Who are Shalaka Mens in Jainism ?

Those men who do not speak bad words or harsh words even after being victimized and do the welfare of their soul by wearing gems and triads are called Great men or Shalaka Mens in Jainism. 169 great men have been described in Jain Agamas. Of these, 63 are Shalaka men and 106 are other great men. They are also called Uttampurush, Divyapurush, or Puranpurush.

Shalaka Purushas

Very virtuous men who go on pilgrimage are called Shalaka Purushas. After the last Kulkar in the Arya Khand of Bharat Kshetra, 63 Shalaka men start becoming the best among humans and famous in the world. These are-24 Tirthankaras, 12 Chakravartis, 9 Baldev, 9 Narayan and 9 Pratinarayan.

All these shalaka men are possessors of perfect bodies including vajrvrishabh-narach-sanhanan. They don’t have a beard or mustache. There is no sight of them.

Like the Bharat region, the Airavat region also has 63 Shalaka men. In the Aryakhands of Bharat and Airavat regions, these shalaka men are present in the fourth period of each Avasarpini and the third period of Utsarpini. In the 32 Aryakhandas of the Videha region, these Tirthankaras, etc. continue to be Shalaka Purush.

Chakravartees or Universal Monarchs or Emperors

These are the ruler of six divisions (1 Arya and 5 Mlechha), the master of 32,000 crowned kings, his 14 gems (Chakra, Danda, Mani, etc.), and 9 funds (Kaal, Patah, Shankh, Nana Ratna, etc.) There are They have 96,000 queens including pat-queens. The pat-queen is sterile. There have been 12 Chakravarty in the present Avasarpini period, whose names are as follows:-

(1) Bharata (7) Arnatha
(2) Sagar (8) Subhaum
(3) Maghwa (9) Padma
(4) Sanatkumar (10) Harishen
(5) Shantinath (11) Jaysen
(6) Kunthunath (12) Brahmadatta

If Chakravarti dies with restraint, he goes to heaven or salvation, otherwise, he goes to hell. Of these Chakravartis, Maghava and Sanatkumar have gone to heaven, Subhaum and Brahmadatta have gone to hell and the remaining 8 have gone to salvation.

Baldevs

He is the elder brother of Narayan. There is deep affection in both of them. He is also called Balabhadra or Haldhar. They are the best in power, that is, they are powerful and have good results. There are four maharanis of these. The names of these gems are – Halayudh, Arrow, Gada, and Mala. He has immense wealth, he has 8000 queens. They are very powerful, beautiful, and successful. Their names are:-

(1) Vijay (6) Nandishen
(2) Achal (7) Nandimitra
(3) Dharma (8) Ram
(4)Suprabha (9) Balarama
(5) Sudarshan

They die and go to heaven or salvation. Out of the above 9 Baldevs, Balram has gone to heaven and the remaining 8 have gone to salvation.

Narayans

After killing Pratinarayan, he becomes the master of three sections (one Arya and two Mlechha sections). He is also called Vasudev. They are semicircular. They have seven gems (chakra, mace, sword, power, bow, conch, and Maharani), and 16 thousand queens, their splendor is immense. He is the younger brother of Balbhadra. But because of being grand, they later attain salvation. Their names are:-

(1) Tripratha (6) Purusha-Pundarik
(2) Dwipratha (7) Pushpadant
(3) Swayambhu (8) Lakshman
(4) Purushottam (9) Shri Krishna
(5) Purushsingh

Pratinarayana

Those who conquer the three divisions (one Arya and two Mlechha divisions) below the Karma Bhoomi are called Pratinarayan. He is also called Prativasudev. They are the born enemies of Ardhachakri Narayan. When the chakra is run on Narayan by him, the chakra comes into the hands of Narayan after doing three parikramas of Narayan. Narayan runs this chakra on Pratinarayan, due to which he dies and all the Vibhuti and the kingdom of Pratinarayan goes to Narayan. Their names are:-

(1) Ashwagriva (6) Bali
(2) Tarak (7) Prahran
(3) Merak (8) Ravana
(4) Madhukaitabh (9) Jarasandha
(5) Nishumbha

Other Great Persons

In addition to the 63 Shalaka men, there are 106 great men (Divya Purush). These are:-

(1) Father of Tirthankaras 24
(2) Mother of Tirthankaras 24
(3) Rudra 11
(4) Narada 9
(5) Kamdev 24
(6) Total 14

Rudras

After taking Jin Diksha, the person who performs raucous acts after being corrupted by self-control due to the rapid rise of karma is called Rudra. They get the knowledge of 11 organs. But while studying the tenth Purva (Vidyanuvad) for the sake of acquiring knowledge, they go to hell after being corrupted by penance and accepting falsehood. Their names are:-

(1) Bhimavali (7) Pundarika
(2) Jitshatru (8) Ajitandhar
(3) Rudra (9) Ajit Nabhi
(4) Vaishvanar (10) Peeth
(5) Supratistha (11) Satya ki’s son
(6) Achal

Narada

Narada are discordant and war-loving. They are efficient in conveying the matter from one place to another. They play an important role in fighting Narayan and Pratinarayan. Children are celibates. Being interested in violence and discord etc., even while engaged in religious work, they go to hell. Jinendra attains salvation soon through the influence of devotion. Their names are as follows:-

(1) Bhim (6) Mahakal
(2) Mahabhima (7) Durmukha
(3) Rudra (8) Narmukh
(4) Maharudra (9) Adhomukha
(5) Kaal

Kamdev

Among the men of that time, the most beautiful shape means one who wears unique beauty is Kamdev. They go to salvation from that very existence. According to another opinion, they go to salvation/heaven. Their names are:-

(1) Bahubali (7) Agni Mukha (13) Kunthunath (19) Baliraj
(2) Prajapati (8) Sanatkumar (14) Arnath (20) Vasudev
(3) Sridhara (9) Vatsaraja (15) Vijayaraja (21) Pradyumna
(4) Darshanbhadra (10) Kanak Prabh (16) Srichand (22) Nagkumar
(5) Prasena Chandra (11) Meghaprabha (17) Nalraj (23) Jeevandhar
(6) Chandravarna (12) Shantinath (18) Hanuman (24) Jambu Swami