Tīrthaṅkara · 22 of 24 · dark
Neminātha
नेमिनाथ
Kṛṣṇa's cousin, who turned his wedding procession around at the cries of the animals penned for the feast.
The Uttarādhyayana tells it: Ariṣṭanemi, riding to marry Rājīmatī, heard the animals gathered for the wedding meal and asked what the sound was. He freed them, turned around, and renounced — and Rājīmatī renounced after him. It is the tradition's great story of ahiṃsā chosen at the exact moment of worldly triumph.
He is dark-bodied, with the conch — Kṛṣṇa's own instrument — for his emblem; the kinship of the two houses runs through the whole account. Born in Śauryapura, he reached mokṣa on Girnār in Saurāṣṭra, where his shrine stands today.
He stood 10 dhanuṣ and lived 1,000 years, five lakh years after Nami.
Measurements and counts
| Number | 22 of 24 |
|---|---|
| Height | 10 dhanuṣ |
| Lifespan | 1,000 years |
| After Naminātha | 5 lakh years |
| Born | Śauryapura |
| Complexion | dark |
| Emblem | conch |
| Mokṣa | Girnār |
| Parents | Samudravijaya · Śivā |