जय जिनेन्द्र!

You might have come across this greeting if you are a Jain or have a jain friend or have heard Jetha Lal using it. One of my friends recently asked me its meaning, so I am narrating it here.

Jai Jinendra is a combination of two words Jai and Jinendra. Jai means victory. Victory over internal and eternal enemies. Jinendra is a compound word formed of Jin and Indra. Jin means Thrithankar. Thrithankar are those who have achieved enlightenment and are free from the cycle of birth and death. Indra is the Chief of Gods.

The word Jain has been derived from Jin. The people who are follower of Jin are known as Jain. Lord Rishabh was the 1st Thrithankar and Lord Mahavir was the 24th (last) Thrithankar.

Jai has another meaning i.e. appreciation. When we use Jai, we are praising the glory of these great Souls(Thrithankaras). By doing so we imbibe oneself with the positive vibes. Words has power and it is a powerful greeting. We imbibe the strengths of those peaceful Souls. By Jinendra we are saluting these Jins who have achieved full control over their Indriyas (senses). Additionally, Jinendra means Lord of Jinas. In the same was as Narendra means Lord of men.

These greetings are lot powerful than the ordinary ones we use in our day to day westernised life. You too might have a traditional greeting of your own but as we transformed ourselves to western culture we lost them.

In a nutshell as Jai Shri Ram is a greeting, where one remember Lord Ram, in a similar way Jai Jinendra is a greeting, where one recalls Lord of Jinas.

So Keep Calm and Say जय जिनेन्द्र!!!