Shri Valmiki Parshvanath Bhagwan

Iconography

Lord Pārśvanātha is always represented with the hood of a nāga shading his head. This nāga usually has three, seven or eleven heads. The Yaksha Dharanendra and the Yakshi Padmavati are often shown flanking him. There is a famous legend about the three of them as follows:

Parshvanath was walking one day when he saw an old man next to a fire. With a special type of knowledge called Avdhignan he could tell that a pair of snakes was in one of the logs in the fire. He quickly warned the man that he was burning the snakes, but instead of acting rapidly to save them, the man became angry at Parshvanath and denied the presence of the snakes. Parshavanath pulled out the right log and put it out, then gently split it, revealing two badly burned snakes. He recited the Navkar Mantra, a prayer, for them before they died. The two nagas reincarnated to become the two Yakshas, Dharanendra and Padmavati.^{[citation needed]}

^{Image of Lord Parsva, Parasvanatha Jain Temple, at Mt. Shatrunjay, Gujarat,India}