संभवनाथ
Sambhavanatha
The third Tirthankara.
The third Tirthankara, born at Shravasti — a city better known now for the Buddha, who taught there some centuries later, and one of several places both traditions claim without contradiction.
His name is generally read as arising from sambhava, coming into being: tradition relates that the region had been in famine, and that grain returned with his conception. Whether the story explains the name or the name attracted the story is not recoverable, and both readings are old.
The horse is his emblem. Beyond the emblem, the birthplace and the nirvana at Shikharji, the record preserves little that is distinctive to him.
Tradition preserves the name, the emblem, the places and the position in the sequence for every Tirthankara, but distinctive narrative for only a handful. For this figure there is little beyond what is above — and saying so is more useful than three invented paragraphs. Where a well-sourced account exists that we have missed, we would like to hear about it.
This figure is known from tradition; there is no independent historical evidence. That is a statement about the record, not about the tradition.
Written for Jain Times. Corrections are welcome — see sources and licences.