Lesson 13 Nine Supremes (Nav Devta)

NINE SUPREMES (NAV DEVTA)



Arihant, Siddha, Acharya, Upadhyay, Sadhu, Jindharma, Jinagam & Jinchaitya & Jinchaityala are called nine Supremes (Nav Devta).

In the previous lesson we have already described the qualities of first five Supremes.

Religion preached by Lord Arihant is called Jindharma i.e.Jain religion. Its basic principle is non-violence. Preachings of Lord Jinendra & the spiritual books or scriptures that have been presented by Gandhars & Preceptors on the basis of the religion preached by Jinendra Dev (Worthy Souls) are called Jinagam.

Idols of Worthy Souls are known as Jinchaitya and the temples of Lord Jinendra are known as Chaityalaya.One gathers plenty of punya by going to a Jain temple and geting the darshan (vision) of the idols of Worthy Souls.

According to holy Padma-Puran (Parva 32) by mere thinking of going to the temple for darshan one gets the punya of one day fast (Upvas),to prepare oneself to go to the temple gives the punya for two days' fast, to start for the temple gives the punya for three fasts, going for temple gives the punya for four fasts, just walking a small distance is equal to five fasts,on reaching the half way it is equal to fifteen fasts, visibility of the temple gives the reward of one month’s fast, on reaching the temple the reward is equal to six months' fast, on entering the door the reward is equal to one year’s fast, while on circling around the shrine it is equal to the reward of one hundred years' fast, looking at the idol of Jinendra Dev it is equal to one thousand years' fast and reciting the Stuti of Lord is equal to the punya of infinite number of fasts.

From this point of view one should go to the temple and have the darshan of the Lord daily.

Q.1. Whether five Supreme Souls are included in nine Supremes or not?

Q.2. What is the reward of the darshan of a Jain idol?

Q.3. What is the difference between Jinchaitya and Jinchaityalaya?