Parshvanath (also Paarsva) is the 23rd Tirthankar in Jainism. He is believed to have lived long ago, in a time before Mahavira, and he is revered as a great teacher who helped establish the Jain path of right conduct (ahimsa, truth, austerity, and non-attachment).

Key points about his life and teaching (as understood in Jain tradition):

• He belonged to a royal lineage, renounced worldly life, and practiced intense asceticism.
• He attained kevala jnana (omniscient knowledge) and showed the path of liberation that Jain monks and laypeople strive to follow.
• His emblem is the serpent (often depicted with a hood), and he is commonly associated with the symbolism of fearlessness and protection of life.
• The two main Jain sects (Digambara and Śvetāmbara) agree on his importance, but there are differences in certain details and iconography in their traditions.
• Parshvanath’s teachings and example laid down early principles of ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), and tapas (austerity) that influenced later Jain teachers, including Mahavira.

Note: If you’d like, I can share more about how Digambara and Śvetāmbara traditions describe his life differently, or provide a simple prayer or stotra associated with Parshvanath.