Chandraprabha
Chandraprabha (“Lord of Moonlight”) is the eighth Tirthankara of the present cosmic cycle in Jain tradition. Venerated by Digambaras and Svetambaras alike, he is known by his distinctive crescent-moon emblem and by the major pilgrimage shrine of Chandraprabhu Guha at Vaishali, one of the oldest claimed Jain sites.
Life/Tradition
Jain accounts place his birth in Chandrapuri, a city his tradition locates in the Mithila region (associated with present-day Vaishali, Bihar), to King Mahasena and Queen Lakshmana. The night before his birth his mother is said to have dreamed of a crescent moon — hence his name and his lanchhana, the crescent (ardha-chandra). The Puranas recount that he ruled briefly as a prince-king, renounced worldly life, embraced mendicancy, attained kevala jnana under a nagakesara tree, and established the fourfold community before attaining moksha on Mount Sammeda Shikharji. As with all Tirthankaras of the deep past, the narrative belongs to sacred chronology, and no historical dating is possible. Some texts connect him liturgically with the worship of the moon as a mark of serenity, an association of imagery rather than doctrine.
Teachings/Works
No texts are attributed to Chandraprabha. In Jain teaching his significance is exemplary: the Tirthankara embodies right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct, and re-establishes the community of monks, nuns, and laity.
Legacy
Chandraprabha images, identifiable by the crescent carved on the pedestal, appear at Jain sites from Mathura and Deogarh to Shravanabelagola. The Chandraprabha temple at Vaishali and shrines at Shikharji remain active pilgrimage destinations.
Verification notes
- All biographical details are traditional and hagiographic, from Jain Puranas of both sects; no historical dating is possible.
- The association with Vaishali rests on tradition and early site identification, not on confirmed epigraphy.
- Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).