Pārshvanātha, the 23rd Tirthankara in Cave – 4 of Badami Caves
Pārshvanātha
The image shows a life-size sculptural relief depicting Pārshvanātha, the 23rd Tirthankara of Jainism, carved into an interior wall of Cave – 4, the fourth of the four rock-cut caves carved out of a red sandstone hill near Badami in Karnataka, India.
Pārshvanātha is the successor of Neminātha and the predecessor of Mahāvira, the most well-known and final Tirthankara. Historians believe that both Mahavira and Parshvanatha were historical figures. Born in the holy city of Varanasi, Pārshvanātha lived around 877 BCE and attained Moksha on Mount Summeta in present-day Madhuban in the state of Jharkhand, India.
In this relief, Pārshvanātha is a digambara (person with no clothes) standing with the Kayotsarga posture, i.e., meditating while standing. Notice the beautifully carved five-headed nāga above his head. This is one of the features that is used to identify the Pārshvanātha sculptures and reliefs.
Cave – 4 Images
– Facade and Entrance
– Ground Plan
– Jakkave with Mahavira
– Bahubali
– Rishabhanatha (Adinatha)
– Mahavira
Related Pages
– Badami
– Badami Cave – 1, Badami Cave – 2, Badami Cave – 3, Badami Cave – 4
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