Shree Shantinath Bhagwan: Life Stories of the Sixteenth Tirthankara

Shree Shantinath Bhagwan was the sixteenth Tirthankar and the fifth Chakravarti of the current time cycle. Like Shree Kunthunath Bhagwan and Shree Arnath Bhagwan, He too attained two titles, that of a Tirthankar and a Chakravarti, in the same life. The Lord's body was golden in complexion and His height was 40 bows.

Lord Shantinath's symbol (laanchhan) is deer. Garud Yaksh Dev and Nirvani Yakshini Devi are His Shaasan Dev and Shaashan Devi, respectively.

Shantinath Bhagwan had twelve births. Let us read glimpses of the lives He lived before becoming a Tirthankara.

• Lord Shantinath's first birth was as King Shrishen. King Shrishen, distressed by the internal conflict between his sons and intense entanglements of worldly attachments, ended his life by suicide. Along with him, his wife, Queen Abhinandita, also took her own life. For the next eleven incarnations, the King and Queen continued to take birth together, coming into each other’s lives in various relationships.
• Despite committing suicide, their devotional and religious way of life ensured that their souls’ progression was not hindered. The second birth of King Shrishen and Queen Abhinandita was as Yugaliks, and their third birth was in the heaven. There, they spent a long span of life together.
• In their fourth birth, the Soul of King Shrishen was born as Amitatej, a Vidyadhar, and the Soul of Queen Abhinandita was born as Prince Shrivijay, the son of Triprushth Vasudev. Prince Shrivijay, like his father Triprushtha Vasudev, was immensely powerful and bound firm inner resolution for becoming a Vasudev Himself.

In this way, the Soul of the sixteenth Tirthankara, Lord Shantinath - who was previously King Shrishen and the Soul of the twenty fourth Tirthankara, Lord Mahavir - who was previously Triprushtha Vasudev, had met each other in one of their past lives. How unique and intricate are the entanglements of karma. Even though Tirthankaras never meet in person, but they often end up meeting each other in some way or the other in Their past lives.

• The fifth birth of King Shrishen and Queen Abhinandita was in the heaven.
• After that, in their sixth birth, due to past karmic ties, King Shrishen was born as Aparajit Baldev and Abhinandita was born as Anantvirya Vasudev as per her firm inner resolution bound earlier.
• In the seventh birth, King Shrishen was born in the heaven.
• After that, in the eighth birth, King Shrishen was born as Vajrayudh and Queen Abhinandita took birth as his son, Sahastrayudh.
• In the ninth birth, King Shrishen was born in the heaven. After that, his tenth birth was as King Meghrath and in the eleventh birth, he again attained the heaven.
• In the twelfth birth, King Shrisen took birth as Tirthankar Lord Shantinath and Queen Abhinandita was born as His son, Chakrayudh.

In this way, due to past karmic ties, King Shrishen and Queen Abhinandita spent twelve births together in various relationships, completing the accounts of their karma.

King Meghrath's Compassion

The tenth birth of Lord Shantinath Bhagwan was as King Meghrath. In this birth of the Lord, there occurred a truly remarkable incident that left the entire world in awe of the Lord.

Once, in the heaven, a celestial being became extremely jealous after hearing constant praise about King Meghrath’s compassion towards all living beings. Filled with envy, he decided to test King Meghrath. Taking on an illusory form through a hawk and a pigeon, the celestial being put King Meghrath through a very difficult test. Along with the virtue of compassion, being a Kshatriya, he wished to grant Abhaydaan to the pigeon that had come to him for shelter. To fulfill the demand of the hawk, King Meghrath put himself in great difficulty and offered his own flesh as a sacrifice, thus granting the pigeon its life.

In the end, since King Meghrath was a future Tirthankara, he successfully passed the celestial being’s test with utmost grace. Eventually, the celestial being too was filled with remorse and asked for King Meghrat’s forgiveness. Except for a Tirthankara or a Gnani, no one else is capable of going through such a test. This is not something an ordinary human can do. King Meghrath’s compassion stands before us as a powerful example. In the scriptures, Tirthankaras, Acharyas, and Gnanis have given immense importance to compassion for all living beings.

The inner state of King Meghrath’s compassion for living beings became a noteworthy thing in history. Even if a small fraction of such compassion arises within us in this Kaliyug, it would be more than enough. King Meghrath was, after all, the past birth of Tirthankara Shantinath Bhagwan, He possessed immense strength. The deep intent of non-violence and the immense compassion he held within for all living beings led to such an extraordinary result.

Let us take inspiration from the tenth birth of Tirthankara Lord Shantinath as King Meghrath and strive to become like him.

After the incident with the pigeon, King Meghrath felt extreme dispassion. Though he was a king, the world began to feel illusory to him. His own life seemed transient. He realized that true liberation could only come by realizing his true Self. With the intense desire to attain the Self, he renounced his kingdom and took Diksha. Through worship and devotion, he bound the Tirthankara-naam-gotra-karma in that very birth. His eleventh birth was in the heaven.

The Incarnation of Shree Shantinath Bhagwan

After completing His long lifespan in the heaven, Shree Shantinath Bhagwan took birth as the Tirthankara in Bharat Kshetra. At that time, before the birth of Shree Shantinath Bhagwan, the kingdom was struck by a severe outbreak of disease; however, the moment the Lord entered the mother’s womb, the entire epidemic suddenly vanished and there was peace. He was named ‘Shantinath’. In His youth, after fulfilling His karma as the Chakravarti, He took Diksha. After attaining Keval Gnan (Absolute Knowledge), He gave Deshna on conquering the senses. It is only under the direct guidance of the Tirthankara and the Gnani that the true control over the senses is possible. Through the influence of the Lord’s syadvaad vaani (Speech that does not hurt the ego of any living being in the slightest extent), thousands of seekers were inspired and progressed on the path to liberation in the Deshna.

Let us read in detail about Lord Shantinath’s past lives and His life story from birth to Nirvana.