Padmāvatī


Padmāvatī is the protective goddess or śāsana devī of Pārśvanātha, the twenty-third Jain tīrthāṅkara, complimenting Parshwa yaksha in Swetambara and Dharanendra in digambar the shasan deva. She is a yakshini of Parshwanatha.

Jain biography

There is another pair of souls of a nāga and nāginī who were saved by Parshwanath while being burnt alive in a log of wood by the tapas kamath, and who were subsequently reborn as Indra and Padmavati after their death. According to the Jain tradition, Padmavati and her husband Dharanendra protected Lord Parshvanatha when he was harassed by Meghmali. After Padmavati rescued Parshvanatha grew subsequently powerful in to yakshi, a powerful tantric deity and surpassed other snake goddess Vairotya.

Legacy

Worship

Goddess Padmavati along with Ambika and Chakreshvari are held as esteemed deities and worshipped by Jains along with tirthankaras. Ambika and Padmavati are associated with tantric rituals. Both Padmavati and Dharanendra are revered exclusively as powerful intercessor deities. These tantric rites involves yantra-vidhi, pitha-sthapana and mantra-puja. Friday of every week is a particularly popular day to worship the Goddess.

In literature

  • Bhairava-Padmavati-Kalpa written by Mallisena in 12th century is tantric text to worship Padmavati. The text discusses rites connected with Padmavati, namely, stambha, vasya, akarsana, nimitta-jnana, garuda tantra etc.
  • Adbhuta-Padmavati-Kalpa is Śvetāmbara text composed by Shri Chandra Suri, 12th century.
  • Padmavati-astaka composed by Śvetāmbara scholar Parshvadeva gani is commentary of various tantric rites.
  • Padmavati-catusadika composed by Jinaprabha suri.
  • Padmavati-Pujanama, Padmavati-strota, Padmavati-sahasra-nama-strota, Rakta-Padmavati-Kalpa are tantric text dedicated to Padmavati.

    Iconography

A snake's hood covers her head, and she sits on a lotus flower. Often a small image of Parshvanatha is placed in her crown. She may be depicted as four-armed, carrying noose and rosary, elephant goad, lotus and a fruit. Her mount, or vahana, is the rooster. Yaksha-Yakshi pair sculptures of Padmavati Ambika and Dharanendra are one of the most favoured along with Gomukha-Chakreshwari and Sarvahanabhuti-Ambika.

Main temples