Sanat Kumara Chakravarti

Sanatkumara Chakravarti is a figure in Jain universal history, described as the fourth Chakravartin of the present descending half-cycle of time, or avasarpiṇī. He is also counted as one of the twenty-four Jain Kamadevas, a class of exceptionally beautiful men in Jain universal history. In Jainism Kamadevas are praised mainly for extraordinary bodily beauty rather than for power over desire. Other Jain retellings give a different genealogy, naming him as the son of King Aśvasena of Hastinapura or Gajapura and Queen Sahadevī.

Beauty and renunciation

A famous story explains both Sanatkumara's Kamadeva status and his later renunciation. Because of his extraordinary beauty, two gods, sometimes described as appearing in the guise of Brahmins, come to see him. They first see him after a wrestling match, before he has bathed or dressed in royal ornaments and praise his appearance. Proud of this praise, Sanatkumāra asks them to wait until he appears in full royal splendour. When he returns after bathing and dressing, the gods no longer praise him in the same way. Instead, they remind him that the body is impermanent and subject to decay. This lesson causes Sanatkumāra to reflect on the instability of physical beauty and royal pride, after which he renounces worldly life and accepts ascetic vows.