tirthankaras/tk-05-sumatinatha.jpg · 1200×1600Named for wisdom, and the name has a story. Two women of one household each claimed the same child, and the case reached the royal court unresolved. The pregnant queen gave a judgement so precise that the false claimant withdrew — and the tradition credits that clarity to the soul in her womb. Su-mati: sound judgement.
The disputed-child judgement is a story told across the ancient world. The Jain version routes the wisdom through an unborn Tirthankara rather than a king.
