Sheetalnath was the tenth 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. Sheetalnath was born to King Dradhrath Raja and Queen Nanda Rani at Bhaddilpur 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 twelfth day of the Magh Krishna month of the Indian calendar.

Previous births

The being that was to be Bhagavan Sheetalnath, in his previous but one birth was the king of Susima town in the Pushkarvar island. His name was Padmottar. When his son reached adulthood the religious king gave his kingdom to the son and took Diksha from Tristadha Muni. Vigorous spiritual practices and worship of the pious states as mentioned in the scriptures resulted in his acquiring the Tirthankara-nama-gotra-karma. Completing his age he reincarnated as the king of the Pranat dimension of gods.

Life as a Tirthankara

In Bhaddilipur town in the sub-continent of Bharat, ruled king Drridhrath. In the womb of his queen, Nanda, descended the being that was Padmottar, when he completed his age in the dimension of gods. One day due to some strange ailment, king Dridhrath had high fever and acute burning sensation in his body. He did not get any relief even after applying a variety of ointments. Out of anxiety and to comfort the king, the queen put her palm on his body. This mere touch of the queen removed the burning sensation and a feeling of soothing relief swept his body. After this incident the king decided to name the new born as Sheetal (cool/calm).

Sheetalnath was born on the twelfth day of the dark half of the month Magh. When he grew older he married at the request of his parents. At proper time, king Dridhrath crowned him and took Diksha. After a long and successful reign Sheetalnath left his home and became an ascetic. He attained omniscience under a Peepal tree on the fourteenth day of the dark half of the month of Paush. After wandering and preaching for a long time, he came to Sammetshikhar and attained 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...

on the second day of the dark half of the month of Vaishakh.