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Salakapurusa
According to the Jain cosmology, the śalākapuruṣa (Sanskrit: शलाकपु ष) "illustrious or worthy
persons" are 63 illustrious beings who appear during each half-time cycle.[1] They are also known as
the triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣa (63 illustrious persons).[2] The Jain universal or legendary history is a
compilation of the deeds of these illustrious persons.[3] Their life stories are said to be most
inspiring.[4]

The śalākāpuruṣa comprise 24 Tirthankaras (Teaching Gods), twelve Chakravartin (universal

monarchs, emperors of six continents), nine Balabhadras (gentle heroes), nine Narayanas (warrior
heroes) and nine Prati-narayanas (anti-heroes).[1][5] According to Jain cosmology, time is without
beginning and eternal. The Kālacakra, the cosmic wheel of time, rotates ceaselessly. The wheel of
time is divided into two half-rotations, Utsarpiṇī or ascending time cycle and Avasarpiṇī, the
descending time cycle, occurring continuously after each other. Utsarpiṇī is a period of progressive
prosperity and happiness where the time spans and ages are at an increasing scale while the
Avasarpiṇī is a period of increasing sorrow and immorality with decline in time spans of the
epochs.[6] During each such time cycle, these 63 illustrious persons appear and establish the religion
and order in society. According to Jain cosmology, since time is eternal, infinite kalacakras have
elapsed and will occur in future and hence infinite sets of these 63 illustrious persons have appeared,
and will appear, to establish order and religion in their respective eras.[7]

Contents
Origin and Etymology
Digambara texts
Śvētāmbara texts
Tirthankaras
Chakravartin
Triad of Baladeva, Vasudeva and Prativasudeva
Hierarchy
Other classes of heroes
References
Citations
Sources

Origin and Etymology

The word salakapurusa is often translated as illustrious persons or worthy persons or mighty
persons. It is derived from the Sanskrit compound of words salaka and purusa. "Purusa" means
person, but "salaka" is of ambiguous etymology in this context. The primary meaning of the word
salaka (Sanskrit: Śalākā, Pali: salākā, Prakrit: salāgā, salāyā) is "stick". In the Buddhist context it
meant a ticket consisting of wooden sticks meant for voting or to distribute food; but in Jain context
it was used to mean a stick and also a measurement and when combined with "purusa" to denote
great heroes.[8] According to 11th century Jain author, monk Acharya Hemachandra, these persons
are called salaka as they have been specially marked among men. This emphasised that the names of
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the salakapurusas were underlined or specially significant due to their deeds. John Cort also quotes
another author, S. D. Parekh, who emphasises the root meaning of voting sticks and concludes that a
salakapurusa is a great person, as his greatness has been accepted by general public.[9] Certain
Śvētāmbara texts use the word Baladeva, Vāsudeva and Prativasudeva to refer Balabhadra,
Narayana and Pratinarayana respectively. A 1975 treatise, detailing Mahavira's life and doctrine
seems to imply the voting-etymology of the word, i.e. they are called salakapurusa, because they are
men-that-count.[10]

The tradition of salakapurusas or Jain universal history started with the biographies of the
Tirthankaras. Kalpasutra gives the names and brief biographies of only tirthankaras. It does not use
the word salakapurusas or mention them by name, but does say that the categories of Arihants,
Chakravartins, Balabhadras and Vasudevas are always born in royal families, thus foreshadowing 54
of the 63 salakapurusas. Furthermore, Jaini traces the origin of list of Baladeva and Vasudeva to the
Jinacharitra (lives of the Jinas) by Bhadrabahu (3–4th century BCE).[11] A notable hagiography of
these individuals is Hemachandra's Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra.[12]

The following Jain texts chronicle the deeds of the salakapurusas:[13]

Digambara texts
Satkhandagama (1st century) – This gives a description of Jain universal history in a rudimentary
form.
Tiloya Panatti by Yativṛṣabha (7th century) – This text gives descriptions of other Jain heroes i.e.
9 Naradas, 11 Rudras and 24 Kamadevas,[14] but specifically states that there are only 63
salakapurusas.
Adipurana by Acharya Jinasena and Gunabhadra (9th century) – This text is also known as
Trisastilaksanamahapurana (The great purana describing 63 great heroes). By this time the
number of heroes had come to be fixed at 63.
Harivamsa Purana composed by Acharya Jinasena.

Śvētāmbara texts
Kalpasutra – Devoted mainly to stories of Rishabhanatha, Neminatha, Parshvanatha and
Mahavira. It names other tirthankaras and also mentions the categories of Chakravartins,
Baldeva and Vasudeva without giving individual names.
Samavayanga Sutra – This text gives description of sixty-three and fifty-four salakapurusas in
different places.
Paumacarya' by Vimalasuri (2nd century) – This is the Jain version of Ramayana. The story of
Rama the eighth Baladeva is narrated within the context of 63 salakapurusas. The later texts
were influenced by Paumacarya.
Cauppanamahapurisacariya by Silanka (9th century) – This narrates the deeds of fifty-four great
heroes.
Trisastisalakapurusacaritra by Hemacandra (11th century) – The deeds of 63 illustrious persons,
and one of the most popular text of Jain universal history.
Kahavali by Bhadresvara (13th century) — This text raised the number of salakapurusa to 72 by
adding 9 Naradas.

All traditions of Jainism now agree to the figure of 63 salakapurusas. However, the number of
persons is 60 as three persons (Shantinath, Kunthunath and Aranath) were Chakravartins who later
on became Tirthankaras.

Tirthankaras
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Tīrthankaras (also known as Jinas) are Arhatas who are teachers and revivers of the Jain
philosophy. There are 24 Tīrthankaras in each half time cycle;[14] Mahāvīra was the 24th and last
Tīrthankara of the current descending time cycle and Rishabha was the first Tirthankara.
Tīrthankaras are literally "the ford makers", who have shown the way to cross the ocean of rebirth
and transmigration and hence have become a focus of reverence and worship amongst Jains. The
Tirthankara provides all creatures with the means to liberate the soul from the confines of the body
and to rise towards bliss, enlightenment and release from the eternal cycle of rebirth. He advocates
continence, truth, non-violence, simplicity and purity for those who seek liberation. Tīrthankaras
ultimately become Siddhas on liberation.

The twenty four Tīrthankaras of this descending time cycle are:

1. Rishabha or Adinatha
2. Ajitnath
3. Sambhavanath
4. Abhinandannath
5. Sumatinath
6. Padmaprabha
7. Suparshvanath
8. Chandraprabha
9. Pushpadanta
10. Sheetalnath Mahavira was the last Tirthankara
11. Shreyansanath and Salakapurusa of this
descending time cycle as per the
12. Vasupujya
Jain Universal History
13. Vimalnath
14. Anantanatha
15. Dharmanatha
16. Shantinatha
17. Kunthunatha
18. Aranatha
19. Mallinath
20. Munisuvrata
21. Naminatha
22. Neminathaa
23. Parshva
24. Mahavira

Chakravartin
A Chakravartin (Universal Monarch) is the emperor of the world, lord of the material realm.[1]
Though he possesses worldly power, he often finds his ambitions dwarfed by the enormity of the
cosmos. Jain purunas give a list of 12 Chakravartins who flourished in this descending time cycle.[14]
Golden in complexion, they all belonged to Kasyapa gotra.[15] One of the greatest Chakravartis
mentioned in Jain scriptures is Bharata in whose memory India came to be known as "Bharata-
varsha". After conquering the whole world, King Bharata, brimming with pride, sought to inscribe his
great feat on the slopes of Mount Meru. To his great dismay, he found the names of many other kings
carved on Meru. Like him, they too had conquered the world. He was not the first man to do so. He
was not the last. There were many before him, there were many after him. Bharata, humbled by the
experience, returned to his kingdom to do his duty, aware that his actions were not unique and that
his existence was not special.[1] The names of the twelve Chakravartins as per Jain Texts are:[16]
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1. Bharata - Tirthankara Rishabha's son.

2. Sagara - Ancestor of Bhagiratha as per Hindu Puranas.
3. Maghava
4. Sanat Kumara
5. Shantinatha - (also a Tirthankara)
6. Kunthunatha - (also a Tirthankara)
14 Ratna (jewels) of Chankravartin.
7. Aranatha - (also a Tirthankara) Miniature from the 17th century,
8. Subhuma Saṁgrahaṇīratna by Śrīcandra, in
9. Padmanabha Prakrit with a Gujarati commentary.
Jain Śvetāmbara cosmological text
10. Harishena
with commentary and illustrations.
11. Jayasena
12. Brahmadatta

In Jainism, a chakravarti was characterised by possession of

saptaratna, or "seven jewels":

1. Sudarshana Chakra, a miraculous wheel that never misses

its target
2. Queen
3. Huge army of chariots
4. Jewellery
5. Immense wealth
6. Huge army of horses
7. Huge army of elephants
Lord Shantinatha, the sixteenth Jain
Some texts cite navaratna or "nine jewels" instead, adding Tirthankara was also a Chakravarti
"prime minister" and "son". Some texts even further expands to
14 Ratna, jewels.

Triad of Baladeva, Vasudeva and Prativasudeva

In every half time cycle, there are 9 sets of Balabhadras (gentle
heroes), Vasudevas (violent heroes) and Prativāsudevas (anti-
heroes).[14] Unlike in the Hindu Puranas, the names Balabhadra
and Narayana are not restricted to Balarama and Krishna in
Jain puranas. Instead they serve as names of two distinct classes
of mighty half brothers, who appear nine times in each half of the
time cycles of the Jain cosmology and jointly rule half the earth Weapons and symbols of Vasudeva
as half-chakravarti. Ultimately Prati-naryana is killed by or Narayana. Miniature from the
17th century, Saṁgrahaṇīratna by
Narayana for his unrighteousness and immorality. Jaini traces
Śrīcandra, in Prakrit with a Gujarati
the origin of this list of brothers to the Jinacaritra (lives of the
commentary. Jain Śvetāmbara
Jinas) by Bhadrabahu swami (3-4th century BCE).[11] Jain cosmological text with commentary
Ramayana is based on the stories of Rama, Lakshmana and and illustrations.
Ravana who are the eighth Baladeva, Narayana, Pratinarayana
and respectively. Similarly Harivamsa Purana is based on the
stories of Balarama, Krishna and Jarasandha, who are the ninth and the last set of Balabhadra,
Narayana, and Pratinarayana.[17] However, the main battle is not the Mahabharata, but the fight
between Krishna and Jarasandha who is killed by Krishna.

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According to Jain texts, Narayana are generally of dark complexion and wear yellow garments. There
are seven weapons and symbols of Narayana, namely: conch, discus (sudarshana chakra), club, bow,
sword, jewel (kaustubha mani) and a garland of flowers (vanamala). Baladevas, half-brothers of
Vasudevas, are described as fair in complexion and wear garments of dark blue and have a banner of
palm tree. Their symbols or weapons are: bow, plough, pestle and arrow. The two brothers are
inseparable and they jointly rule three continents as half-Chakravarti. Although Narayana is the
mightier of the two, Balabhadra is depicted as superior for his non-violent ways and he achieves
liberation. According to the Jain puranas, the Balabhadras lead an ideal Jain life.[18] Out of nine
Balabhadra, eight attain liberation and the last one goes to heaven. On the other hand, Narayana go
to hell on account of their violent exploits, even though they did these in order to uphold
righteousness.[19]

The list of Baladeva, Vasudeva and Prativasudeva are:[20]

Baladeva / Vasudeva / Prativasudeva /

No. Balabhadra Narayana Pratinarayana
Tripushta (or
1 Acala Prishtha) Asvagriva
Dvipushta (or
2 Vijaya Prishtha) Taraka
Dharmaprabha
3 (Bhadra) Svayambhu Naraka
4 Suprabha Purushottama Nisumbha
Nara (Purusha)
5 Sudarsana simha Madhukatiabha
6 Nandi (Ananda) Pundarika Prahlada
Nandimitra
7 (Mandana)[21] Dattadeva Bali

8 Rama Lakshmana Ravana[22]

9 Rama (Balarama) Krishna[22] Jarasandha

Rama and Lakshmana are the
eighth set of Baladeva and
Hierarchy Vasudeva according to the Jain
universal history

Out of the above five classes of illustrious persons, Tirthankaras

are placed at the top. They establish the religion and attain
liberation. The Chakravarti attain liberation if they renounce their kingdom, or else go to hell if they
indulge in sensual pleasures. Next in rank are Baladevas who are gentle heroes and devout laymen,
who attain liberation corresponding to Tirthankaras. Vasudevas are also devout Jain laymen and
ultimately attain liberation, but are first reborn in hell because of their violent actions.

The mother of a Tirthankara sees 16 auspicious dreams (14 dreams in some traditions) when the soul
descends into her womb. The mother of a Vasusdeva sees seven dreams, while that of a Balabhadra
sees only four dreams. The mother of a Prati-vasudeva sees no dreams.[23]

Certain Jain texts also depict the comparative powers of Salakapurusas in the following manner:[24]

A bull is as powerful as 12 warriors.

A horse is as powerful as 10 bulls.
A buffalo is as powerful as 12 horses.
An elephant is as powerful as 15 buffalos.
A lion with a mane is as powerful as 500 elephants.
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An octoped (Astapada mythical eight limbed animal) is as powerful as 2,000 maned lions.
A Baldeva is as powerful as 1 million octopeds.
A Vasudeva is as powerful as 2 Baldevs. (A Prati-vasudeva is slightly less powerful that a
Vasudeva)
A Chakravartin is as powerful as 2 Vasudevs.
A Nagaraja (king of serpent gods) is as powerful as 100,000 Chakravartins.
An Indra is as powerful as 10 million Nagarajas (kings of serpent gods).
The power of innumerable Indras is insignificant as compared to that of the small finger of a
Tirthankara.

Other classes of heroes

In Jain universal history, other than these 63 Salakapurusa, there are other classes of 106 people
who, though not depicted as salakapurusas, are important enough to be mentioned separately. They
are:

9 Narada

No. Name Height Lifespan (Total Age) Narka

1 Bhima 80 dhansha 84 lakh years 7th
2 Mahabhima 70 dhanusha 72 lakh years 6th
3 Rudra 60 dhanusha 60 lakh years 6th
4 Maharudra 50 dhanusha 30 lakh years 6th
5 Kala 45 dhanusha 10 lakh years 6th
6 Mahakala 29 dhanusha 65,000 years 6th
7 Durmukha 22 dhanusha 32,000 years 5th
8 Narakamukha 16 dhanusha 12,000 years 4th
9 Adhomukha 10 dhanusha 1,000 years 3rd

11 Rudras (Bhimabali, Jitasatru, Rudra, Visvanala, Supratishtha, Achala, Pundarika, Jitadhara,

Jitanabhi, Pitha, Satyaki)
24 Kamdevas (Bahubali, Prajapati, Sridhara, Prasenacandra, Candravarna, Agniyukta,
Sanatkumara, Vatsaraja, Kanakaprabha, Meghaprabha, Shantinatha, Kunthunatha, Arahanatha,
Vijayaraja, Srichandra, Nalaraja (male figure of the mythological couple Nalraja and Queen
Damayanti), Hanuman, Baliraja, Vasudeva, Pradyumna, Nagakumata, Jivamdhara, Jambusvami)
24 Fathers of the Tirthankaras (For list refer Tirthankara Table)
24 Mothers of the Tirthankaras. (For list refer Tirthankara Table)
14 Kulakara (patriarchs) who teaches worldly deeds to people when Kalpavriksha declines as per
Jain Cosmology

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Lifespan
No. Name Wife Height Teaching
(Total Age)
1800 eliminated fear (due to lack of
1 Pratisvati Swyamprabha 87 lakh years
dhanusha knowledge) of Sun and Moon
1300 explained fear (due to lack of knowledge)
2 Sammati Yashasvati 77 lakh years
dhanusha Darkness and Stars
800 company of carnivorous animals should
3 Kshemamkara Sunanda 67 lakh years
dhanusha be avoided
775
4 Kshemamdhara Vimla defence from carnivorous animals 37 lakh years
dhanusha
750
5 Simamkare Manohari limit of Kalpavriksha 17 lakh years
dhanusha
725
6 Simamdhara Yashodhara division ownership over trees by marking 67,000 years
dhanusha
700
7 Vimalavahana Sumati how to ride an elephant, etc. 37,000 years
dhanusha
675
8 Chakshushment Dharini how to see a child's face 17,000 years
dhanusha
650
9 Yasasvin Kaantmaala how to name a child 1,200 years
dhanusha
625
10 Abhichandra Shrimati show a child moon etc., when he cries 87 lakh years
dhanusha
600
11 Chandrabha Prabhavati defence of children 77 lakh years
dhanusha
575
12 Merudeve Satya transportation 67 lakh years
dhanusha
550
13 Prasenachandra Amitmati how to cure diseases 37 lakh years
dhanusha
525
14 Nabhi Marudevi how to cut umbilical cord 17 lakh years
dhanusha

References

Citations
1. Pattanaik, Devdutt (18 August 2009). "63 worthy beings" (https://web.archive.org/web/201209271
73952/http://www.mid-day.com/specials/2009/aug/180809-Vardhamana-Mahavir-Jainism-Devlok-
Play-24th-Tirthankara.htm). Mid-day. Archived from the original (http://www.mid-day.com/specials/
2009/aug/180809-Vardhamana-Mahavir-Jainism-Devlok-Play-24th-Tirthankara.htm) on 27
September 2012.
2. Jaini 2000, pp. 377—378.
3. Dundas 2002, p. 12.
4. Vijay K. Jain 2015, p. 199.
5. Joseph, P. M. (1997), Jainism in South India (https://books.google.com/books?id=vHnXAAAAMA
AJ), p. 178, ISBN 9788185692234
6. Kothari, Dr. P. Ajay (2000) p. 90—91
7. Kapadia 1941, p. 65.
8. Cort, John (1997) p. 1357
9. Cort, John (1997) p. 1358

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10. Lalwani, K.C. (1975). Sramana Bhagavan Mahavira: Life & Doctrine. Calcutta: Minerva
Associates. pp. 10–11. "The author of the Kalpa Sutra has not bothered about introducing lesser
personalities, though nonetheless important as men-that-count (salakapurusas)."
11. Jaini 2000, p. 377.
12. Hemacandra; R. C. C. Fynes (1998). The Lives of the Jain Elders (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=quNpKVqABGMC). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-283227-6.
13. John cort p.1356—57
14. Doniger 1999, p. 550.
15. Shah, Umakant Premchand (1987) p. 72
16. Jaini, J.L. (1940) Appendix III
17. Jaini 1998, p. 305.
18. Jain, Jagdish Chandra; Bhattacharyya, Narendra Nath (1 January 1994). Jainism and Prakrit in
Ancient and Medieval India (https://books.google.com/books?id=2pnXAAAAMAAJ). p. 146.
ISBN 9788173040511.
19. Shah, Umakant Premchand (1987) p. 74–75
20. Shah, Umakant Premchand (1987) p. 73–76
21. von Glasenapp 1999, p. 308.
22. Choksi & Chhapia 2011.
23. Cort, John (1997) p. 1360
24. Muni Nagraj. p. 203

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