The twenty-third Tirthankara, Bhagavan Parshvanath was born as Parshva about 380 years before the Nirvana of Bhagavan Mahavir or probably in the 10th century B.C. Descending from the Pranat dimension of gods, the being that was Marubhuti came into the womb of Vama Devi, wife of king Ashvasen of Varanasi. On the tenth day of the dark half of the month of Paush, Vama Devi gave birth to a son. Legends connect him with snakes, one of whom he saved from fire when a Brahmin ascetic was about to burn a log where it was hiding.   Prince Parshva was very handsome and intelligent. He married a princess, and up to the age of thirty he lived in great splendor and happiness as a householder. One day when prince Parshva was enjoying a view of the town from the balcony of his palace he saw groups of men and women, carrying items for worship, passing by, he asked out of curiosity if it was some day of religious ceremonies. His attendants informed him that some mendicant named Kamath is doing a harsh penance named Panchagni. The prince came near the mendicant, he saw that some logs of wood were burning all around the mendicant. Inside one of the logs was a pair of serpents, writhing in pain due to the intense heat of the burning flames. He could not see the serpents burning in the fire. He persuaded the mendicant to stop this merciless act but in vain. Realizing that they were about to die, prince Parshva said to them that they should not be annoyed with the ignorant mendicant and should remain equanimous during the last moments of their lives. He also recited the Namokar Mantra. As a result of equanimous thoughts and hearing the Namokar Mantra, after death the pair was born as the king and queen of the gods of the Nag Kumar clan (Dharanendra and Padmavati). However, this incident inspired Parshva Kumar to step on the right path and show the path to the masses misled by such ignorant hypocrites. Then he gave up all his wealth to become an ascetic. After 84 days of intense meditation he became enlightened and taught as a saint for seventy years.   The main emphasis of Parshva was on the first vow of non-injury (ahimsa) or abstinence from killing any living beings. The other three vows Parshva required were truthfulness, not to steal, and freedom from possession. These vows are exactly the same as the first four vows of the sannyasins of the Vedic tradition who renounce the world. The Brahmanic fifth vow of liberality could not be practiced by mendicants without possessions.