# Parshvanatha
**Parshvanatha** Parshvanatha, also called [Parshva](https://www.edgepedia.org/parshva-23rd-jain-tirthankara), is the twenty-third [Tirthankara](https://www.edgepedia.org/tirthankara) ("Ford-maker", that is, savior) of the present age according to Jainism.[1](https://kids.britannica.com/scholars/article/Parshvanatha/58576) • [2](https://thejainreligion.in/tirthankaras/parshvanatha) Jain tradition places his life at roughly 872 to 772 BCE, about 250 years before Mahavira; historians working outside the tradition, who date Mahavira to the fifth century BCE, place Parshvanatha in the eighth or seventh century BCE.[3](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tirthankara) He is tied to Kashi (Banaras, present-day Varanasi in [Uttar Pradesh](https://www.edgepedia.org/uttar-pradesh)), where tradition makes him a prince, the son of King Ashvasena.[4](https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/parshvanatha) • [5](https://mapacademy.io/article/parshvanatha/)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position in Jainism | 23rd of the 24 Tirthankaras[1](https://kids.britannica.com/scholars/article/Parshvanatha/58576) • [3](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tirthankara) |
| Non-Jain scholarly dating | 8th–7th century BCE[3](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tirthankara) |
| Origin | Banaras (Varanasi), son of King Ashvasena and Queen Vama[4](https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/parshvanatha) • [6](https://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/jainhist.html) |
| Teaching | Fourfold restraint: non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, non-possession[7](https://divinity.interactivelion.com/figures/parshvanatha) |
| Enlightenment | Under a Dhataki tree, on the 84th day of ascetic practice[6](https://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/jainhist.html) |
| Death (nirvana) | Mount Sammeta (Sammeda), later called Parasnath after him[8](https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/kalpa-sutra/d/doc424485.html) • [5](https://mapacademy.io/article/parshvanatha/) |
## Origins and family
The canonical account, given in the Kalpa Sutra, makes Parshvanatha the son of Ashvasena, king of Benares, and his queen Vama.[8](https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/kalpa-sutra/d/doc424485.html) • [6](https://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/jainhist.html) The Kalpa Sutra dates his birth to the tenth day of the dark fortnight of Pausha, after nine months and seven and a half days in the womb.[8](https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/kalpa-sutra/d/doc424485.html) One tradition, reported in the Shvetambara strand, adds that he married a princess before renouncing the household life at the age of thirty.[4](https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/parshvanatha) • [10](https://san.beck.org/EC8-Mahavira.html) A study of the tradition describes him as born to a non-Aryan Naga family of the Vratya-Kshatriyas at Varanasi.[9](https://jainworld.com/library/jain-books/books-on-line/jainworld-books-in-indian-languages/jainism-a-religion-of-asceticism-new/tirthankara-parsvanatha/)
## Career
The Kalpa Sutra gives the shape of his life in numbers: thirty years as a householder, full seventy years as a shramana (ascetic), something less than seventy years as a kevalin (one possessing perfect knowledge), and a hundred years in all.[8](https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/kalpa-sutra/d/doc424485.html) He renounced the world at thirty, practiced severe asceticism for eighty-three days, and became a kevalin on the eighty-fourth day, under a Dhataki tree.[6](https://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/jainhist.html)
Parshvanatha's four-vow dharma (chaturyama) is mentioned in early Pali literature, and according to *Tirthankara Parsvanatha*, Parshva tried throughout his life to purge asceticism of corrupt practices such as the five-fire austerity (Panchagnitapas) and violent sacrifices.[9](https://jainworld.com/library/jain-books/books-on-line/jainworld-books-in-indian-languages/jainism-a-religion-of-asceticism-new/tirthankara-parsvanatha/) The Kalpa Sutra records seven ganas and seven ganadharas.[8](https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/kalpa-sutra/d/doc424485.html)
One tradition also remembers him as a warrior who "carried his victorious arms down to Kalinga" before his renunciation.[4](https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/parshvanatha)
## Political influence
Parshvanatha's lasting influence lies in religious institutions rather than in a court. Britannica records the traditional view that Mahavira based his doctrines on the teachings of Parshvanatha.[3](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tirthankara) His four-vow teaching is preserved in early Pali literature.[9](https://jainworld.com/library/jain-books/books-on-line/jainworld-books-in-indian-languages/jainism-a-religion-of-asceticism-new/tirthankara-parsvanatha/)
## Death and successors
The Kalpa Sutra states that Parshvanatha died on the summit of Mount Sammeta, in the company of about 80 persons, after fasting a month without drinking water, on the eighth day of the light fortnight of Shravana.[8](https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/kalpa-sutra/d/doc424485.html) The mountain, also called Sammeda, later took the name Parasnath after him.[5](https://mapacademy.io/article/parshvanatha/) Britannica records the traditional view that Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Jina, based his doctrines on the teachings of Parshvanatha.[3](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tirthankara) • [11](https://www.routledge.com/Early-Sources-of-the-Jaina-Tradition-A-Critical-Survey-Revealing-Parsva-the-23rd-Tirthankara-as-a-Legendary-Figure/Bhatt/p/book/9781138774827)
## Historians' assessment
Serious scholars divide on whether Parshvanatha was a historical person. A recent academic monograph challenges the commonly accepted nineteenth-century hypothesis that Parshvanatha was a historical figure whose teachings Mahavira only slightly modified; it argues that the teachings and narratives associated with Parshva are the result of a construction related to a reform movement sometime after Mahavira.[11](https://www.routledge.com/Early-Sources-of-the-Jaina-Tradition-A-Critical-Survey-Revealing-Parsva-the-23rd-Tirthankara-as-a-Legendary-Figure/Bhatt/p/book/9781138774827)
The chronology is itself disputed: individual dates also differ between reference works, one giving about 817 to 717 BC.[4](https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/parshvanatha)
## Legacy
Parshvanatha is remembered for popularizing and reviving Jainism in the subcontinent.[5](https://mapacademy.io/article/parshvanatha/) His death mountain, Parasnath, bears his name and remains identified with him.[5](https://mapacademy.io/article/parshvanatha/) His life generated a substantial literary tradition: about twenty-five works dealing with it have come to light, among them Padmakirti's long Apabhramsa poem, the Pasanahacariu (Sanskrit Parsvanatha-carita).[12](https://jainqq.org/booktext/Pasanahchariyam/001444) A chapter on his life as the twenty-third ford-maker also appears in the Trishashtilakshana-mahapurana, whose final portion was dedicated on June 23, 897 CE by Gunabhadra's pupil Lokasena.[13](https://jainastudies.soas.ac.uk/ijjs/ijjs-0302-2007.pdf) A modern Hindi scholarly biography by Dr. Pannalal Jain was published in 2021.[14](https://jainebooks.org/books/parshwanath-charitra)
## References
1. [Parshvanatha, Britannica Kids Scholars](https://kids.britannica.com/scholars/article/Parshvanatha/58576)
2. [Parshvanatha | 23rd Tirthankara of Jainism](https://thejainreligion.in/tirthankaras/parshvanatha)
3. [Tirthankara | Definition, Names, & Facts | Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tirthankara)
4. [Parshvanatha: 10 definitions, Wisdom Library](https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/parshvanatha)
5. [Parshvanatha, MAP Academy](https://mapacademy.io/article/parshvanatha/)
6. [Jain History, Colorado State University](https://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/jainhist.html)
7. [Parshvanatha, Divinity Atlas](https://divinity.interactivelion.com/figures/parshvanatha)
8. [Kalpa Sutra, Life of Parshva](https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/kalpa-sutra/d/doc424485.html)
9. [Tirthankara Parsvanatha (Jainism: A Religion of Asceticism)](https://jainworld.com/library/jain-books/books-on-line/jainworld-books-in-indian-languages/jainism-a-religion-of-asceticism-new/tirthankara-parsvanatha/)
10. [Mahavira and Jainism, Sanderson Beck](https://san.beck.org/EC8-Mahavira.html)
11. [Early Sources of the Jaina Tradition, Routledge](https://www.routledge.com/Early-Sources-of-the-Jaina-Tradition-A-Critical-Survey-Revealing-Parsva-the-23rd-Tirthankara-as-a-Legendary-Figure/Bhatt/p/book/9781138774827)
12. [Pasanahchariyam, Jain Quantum](https://jainqq.org/booktext/Pasanahchariyam/001444)
13. [A Note on the Pāsa Tradition, International Journal of Jaina Studies](https://jainastudies.soas.ac.uk/ijjs/ijjs-0302-2007.pdf)
14. [पार्श्वनाथ चरित्र · Parshwanath Charitra](https://jainebooks.org/books/parshwanath-charitra)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Asian history › India and South Asia › Indus and Vedic India (3300 to 500 BC) › Rulers, sages, and religious figures*
*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license