, Sarvanha (Digambara) or Gomedha (Śhvētāmbara) Yaksha, and Ambika Yakshi.
- ^ Tandon 2002, p. 45.
- ^ Sarasvati 1970, p. 444.
- ^ von Glasenapp 1925, p. 317.
- ^ Doniger 1993, p. 225.