Dharmanath was the fifteenth Jain Tirthankar

Tirthankar

In Jainism, a ' |ford]]-Maker", ) is a human being who achieves moksa through asceticism and who then becomes a role-model and teacher for those seeking spiritual guidance....

 of the present age (Avasarpini). According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha

Siddha

A Siddha सिद्ध in Sanskrit means "one who is accomplished" and refers to perfected masters who, according to Hindu belief, have transcended the ahamkara , have subdued their minds to be subservient to their Awareness, and have transformed their bodies into a different kind of body dominated by...

, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Dharmanath was born to King Bhanu Raja and Queen Suvrata Rani at Ratnapuri

Ratnapuri

Ratnapuri is a place in Uttar Pradesh, India.It is the birthplace of the Jain Tirthankara Dharmanath and is a temple town in Uttar Pradesh. It is located on the Ayodhya-Lucknow national highway 24 km west of Ayodhya near Ronahi.-External links:*...

 in the Ikshvaku

Ikshvaku

Ikshvaku pāli: Okkāka) was the first king of the Ikshvaku dynasty and founder of the Solar Dynasty of Kshatriyas in Vedic civilization in ancient India.-In Hinduism:He is remembered in Hindu scriptures as a righteous and glorious king...

 clan. His birth date was the third day of the Magh Sukla month of the Indian calendar.

Previous life

The being that was to become Bhagavan Dharmnath was king Dridhrath of Bhaddilpur in Mahavideh area, in its earlier incarnation. Although he had enormous wealth and a large kingdom, he led a detached and pious life like a lotus in a pond. Even great saints praised him as the embodiment of religion. During the later part of his life king Dridhrath became an ascetic and as a result of his unblemished character and sincere spiritual practices he earned the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma. Completing his age he reincarnated as a god in the Vaijayant dimension.

Life as a Tirthankara

This being then descended into the womb of queen Suvrata, wife of king Bhanuraja of Ratnapur. During the pregnancy the queen devoted all her time in religious activities. Even the king and all other members of the family were inclined to devote maximum time to various religious activities like charity, righteousness, penances, studies etc. On the third day of the bright half of the month of Magh a son was born to the queen. Due to the religious influence during the pregnancy period, the king gave him the name Dharmnath. In due course he became young, was married and then ascended the throne. He ruled successfully for a long period. One day he terminated all worldly attachments and became and ascetic. After two years of spiritual practices he became omniscient. His first religious discourse was attended by the fifth Vasudev Purush Simha and Sudarshan Baldev. In his first discourse he mainly dealt with the subject of form and ill effects of passions. A large audience was benefited by this eloquent discourse. At last he went to Sammetshikhar and got Nirvana

Nirvana (Jainism)

' in Jainism means final release from the karmic bondage. When an enlightened human, such as an Arihant or a Tirthankara extinguishes his remaining aghatiya karmas and thus ends his worldly existence, it is called . Technically, the death of an Arihant is called of the arihant, as he has ended...

.