{{short description|17th Tirthankara in Jainism in current cycle of Jain cosmology}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}} {{Infobox deity | type = Jain | deity_of = 17th Tirthankara, 6th Chakravarti, and 12th Kamadeva | image = Tirthankar Kunthunatha.jpg | caption = The idol of Kunthunatha Bhagwan at a Jinalaya in Raipur, Chhattisgarh | alt = Kunthunatha | venerated_in = Jainism | symbol = Goat{{sfn|Forlong|1897|p=14}} | color = Golden | birth_place = Hastinapur{{sfn|Tandon|2002|p=45}} | father = Śurya | mother = Śrīdevī | height = 35 bows (105 metres) | age = over 95,000 years | predecessor = Shantinatha | successor = Aranatha | moksha_place = Sammed Shikhar | dynasty = Kuruvaṁśa—Ikṣvākuvaṁśa }}
{{Jainism}}
'''Kunthunath''' was the seventeenth Tirthankara, sixth Chakravartin{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1999|p=308}} and twelfth Kamadeva of the present half time cycle, Avasarpini.{{sfn|Forlong|1897|p=14}}{{sfn|Tukol|1980|p=31}} According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Kunthunatha was born to King Surya (Sura){{sfn|Forlong|1897|p=14}} and Queen Shridevi at Hastinapur{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1999|p=308}} in the Ikshvaku dynasty on the fourteenth day of the Vaishakh Krishna month of the Indian calendar.{{sfn|Tukol|1980|p=31}}
==Etymology== ''Kunthu'' means heap of Jewels.{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1999|p=308}}
==Life== According to the Jain belief, he was born in 27,695,000 BC. His height is mentioned as 35 dhanusha.{{sfn|Finegan|1952|p=190}} Like all other Chakravartin, he also conquered all the lands{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1999|p=308}} and went to write his name on the foothills of mountains. Seeing the names of other Chakravartin already there, he saw his ambitions dwarfed. He then renounced his throne and became an ascetic for penance.{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1999|p=308}} At an age of 95,000 years he liberated his soul and attained Moksha on Mount Shikharji.{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1999|p=308}}{{sfn|Finegan|1952|p=190}}
Kunthanatha is said to have been born 1/2 ''palya'' after his predecessor, Shantinatha.{{sfn|Finegan|1952|p=190}} His successor, Aranatha, is said to have been born 1/4 ''palya'' less 6,000 ''crore'' years after him.{{sfn|Finegan|1952|p=190}}
==Famous Temple== As the 17th {{lang|sa|tirthankara}}, Kunthunatha is widely venerated across the Indian subcontinent, resulting in the construction of several significant historical monuments dedicated to his worship.{{sfn|Dundas|2002|p=40}} In northern India, the ancient city of Hastinapur is traditionally recognized in Jain universal history as his royal birthplace, making the city's Prachin Bada Mandir a major pilgrimage center for his devotees.{{sfn|Titze|Bruhn|1998|p=136}} In western India, a prominent 15th-century {{lang|sa|Śvētāmbara}} temple dedicated specifically to Kunthunatha is located within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Jaisalmer Fort in Rajasthan, which is highly renowned for its intricate stone carvings.{{sfn|Titze|Bruhn|1998|p=142}}
In southern India, the Ganigitti Jain temple in Hampi, Karnataka, stands as a major 14th-century architectural monument dedicated to him.{{sfn|Michell|1990|p=320}} Constructed in 1385 CE during the Vijayanagara Empire by the military commander Iruguppa, this Dravidian-style temple features a prominent stone inscription explicitly dedicating the primary sanctuary to Kunthunatha.{{sfn|Verghese|2002|p=64}} Finally, marking the geographic site of his ultimate spiritual liberation ({{lang|sa|moksha}}), a dedicated shrine ({{lang|sa|tonk}}) enshrining his footprints is actively venerated by pilgrims on the peaks of Mount Shikharji in modern-day Jharkhand.{{sfn|Cort|2001a|p=23}}
<gallery> File:National Museum - Chaubisi of Kunthunatha.jpg|Chaubisi of Kunthunatha, Chaubisi of Kunthunatha at National Museum, New Delhi, 15th century File:Vishal-singh-dwaar-big.jpg|Prachin Bada Mandir, Hastinapur File:Kunthunath Temple, Madhuban.jpg|Kunthunath Temple, Madhuban </gallery>
==See also== {{commons category}} *God in Jainism *Arihant (Jainism) *Jainism and non-creationism
==References== ===Citations=== {{reflist}}
===Sources=== * {{citation |last=Cort |first=John E. |author-link=John E. Cort |title=Jains in the World : Religious Values and Ideology in India |url={{Google books|PZk-4HOMzsoC|plainurl=yes}} |year=2001a |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-513234-2 }} * {{citation |last=Dundas |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Dundas |title=The Jains |url={{Google Books|X8iAAgAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} |edition=Second |date=2002 |orig-year=1992 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-26605-X |location=London and New York }} * {{citation |last=Finegan |first=Jack |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ae4nAAAAYAAJ |title=The archeology of world religions |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1952 }} * {{citation |last=Forlong |first=Major-General J.G.R.|title=Short Studies in the Science of Comparative Religions |date=1897 |publisher=B. Quaritch |location=15 Piccadilly, London |url=https://archive.org/details/shortstudiesins00forl |quote=Not in Copyright }} * {{citation |last=Johnson |first=Helen M. |title=Kunthusvsmicaritra (Book 6.1 of the Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra) |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/trishashti-shalaka-purusha-caritra/d/doc213811.html |publisher=Baroda Oriental Institute |date=1931 }} * {{citation |last=Michell |first=George |title=The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India |year=1990 |publisher=Penguin Books |volume=1 |isbn=978-0140081442 }} * {{citation |last=Tandon |first=Om Prakash |title=Jaina Shrines in India |publisher=Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India |isbn=81-230-1013-3 |date=2002 |orig-year=1968 |edition=1 |location=New Delhi }} * {{citation |last1=Titze |first1=Kurt |last2=Bruhn |first2=Klaus |title=Jainism: A Pictorial Guide to the Religion of Non-Violence |url={{Google books|loQkEIf8z5wC|plainurl=yes}} |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |edition=2 |year=1998 |isbn=978-81-208-1534-6 }} * {{citation |last=Tukol |first=T.K. |author-link=T. K. Tukol |title=Compendium of Jainism |publisher=University of Karnataka |date=1980 |location=Dharwad }} * {{citation |last=Verghese |first=Anila |title=Hampi |year=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-565433-2 }} * {{citation |last=von Glasenapp |first=Helmuth |title=Jainism: An Indian Religion of Salvation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WzEzXDk0v6sC |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |date=1 January 1999 |location=Delhi |isbn=81-208-1376-6 }}
==External links== {{Jain Gods}} {{Jainism topics}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Tirthankaras