The twenty-third Tīrthaṅkara of the Jainas is the well-known Pārśvanātha and the consort of his Yakṣa Dharaṇēndra is known as Padmāvatī. Jaina mantra-śāstra works such as Bhairava Padmāvatī kalpa, Jinadatta Sūryāmnāya, Padmāvatī kalpa etc. discuss the worship and prayogas of this deity in great detail. Many famous Jaina mantravādins are known to have attained siddhi and escaped from great perils through the grace of Padmāvatī. This śāsana-dēvī of Pārśvanātha is enshrined at Hamchavadi in Shimoga district of Karnataka. While the Iīrthaṅkaras are known to have passed even beyond the realm of the devas, Padmāvatī, on account of being present within the accessible realm of the devas, is held by the Jaina mantravādins to be kṣipraprasādinī.
It is believed that the origins of this deity lies in Jaratkāru, who later came to be known as Manasā, the deity of serpents. The Buddhist parallel to Padmāvatī is most possibly Jāngulī, associated with the Dhyānī buddha Akṣōbhya, again a form inspired by Manasā dēvī. Jāngulī is frequently referred to as a specific form of Tārā in texts such as Sādhanamālā and this is reiterated by Jaina texts such as the celebrated Padmāvatī stotra in the context of Padmāvatī thus establishing a link between the two.
The dhyāna of Manasā in Bhaviṣya Purāṇa refers to her as Padmā (padmām mahēśīm) where as the Padmāvatī stōtra calls her Mahābhairavī indicating clearly her association with the Hindu tantra. It is not for us to establish here as to who was conceived first: Manasā, Jāngulī or Padmāvatī.
The Bhairava-Padmāvatī kalpa describes the dhyāna of Padmāvatī thus:
पन्नगाधिपशेखरां विपुलारुणाम्बुजविस्तरां
कुक्कुटोरगवाहनामरुणप्रभां कमलाननाम् |
त्र्यम्बकां वरदाङ्कुशायतपाशदिव्यफलाङ्कितां
चिन्तयेत्कमलावतीं जपतां सतां फलदायिनीम् ||
Padmāvatī is conceived in various forms worshipped through different mantras and invoked for different purposes. Her two-handed form, seated in lalitāsana, holds pāśa and divya-phala. Her four-handed mūrti sports pāśa, aṅkuśa, vīṇā and pustaka. Sometimes in texts such as the Bhairava-Padmāvatī kalpa, she is also depicted as holding vajrāyudha, aṅkuśa, pāśa and padma. Adbhuta-Padmāvatī kalpa describes her as holding pāśa, aṅkuśa, varamudrā and divya-phala. Sometimes varamudrā is replaced by uraga or snake. She is also depicted as sporting eight and twenty-four arms. Her vāhana is described as kukkuṭa (cock) and also as kukkuṭa-sarpa (a variety of snake).
The following stotra describes the āyudha-s held in the twenty-four hands of Padmāvatī and is used for japa and archana. Jaina mantravādins recount tales of miraculous help received from the Goddess during times of distress on account of reciting this stotra. Pāṭha of the stava published below is based on the handwritten copy of Padmāvatī-kalpa in the possession of our dear Jaina mitra who is a siddha upāsaka of Dēvī Cakrēśvarī. Some verses of the said stava are listed below.
श्रीसव्यपाणिगततीक्ष्णमस्त्रं वज्रायुधं नाम जगत्प्रसिद्धम् |
त्रैलोक्यव्याप्तं भयनाशनं च पद्मावति त्वत्पदमर्चयामि || १ ||
भित्त्वा सुपाताळमूलं च शस्त्रं कृत्वा विनाशं कलिघोरदुःखम् |
सुवामभागे करमङ्कुशं च अर्चामि शस्त्रं जनशर्मकारि || २ ||
कमलकरसुसंस्थं भीमरूपं च देवीं
अखिलमघनिवारं सव्यभोगा च नाम्नीम् |
जिनचरणसुसेव्यं वारिगन्धादिपूज्यं
खचरभुचरवन्द्यं वारिगन्धादिपूज्यम् || ३ ||
परमतमदहारि चक्रवामाङ्गधारि
भवश्रमखलुवारि भूतप्रेतादिहारि |
निखिलभुवनजालिं भव्यजीवकृपाळिं
धरणिधरसुपत्नीं पद्मिनीं पूजयामि || ४ ||