Type of greeting of the followers of Jainism
Jai Jinendra! (Sanskrit: जय जिनेन्द्र Jaya Jinēndra) (started in 7th CE) is a common greeting used by the Jains. The phrase means "Honor to the Supreme Jinas (Tirthankaras)"
The reverential greeting is a combination of two Sanskrit words: Jai and Jinendra
- The word, Jai is used to praise somebody. In Jai Jinendra, it is used to praise the qualities of the Jinas (conquerors).
- The word Jinendra is a compound-word derived from the word Jina, referring to a human being who has conquered all inner passions and possess Kevala Gyan (pure infinite knowledge), and the word "Indra," which means chief or lord.
Meguti Aihole Jain Inscription
A slab on the outer east side wall of the Jain Meguti temple is inscribed in Sanskrit language and Old Kannada script. It is dated to 634 CE, and is a poem by Jain poet Ravikirti. He was in the court of king Pulakeshin II. This inscription opens with the equivalent of "Jai Jinendra" salutation in Sanskrit. The inscription is a panegyric by the Jain poet wildly praising his patron Pulakesin II.[4]
The first verse reads:-
"Victorious is the holy Jinendra ─ he who is exempt from old age, death and birth ─ in the sea of whose knowledge the whole world is comprised like an island. And next, long victorious is the immeasurable, wide ocean of the Chalukya family, which is the birth-place of jewels of men that are ornaments of the diadem of the earth."
This 7th-century greeting remains a tradition among contemporary era Jains as "Jai Jinendra".[5]
