Lord Dharmanath, the 15th Tirthankar

 Dharmanath was the fifteenth Jain tirthankara of the present avasarpini time cycle.  His complexion is golden and symbol is vajra. The chaitya tree under which he got omniscience is dadhiparna.

In his previous incarnation, he was king Dridhratha in the city of Bhadrilapura in the region of Mahavideha Kshetra in Ghatki Khand. He was very strong and brilliant. He was a pious king and ruled his kingdom with purity and detachment. In later stage of life, he felt total detachment with worldly pleasures and decided to abandon his kingdom and become ascetic. He became the disciple of teacher Vimalabahana and practiced rigorously tranquility and penance to purify his soul. He died doing meditation and became a powerful god in the heaven Vaijayanta.

After completing his stay in heaven, the soul of Dharmanath descended on earth in the city of Ratnapura in Bharatavarsha. His father was king Bhanu and mother Suvrata. On the third day of the bright half of Magha, Dharmanath was born. While he was inside the mother’s embryo, his mother actively performed various religious duties, hence king Bhanu gave him the name Dharma. When he became young, he got married and there after ruled the kingdom for many years. Later in his life, he decided to take initiation and became mendicant which helped him to practice religion extensively. He went to a nearby garden Vaprakanchana on the thirteenth day of the bright half of moon in the month of Magh and accepted mendicancy after two days fasting. Then he wandered for two years as an ascetic and finally came back to the initiation place where he engaged himself into meditation under a dadhiparna tree till he got omniscience. In his Samavasarana, Dharmanath delivered sermon on Kasayas (passion), they are: anger (krodha), conceit (mana), deceit (maya) and greed (lobha). Lord Dharmanath travelled from one place to another delivering speech to establish religion among the masses where many people became his followers. When time for emancipation arrived, he went to Mt. Sammet with eight hundred munis and fasted till the end. His nirvana happened on the fifth day of the bright half of Jyestha.

Kinnara and Kandarpa were the messenger deities of Lord Dharmanath who accompanied him everywhere.

Lord Dharamnath Jain temple is found in Ernakulam, Kerala which was built in 1960.