| Type: | Jain |
| Spouse: | Dharanendra |
Padmāvatī is the protective goddess or śāsana devī (शासनदेवी) of Pārśvanātha, the twenty-third Jain tīrthāṅkara, complimenting Parshwa yaksha in Swetambara and Dharanendra in digambar the shasan deva. She is a yakshini (attendant goddess) of Parshwanatha.
There is another pair of souls of a nāga and nāginī who were saved by Parshwanath while being burnt alive in a log of wood by the tapas kamath, and who were subsequently reborn as Indra (Dharanendra in particular) and Padmavati (different from sashan devi) after their death. According to the Jain tradition, Padmavati and her husband Dharanendra protected Lord Parshvanatha when he was harassed by Meghmali. After Padmavati rescued Parshvanatha grew subsequently powerful in to yakshi, a powerful tantric deity and surpassed other snake goddess Vairotya.
Goddess Padmavati along with Ambika and Chakreshvari are held as esteemed deities and worshipped by Jains along with tirthankaras. Ambika and Padmavati are associated with tantric rituals. Both Padmavati and Dharanendra are revered exclusively as powerful intercessor deities. These tantric rites involves yantra-vidhi, pitha-sthapana and mantra-puja. Friday of every week is a particularly popular day to worship the Goddess.
A snake's hood covers her head, and she sits on a lotus flower. Often a small image of Parshvanatha is placed in her crown. She may be depicted as four-armed, carrying noose and rosary (japa mala), elephant goad, lotus and a fruit. Her mount, or vahana, is the rooster.[1] Yaksha-Yakshi pair sculptures of Padmavati Ambika and Dharanendra are one of the most favoured along with Gomukha-Chakreshwari and Sarvahanabhuti-Ambika.