Ajitnath

Ajitnatha was the second Jain Tirthankar of the present age (Avasarpini). According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. The soul that became Bhagavan Ajitnath, in its earlier incarnation, was the great king Vimalvahan of Susima city in Mahavideh area. He led a pious life in spite of the available princely grandeur. At an appropriate time, he became an ascetic under Arindam Suri.

Ajitnatha was born to King Jitashatru Raja and Queen Vijaya at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku clan.

Birth of Bhagvan Ajitnath

Queen Vijaya Devi saw fourteen auspicious dreams. Vaijayanti, the wife of king Jitshatru’s younger brother,Sumitra, also saw the same fourteen dreams. This was a queer coincidence. When the augurs were consulted they advised that Vijaya Devi would give birth to a Tirthankar and Vaijayanti to a Chakravarti (Emperor).

During the queen’s pregnancy, the influence of king Jitshatru was enhanced to such an extant that even the enemy kingdoms sought and negotiated friendly treaties with him. It became a common practice to say, "King Jitshatru is invincible (Ajit)."

The queen gave birth to a son on the eighth day of the bright half of the month of Magh. Inspired by the popular lore, the king named the new born as the Ajit. The same night Vaijayanti also gave birth to a son who was named Sagar. Then both the princes came of age they were married. Time passed with the fusion of happiness.

When king Jitshatru became old and wanted to devote the last part his life to spiritual pursuits, he called his younger brother and asked him to take over the throne. Sumitra had no desire for the kingdom; he, too, wanted to become an ascetic. Both the princes were called and offered the kingdom. Ajit Kumar was a naturally detached person since childhood, and so he too declined. At last prince Sagar ascended the throne.

Ajit Kumar became an ascetic in his youth and went into remote and dense forests for his meditation and penance. His personality and the intensity of his lofty practices cast a pacifying influence all around. Natural enemies in the animal kingdom, like the lion and cow, wolf and deer, snake and mongoose used to come and sit around him peacefully.

After a twelve year period of deep meditation and other spiritual practices Ajit Kumar attained omniscience on the eleventh day of the bright half of the month of Paush. The gods created the divine pavilion and Bhagawan Ajitnath gave his eloquent and magnetic discourses. Thousands of people accepted the path of renunciation.

King Sagar, during this period, conquered the six continents and became Chakravartin. King Meghvahan and Vidyadhar Bhim, the ruler of the island of Rakshasas (demons), were the illustrious contemporaries of Emperor Sagar. Once they went to a discourse of Bhagavan Ajitnath. There, Vidyadhar Bhim was drawn towards spiritual life. He became so detached that he gave his kingdom including the famous cities of Lanka and Patal Lanka to king Meghvahan. He also gave all his knowledge and miraculous powers to Meghvahan. He also gave a divine necklace of nine large and shining beads. Meghvahan was the first king of the Rakshas clan in which the famous king Ravana was born.

Death of Sagar’s Sixty Thousand Sons

Emperor Sagar had thousands of queens and sixty thousand sons. Eldest among them was Janhu Kumar. Once all the princes went for an outing. When they arrived at the base of Astapad hills, they dug up large ditches and canals. In their youthful abandon they flooded these canals with the water of river Ganges. This flash flood inundated the houses and villages of the lower gods known as Nag Kumars. The king of these gods, Jwalanprbh came and tried to stop them in vain. The unruly princes were intoxicated with the regal power. At last Jwalanprabh lost his temper and turned all the sixty thousand princes to ashes.

This sudden death of all his sons was a traumatic experience for Emperor Sagar. He handed over the empire to his eldest grandson, Bhagirath, and took Diksha from Bhagavan Ajitnath.

When his last moments were approaching, Bhagavan Ajitnath went Sammetshikhar. With one thousand other ascetics, he commenced his final meditation. He attained Nirvana on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra.

Ajitnath as a Historical Figure

The 2nd Jain Tirthankar Ajitanatha,was born in Ayodhya. The Yajurveda mentions the name of Ajitanatha, but the meaning is not clear. His younger brother, according to Jain traditions, was Sagara who became the second Chakravarti. He is known from the traditions of both Hinduism and Jainism as found in their respective Hindu scriptures Puranas.
*From the Hindu source, he is known to have many sons. One of them was Bhagiratha who brought the river Gangas.
*From the Jain account, it is clear that Sagara in his last days adopted the life of asceticism from Ajitanath and retired from the worldly life. Ajitanatha seems to be as real a person as Sagara.