Lord Sheetalnath, the 10th Tirthankar

 Sheetalnath is the tenth Jain tirthankara in the present avasarpini time cycle. His complexion is golden and symbol is kalpa vriksha. The chaitya tree under which he got omniscience is priyangu. 

In his previous but one birth, he was the king Padmottar of Sushima town in the Pushkarvar island within Bharatvarsha. When his son was grown up, he gave his kingdom to his son and took initiation from monk Tristadha. Rigorous spiritual practices resulted him to acquire the tirthankara name and gotra-karma.

 In the present birth, Sheetalnath was born in Bhaddilmur town in the subcontinent of Bharatvarsha. His father was king Dridhratha and mother queen Nanda. On the twelfth day in the month of Magh, Nanda devi gave birth to a son. During pregnancy, once king Dridhratha had high fever and intense burning in his body. All the medicines failed. As soon as the queen pressed his head with her palms, the king got relief. After this incident, the king decided to name the newborn child as Sheetal (meaning cool/calm). From his childhood, Sheetalnath was a decent, obedient and quiet child. After becoming the king, Sheetalnath was popular for his good administration and planning. All the neighbouring kings used to take advice from him on political, social and religious matters. During this period, king Sheetalnath used to practice austerity and meditation and involved himself in devotional activities. One day, while sitting alone, he could visualize his past lives and realized the goal of his life. He decided to break the karmic bondages leading to birth and death cycles by following the Jain pathways of liberation. He took permission from his mother and wife and transferred his responsibilities as a king to the young prince. He took initiation and accepted mendicancy. He spent three months meditating under a priyangu tree and on the fourteenth day of the month of Paush, he attained omniscience. He travelled extensively practising and spreading the knowledge he had acquired during his spiritual journey. He attained nirvana on dark half in the month of Vaisakh at Mt. Sammed Shikhar.

Brahmeswar was the male messenger deity and Ashoka Devi was the female messenger deity who originated in the congregation held after omniscience of Lord Sheetalnath and accompanied him throughout his journey. 

Temples of Lord Sheetalnath are found in Kolkata. West Bengal and Vanasthali, Junagadh, Gujarat.