The Sixteenth Ford-Maker, and a Universal Emperor

Shantinatha is the sixteenth Tirthankara of the present age, his name meaning "lord of peace" (shanti). His emblem is the deer. He is one of only three figures whom Jain tradition counts as both a Tirthankara and a chakravartin, a universal emperor holding sway over the whole of the known world, and his story turns on his renouncing that world-sovereignty to seek liberation, the highest worldly power set aside for the higher freedom.

He is among the more widely venerated ford-makers, especially invoked in connection with peace and healing, and Jain narrative associates his birth with the ending of an epidemic. Tradition places him in the sacred antiquity of the avasarpini, before documented history, and holds that he attained final liberation at Sammeta Shikhar (Shikharji). His combination of imperial and ascetic renown makes him a favourite subject of Jain art and temple dedication.