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Jainism
Prof. Stevenson remarked, "It is so seldom that Jainas and Brāhmanas agree, that I do not see how we can refuse them credit in this instance, where they do so". 1
Thus to conclude, in the words of Barrister Champat Rai, “Hinduism itself has always admitted and never disputed the antiquity of Jainism and of its founder Rşabhadeva whom the Hindus regard as an incarration of Vişnu. He is mentioned in the Purāņas which place his historicity beyond question, giving the name of his mother Marudevi and of his son Bharata after whom India came to be called Bhāratavarsa in the past. According to the Bhagavata Purāna Rsabhadeva was the ninth incarnation of Vişnu and preceded the Vāmana (Dwarf), Rāma, Kęşna etc. who are also regarded as Avatāras. Nɔw since the Vāmapa Avatāra, the fifteenth in the order of enumeration, is expressly referred to in the Rgveda, it follows that it must have priority in point of time to the composition of the hymn that refers to it, and in as much as Rsabhadeva even preceded the Vāmanāvatāra, he must have flourished still earlier”.2 Svāmı Karmānanda also, from his deep and comparative study of the Vedic literature, successfully proved that Rsabha was the first promulgator Jaina Tirthankara. Even in the Avestan Language, the words "Arhat' and Rsabha are found. The latter, according to the Avestan dictionary means a man, a hero, or a bull, which are in agreement with the Jaina meaning of the word, bull being the distinctive symbol of Rsabha. Mr. Govind Pai proves the Avestan use of the word to be very ancient-(see I.H.Q.-III, p. 473-475).
1 Kalpasūtra - Introd. XVI.
2 Practical Path, and Lord Rşabhadeva, the founder of Jainism.
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