Rishabhanatha
| Rishabhanatha | |
|---|---|
1st Tirthankara | |
 Idol of Rishabhanatha at Palitana | |
| Other names | Ādinātha, Ādeśvara (the first conqueror), Ādarśa Puruṣa (perfect man), Ikṣvāku |
| Venerated in | Jainism |
| Predecessor | Sampratti (last Tirthankara of the previous time-cycle) |
| Successor | Ajitanatha |
| Mantra | Oṃ Ṛṣabhadevāya Namaḥ Oṃ Śrī Ādināthāya Namaḥ |
| Symbol | Bull |
| Height | 500 dhanuṣ (1,500 meters)[1] |
| Age | 8.4 million purvas (592.704 × 1018 years) according to some later works[1][2][3] |
| Tree | Banyan |
| Color | Golden |
| Texts | Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacarita Āvaśyaka Niryukti Kalpa Sutra Bhaktāmara Stotra |
| Gender | Male |
| Festivals | Akshaya Tritiya |
| Genealogy | |
| Born | Ṛṣabha |
| Died | |
| Parents | |
| Spouse | Sumaṅgalā/Yaśasvatī Sunandā/Nandā [4][5] |
| Children | • 100 sons (including: Chakravarti Bharata, prince Nami, and Kamadeva Bahubali) according to Jainism • 2 daughters: Brāhmī and Sundarī (Mahasatis) Reference:[6] |
| Dynasty | Founder of Ikṣvākuvaṁśa |
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Rishabhanatha (Devanagari: ऋषभनाथ), also known as Rishabhadeva (Devanagari: ऋषभदेव, Ṛṣabhadeva), Rishabha (Devanagari: ऋषभ, Ṛṣabha) or Ikshvaku (Devanagari: इक्ष्वाकु, Ikṣvāku), is the legendary first tirthankara (Supreme preacher) of Jainism.[7][8] He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain cosmology and is called a "ford maker" because his teachings helped one cross the sea of interminable rebirths and deaths. He was the spiritual successor of Sampratti Bhagwan, the last Tirthankara of the previous time cycle.[6][9] He is also known as Ādinātha (lit. 'first Lord'),[9] as well as Aadishvara (first Jina), Yugadideva (first deva of the yuga), Prathamarajeshwara (first God-king) and Nabheya (son of Nabhi).[10][11] He is also known as Ikshvaku, establisher of the Ikshvaku dynasty. Along with Mahavira, Parshvanatha, Neminatha and Shantinatha, Hinduism’s Bhagavata Purana reveres him as an avatar of Vishnu.[12] Jains consider him as an entirely distinct, fully enlightened human being who attained salvation. Rishabhanatha is one of the five Tirthankaras that attract the most devotional worship among the Jains.[13]
According to traditional accounts, many millions of years ago he was born to king Nabhi and queen Marudevi in the north Indian city of Ayodhya, also called Vinita.[6] He had two wives, Sumangalā and Sunandā. Sumangalā is described as the mother of his ninety-nine sons (including Bharata) and one daughter, Brahmi. Sunandā is depicted as the mother of Bahubali and Sundari. The sudden death of Nilanjana, one of the dancers sent by Indra in his courtroom, reminded him of the world's transitory nature, and he developed a desire for renunciation.
After his renunciation, the legends as described in major Jain texts such as Hemachandra's Trishashti-Shalakapurusha-Charitra and Adinathcharitra written by Acharya Vardhamansuri states that Rishabhanatha travelled without food for 400 days.[14][15][16] The day on which he got his first ahara (food) is celebrated by Jains as Akshaya Tritiya. In devotion to Rishabhanatha, Śvetāmbara Jains perform a 400-day-long fast, in which they consume food on alternating days. This religious practice is known as Varshitap. The fast is broken on Akshaya Tritiya.[17][18] He attained Moksha on Mount Ashtapada. The text Adi Purana by Jinasena, Aadesvarcharitra within the Trishashti-Shalakapurusha-Charitra by Hemachandra are accounts of the events of his life and teachings. His iconography includes ancient idols such as at Kulpak Tirth and Palitana temples as well as colossal statues such as Statue of Ahimsa, Bawangaja and those erected in Gopachal hill. His icons include the eponymous bull as his emblem, the Nyagrodha tree, Gomukha (bull-faced) Yaksha, and Chakreshvari Yakshi.
Early life
[edit]Rishabhanatha is known by many names including Adinatha, Aadishwara, Yugadeva and Nabheya.[10] Ādi purāṇa, a major Jain text records the life accounts of Rishabhanatha as well as ten previous incarnations according to the Digambara tradition.[19] For Rishabhanatha's biography in accordance with the Śvetāmbara tradition is found in several texts such as Hemachandra's Trishashti-Shalakapurusha-Charitra and Adinathcharitra written by Acharya Vardhamansuri.[16] Jain tradition associates the life of a tirthankara to five auspicious events called the pancha kalyanaka. These include garbha (mother's pregnancy), janma (birth), diksha (initiation), kevalyagyana (omniscience) and moksha (liberation).[2][20][21]
According to Jain cosmology, the universe does not have a temporal beginning or end. Its "Universal History"[22] divides the cycle of time into two halves (avasarpiṇī and utsarpiṇī) with six aras (spokes) in each half, and the cycles keep repeating perpetually. Twenty-four Tirthankaras appear in every half, the first Tirthankara founding Jainism each time after the destruction of dharma at the end of each half cycle of time. This is similar to, but not completely the same as the idea of destruction of dharma at the end of Kali Yuga in Hindu mythology. In the present time cycle, Rishabhanatha is credited as being the first tīrthaṅkara. Usually, all the tīrthaṅkaras are born in the fourth spoke of the half cycle. However, Rishabhanatha is an exception as he was born at the end of the third half (known as sukhamā-dukhamā erā).[4][23][24]
Rishabhanatha is said to be the founder of Jainism in the present Avsarpini (a time cycle) by all sub-traditions and sects of Jainism.[4][8] Jain chronology places Rishabhanatha in historical terms, as someone who lived millions of years ago.[6][9][25] He is believed to have been born 10224 years ago and lived for a span of 8,400,000 purva (592.704 × 1018 years).[1][2][26] His height is described in the Jain texts to be 500 bows (1312 ells), or about 4920 feet/1500 meters.[26][1][27] Such descriptions of non-human heights and age are also found for the next 21 Tirthankaras in Jain texts and according to Kristi Wiley – a scholar at University of California Berkeley known for her publications on Jainism. Most Indologists and scholars consider all the first 22 of 24 Tirthankaras to be prehistorical,[28] or historical and a part of Jain mythology.[1][29] However, among Jain writers and some Indian scholars, some of the first 22 Tirthankaras are considered to reflect historical figures, with a few conceding that the inflated biographical statistics are mythical.[30]
According to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a professor of comparative religions and philosophy at Oxford who later became the second President of India, there is evidence to show that Rishabhdeva was being worshipped by the first century BCE. The Yajurveda[a] mentions the names of three Tirthankaras – Rishabha, Ajitanatha and Arishtanemi, states Radhakrishnan, and "the Bhāgavata Purāṇa endorses the view that Rishabha was the founder of Jainism".[31]
Birth
[edit]
Rishabhanatha was born to Nabhi and Marudevi, the king and queen of Ayodhya, on the ninth day of the dark half of the month of Chaitra (caitra krişna navamĩ).[4][32][33] His association to Ayodhya makes it a sacred town for Jains, as it is in Hinduism for the birth of Rama.[6] In Jain tradition, the birth of a tirthankara is marked by 14 auspicious dreams of the mother. These are believed to have been seen by Marudevi on the second day of Ashadha (a month of the Jain calendar) krishna (the new moon). The dreams signified the birth of a chakravartin or a tirthankara, according to the supposed explanation by Indra to Marudevi.[34]
Marriage and children
[edit]Rishabhanatha is believed to have had two wives, Sunanda and Sumangala.[4][35] Sumangala is claimed to be the mother of ninety-nine sons (including Bharata) and one daughter, Brahmi.[4][36] Sunanda is believed to be the mother of Bahubali and Sundari.[10] Jain texts state that Rishabhanatha taught his daughters Brahmi and Sundari, Brahmi script and the science of numbers (Ank-Vidya) respectively.[4] The Pannavana Sutra (2nd century BCE) and the Samavayanga Sutra (3rd century BCE) of the aagams followed by the Śvetāmbaras list many other writing scripts known to the ancient Jain tradition, of which the Brahmi script named after Rishabha's daughter tops the list.[37] His eldest son, Bharata, is stated to have ruled ancient India from his capital of Ayodhya.[38] He is described as a just and kind ruler in Jain texts, who was not attached to wealth or vices.[39]
Rule, administration and teachings
[edit]
Rishabhanatha was born in bhoga-bhumi or the age of omnipresent happiness.[4][22][40] It is further suggested that no one had to work because of miraculous wish-fulfilling trees called the kalpavrikshas.[4][22][40] It is stated that people approached the king for help due to decreased efficacy of the trees with passage of time.[4][22][41] Rishabhanatha is then said to have taught them six main professions. These were: (1) Asi (swordsmanship for protection), (2) Masi (writing skills), (3) Krishi (agriculture), (4) Vidya (knowledge), (5) Vanijya (trade and commerce) and (6) Shilp (crafts).[42][43][44] In other words, he is credited with introducing karma-bhumi (the age of action) by founding arts and professions to enable householders to sustain themselves.[22][45][46] Rishabhanatha is credited in Jainism to have invented and taught fire, cooking and all the skills needed for human beings to live. In total, Rishabhanatha is said to have taught seventy-two sciences to men and sixty-four to women.[6] The institution of marriage is stated to have come into existence after his marriage to Sunanda marked the precedence.[4][45] According to Paul Dundas, Rishabhanatha, in Jainism, is thus not merely a spiritual teacher, but the one who founded knowledge in its various forms.[22] He is depicted as a form of culture hero for the current cosmological cycle.[22]
Traditional sources state that Rishabhanatha was the first king who established his capital at Vinitanagara (Ayodhya).[42] He is claimed to have given first laws for governance by a king.[42] He is said to have established the three-fold varna system based on professions consisting of kshatriyas (warriors), vaishyas (merchants) and shudras (artisans).[22][42][47] Bharata is said to have added the fourth varna, brahmin to the system.[48]
Renunciation
[edit]
Jain legends talk about a dance of celestial dancers organised in Rishabhanatha's royal assembly hall by Indra, the heavenly-king of the first heaven.[49] Nilanjana, one of the dancers, is said to have died in midst of the series of vigorous dance movements.[48][50][51] The sudden death of Nilanjana is said to have reminded Rishabhanatha of the world's transitory nature, triggering him to renounce his kingdom, family and material wealth.[48][49][52] This dance incident is found in 100 BCE images found in Kankali Tila.[49] He is then believed to have distributed his kingdom among his hundred sons.[48] Bharata supposedly got the city of Ayodhya and Bahubali is believed to have got the city of Taxila and the kingdom of Gandhara (as per the Śvetāmbara tradition)[53][54][55] or Podanapur (as per the Digambara tradition).[48][51] He is believed to have become a monk in Siddharta-garden, in the outskirts of Ayodhya, under Ashoka tree on the ninth day of the month of Chaitra Krishna (Hindu calendar).[48] Tirthankaras usually tear out five handfuls of their hair at initiation. Śvetāmbara text Trisasti-salaka-purusa-caritra mentions Rishabhanatha tore only four handfuls of his hair. Just as the moment he was about to pull and tear a fifth handful, Indra requested him not to do so, because the remaining hair 'shone like emerald on his golden soulders'.[56]
Akshaya Tritiya
[edit]Jains believe that people did not know the procedure to offer food to a monk, since Rishabhanatha was the first one.[57][58] His great-grandson, Shreyansa, a king of Gajapura (now Hastinapur) after recalling his previous birth in which he had offered food to a Jain monk keeping in mind all the dietary restrictions and preparing it to be free from all faults, offered him sugarcane juice (ikshu-rasa) with required procedure to break 400-days-long fast.[58][59] Jains celebrate the event as Akshaya tritiya every year on the third day of the bright fortnight of the month Vaishaka (usually April).[58][60] It is believed to be the starting of the ritual of ahara-daana (food offerings) from layperson to mendicants.[22]
Omniscience
[edit]
Rishabhanatha is said to have spent a thousand years performing austerities before attaining kevala jnana (omniscience) under Akshayavata in the town of Purimatala[61] on the 11th day of falgun-krishna (a month in traditional calendar) after destroying all four of his ghati-karma.[6][58][62] The Devas (heavenly beings) are suggested to have created divine preaching halls known as samavasaranas for him after that.[2] He is believed to have given the five major vows for monks and 12 minor vows for laity.[63] He is believed to have established the sangha (four-fold religious order) consisting of male and female mendicants and disciples.[2][64] His religious order is mentioned in Kalpa Sutra to have consisted of 84,000 sadhus (male monks) and 3,000,000 sadhvis (female monks).