Aranath was the eighteenth Jain Tirthankar of the present age (Avasarpini). According to Jain beliefs, he was born around 16,584,980 BCE. He became a siddha - a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Aranath was born to King Sudarshan Raja and Queen Devi Rani at Hastinapur in the Ikshvaku clan. His birth date was the 10th day of the Migsar Krishna month of the Indian calendar.

King Dhanpati of Susima city in Mahavideh area took Diksha from Samvar Muni and after acquiring Tirthankar-nam-and gotra-karma he reincarnated in the Graiveyak dimension of gods.

From here he descended into the womb of queen Maha Devi, wife of king Sudarshan of Hastinapur. Besides the fourteen great dreams that precede the conception of a Tirthankar, queen Maha Devi also saw a gem studded wheel (Ara). accordingly, after the birth the boy was named Ara Kumar.

When Ara Kumar became young he was married to many beautiful princesses. Later king Sudarshan gave the kingdom to Ara Kumar and became an ascetic. For some years Arnath ruled as a regional king. Gradually his power and glory increased and one day the disc weapon appeared in his armory. He conquered the six continents and became a Chakravarti. In his attendance were thirty two thousand kings.