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The Oldest Living Religion
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of religion on earth. Even the epigraphical evidence reaching back to several centuries before Christ, amply supports this view.?
Now, this Rsabhadeva was the progenitor of the Ikşvāku race, 3 the noblest and most ancient race of Indian Ksatriyas, from which later on branched off Solar and the Lunar families (the Sürya and Candra Vamsas) Rşabha himself belonged to the most primitive and indigenous race of India - the Mānavas. His father and several other prominent predecessors, as well as he himself were called Manus. The other tribes which began to appear in India from his times onwards were the Rkşa, Yaksa, Nāga, Pbani, Gandharva, Kinnara, Vānara etc. termed under the common name of Vidyādharas being prominently skilled in various kinds of arts, crafts, engineering and such other scientific enterprises. Modern scholars generally like to call these latter people by the generic term Dravidian. Rşabha preached his Dharma to both the Mānavas and
1 'Dharma Kā Ādi Pravartaka'.
2 See Jaina stūpa and other Antiquities of Mathura, and JBORS-III-465-67.
3 Rsabha was the first to discover the use of Ikşu (sugarcane ) and hence was called Ikşvāku,( see Ādi Purāņa, p. 77-78 16, 34 and Harivamsa Purāņa 13–32, of the Jainas). The fact is also referred to in the Rgveda (10, 60, 4) and a number of Hindu Purānas according to which the first man, son of Brabmā, the creator, was Manu and his race was called Mänava. He had ten sons, but four had their progenies, The eldest son of Mapu was Iksvāku whose progeny was later on called the Solar race (see also Bhāratiya Samsksti, p. 12, Pargitor--AIHT; Bhāratiya Itihasa Ki Rūpa Rekbā, p. 124; Bhārata kā Ādi Samrāt etc.).
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