Rishabhanatha is known by many names including Adinatha, Adishwara, Yugadeva and Nabheya.
Ādi purāṇa, a major
Jain text records the life accounts of Rishabhanatha as well as ten previous incarnations according to the Digambara tradition. 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. 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). According to
Jain cosmology, the universe does not have a temporal beginning or end. Its "Universal History" 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 e
rā). Rishabhanatha is said to be the founder of
Jainism in the present
Avsarpini (a time cycle) by all sub-traditions and sects of Jainism. Jain chronology places Rishabhanatha in historical terms, as someone who lived millions of years ago. He is believed to have been born 10224 years ago and lived for a span of 8,400,000
purva (592.704 × 1018 years). His height is described in the Jain texts to be 500
bows (1312
ells), or about 4920 feet/1500 meters. 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, or historical and a part of Jain mythology. 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. 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 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".
Birth at
Palitana|left 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). His association to Ayodhya makes it a sacred town for Jains, as it is in Hinduism for the birth of
Rama. 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.
Marriage and children Rishabhanatha is believed to have had two wives, Sunanda and Sumangala. Sumangala is claimed to be the mother of ninety-nine sons (including
Bharata) and one daughter, Brahmi. Sunanda is believed to be the mother of
Bahubali and Sundari. Jain texts state that Rishabhanatha taught his daughters Brahmi and Sundari,
Brahmi script and the science of numbers (
Ank-Vidya) respectively. 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. His eldest son,
Bharata, is stated to have ruled ancient India from his capital of Ayodhya. He is described as a just and kind ruler in Jain texts, who was not attached to wealth or vices. ==Rule, administration and teachings==