Kamatha is a Jain figure who appears in Jain narrative literature. There are two related but distinct mentions you may encounter:

• In the Jain Kalpa-sūtra tradition (Śvetāmbara context), Kamatha is shown as the ruler who meets the 23rd Tirthankar, Parsvanatha, and is moved to renounce worldly life. He is depicted performing pancagnitapa (a fire-sacrifice) as part of a episode that leads him toward asceticism and the Jain path. This episode is used to illustrate renunciation and right conduct. The Kalpa-sūtra and its illustrated manuscripts often recount this episode. In short, Kamatha becomes an exemplary figure who accepts the Jain life after Parsvanatha’s guidance.

• There is also a separate Mahabharata reference to a Kamatha (Kamatha Kamboja), a king of the Kambojas who appears in the epic’s Sabha/paralite sections. This Kamatha is a royal figure from a different tradition and is not the same character as the Kamatha of the Kalpa-sūtra story.

About tradition and meaning:

• Digambara vs Śvetāmbara: The Kamatha story linked to renunciation is most closely associated with Śvetāmbara Kalpa-sūtra literature. Digambara Jain texts do not treat Kalpa-sūtra as a canonical scripture in the same way, so the Kamatha episode is not emphasized in the Digambara canon in the same manner. In general, both traditions honor the virtue of renunciation and the life of an ascetic, but the scriptural sources and emphasis differ between the traditions.

If you’d like, I can point you to concise overviews or images of Kamatha’s pancagnitapa episode from Kalpasutra manuscripts.