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Bhagavan Rishabha(First Jain Tirthankara)
( श्रीआदिनाथ )
भक्तामर-प्रणत-मौलि-मणि-प्रभाणा-
मुघोतकं दलित-पाप-तमो-वितानम्।
सम्यक्-प्रणम्य जिन-पाद-युगं युगादा-
वालम्बनं भव-जले पततां जनानाम्।1।
Rishabha Dev (ऋषभदेव) or Adinatha was the first of the 24 Tirthankaras of the present age(Avasarpini). Because of this, he had the name of Adinath - the first lord. Rishabh, Rishabhanāth, Rushabh, Rushabhdev, Adinath or Adishwar are the other names used for Rishabha Dev.
Symbol - Bull
Life of Rishabha Dev
The Hindus, gave the same parentage (father Nabhiraja and mother Marudevi) of Rishabhdev as the Jains do and they even agree that after the name of Rishabhdev's eldest son Bharat this country is Known as Bharatavarsa. In the Rgveda there are clear references to Rishabhdev, the first Tirthankara.
Rishabha dev was born at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku clan. According to Jain beliefs, Rishabha dev existed before civilization developed. He taught people agriculture, tending of animals, cooking, and more. He was married to Sumangla and Sunanda. Sumangla gave birth to Bharat, who later became a Chakravarti king . Sunanda gave birth to a child who came to be known as Bahubali.
His eldest son - Bharat - was a chakravarti king - the conqueror of the known world. In the later part of his life he retired to become a monk and attained moksha. Since he became a siddha, he is occasionally worshipped.
His second son was Bahubali, whose statue stands at Shravanabelagola, Karnataka as well as at Karkala. Marudevi mother of adinath was the first person to achieve moksha - even before Rishabha dev himself. Rishabha dev's grandson Marichi's soul later became Mahaveera. He attained 'kevala gyana' or infinite knowledge at Palitana and attained liberation (moksha) at Ashtapada mountain in Himalayas.
| Father |
Nabhi Raja |
| Mother |
Mata Marudevi |
| Clan Name |
Ikshvaku |
| Source of Descent |
Sarvarthsiddha |
Date of Descent
(Garbha Kalyanaka) |
Ashad krishna paksha 4 |
| Place of Birth |
Vinittanagri |
| Date of Birth
(Janma Kalyanaka) |
Chaitra Krishna |
| Nakshatra |
Uttrashadha |
| Age |
84 Lac Purva |
| Height |
500 dhanusha (poles) |
| Body Colour |
Golden |
| Place of Enlightenment |
Purimtal |
| Date of Enlightenment
(Kevala Gyana Kalyanaka) |
Falgun Krishna Paksha 11 |
Date of Diksha
(Diksha Kalyanaka) |
Chaitra Krishna Paksha 8 |
| Diksha Tree or Vat Vriksha |
Vata (Banyan) |
| First person to donate food |
Shreyans Kumar |
| Place of Nirvana |
Ashtapad Mount |
| Date of Nirvana
(Moksha Kalyanaka) |
Magh Krishna Paksha 13 |
| Period of Practices |
1,000 years |
| Chief Disciple (Ganadhar) |
Pundarik |
| Number of Disciples
(Ganadhars) |
84 |
| Number of Ascetics |
84 Thousand |
| Head of Female Ascetics |
Brahmi |
| Number of Female Ascetics |
3 Lac |
| Male Laity |
3.5 Lac |
| Female Laity |
5.54 Lac |
| God of Organisation (Yaksh) |
Goumukh |
| Goddess of Organisation
(Yakshini) |
Chakreshwari Devi |
Adinath had one hundred sons and two daughters, who were named Brahmi and Sundari. It is believed that all civilization developed from the teachings of Adinath. He was the first king to establish the institutions of marriage, agriculture, the arts, and weaponry. He ruled for thousands of years and after he divided his kingdom among his sons and departed to take up an ascetic way of life.
When Adinath renounced his kingdom, thousands of people followed him into the ascetic life. Whenever they went for alms, people offered them gold, jewels, ornaments, etc. But no one offered them food. Thus, many of his followers could not tolerate the starvation. They began asking for food, and then they left to form their own groups. This was the beginning of many sects. (According to the Jain faith, Tirthankaras remained silent until they achieved perfection.)
Adinath also went without food for an entire year. Then he went to his grandson Shreyans kingdom (Hastinapur). His grandson offered him sugarcane juice, which he accepted. Hastinapur is still considered a holy place, and even today Jains make pilgrimages to this site to break ritual fasts (with sugarcane juice). After becoming enlightened (Perfect), He broke his silence and preached for many years, telling how to escape the cycle of birth and death and achieve eternal bliss. Bhagavan Adinath achieved Nirvana on the mountain of Kailash in the Himalayas when he was in complete Samadhi. The symbol of Adinath is a Bull (Rishabh) so he is known as Rishabh Dev.
The modern historians like Ramprasad Chandra, Dr. Vilas Sangave , Dr. Heinrich Zimmer, John Marshall, Thomas McEvilley and Mircea Eliade are of opinion that there exists some link between Rshabha and Indus valley civilization. Terracotta seals and other evidences unearthed at the ancient cities of Harrapa and Mohenjo Daro provide a link between Rsabha and Indus Valley Civilisation. The eminent scholar P.R. Deshmukh says that the first Jain Tirthankara belonged to Indus Valley Civilisation.
Other details of Lord Rishabh Devs Life
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