Life and Stories of Parçvanatha

This essay is based upon çri Bhàvadevasùri’s Pàrçvanàtha Caritra, edited by Shravak Pandit Hargovinddas and Shravak Pandit Bechardas. The doctrines ascribed to Pàrçva are fundamental in Jaina religion, and Pàrçva’s personality figures large in the Jaina legend and in Jaina consciousness. The life of Pàrçva, including his nine pre-births, as presented in Bhàvadeva’s work, is the first complete account of Pàrçvanatha published to the Western world. And his account of Pàrçva’s life, along with the many stories woven into it, adds to the chain of books a jewel of no mean price.