Vasupujya (Vāsupūjya)

According to Jain tradition Vasupujya was born in the Ikshvaku dynasty at Champapuri to King Vasupujya and Queen Jaya Devi; because his father bore the name Vasupujya the son is also called Vasupujya in the sources. He is counted as the twelfth of the 24 tirthankaras in the present avasarpini cycle; sources state he was born 54 sagara after his predecessor Shreyansanatha and that his successor Vimalanatha was born 30 sagara after him. All five kalyanakas (conception, birth, renunciation, omniscience, liberation) are located at Champapuri in the tradition.

Iconography in Jain art depicts Vasupujya in a meditative posture with a red (raktavarṇa) complexion and the water‑buffalo emblem typically shown on the pedestal beneath his image. Large modern representations (for example a 31‑foot monolithic statue at Nathnagar/Champapur) follow this established visual identity.

Jain sources attribute to Vasupujya the attainment of Kevala Jnana (omniscience), said to have occurred within one month of his ascetic practice (tapsya). He later attained moksha at Champapuri and, as a siddha, is described as a soul that has destroyed all karmic bonds. Narrative traditions stress his lifelong celibacy and renunciation; some sources (e.g., Hemacandra as cited) state he was unmarried and celibate since birth. Traditional accounts give symbolic measures for his life — a lifespan of 7,200,000 years and a height of 70 bows (dhanushas) — as part of Jain cosmological chronology.