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RIŞABHA DEVA
abhişeka (ablution). Many heavenly jewels were put on the person of the Lord. Then the processionists returned to the Palace of Nābhi Raja. Great celebrations followed in the Palace. The devas organized private theatricals, and much excellent singing and acting were seen by the mortal man that day. The Indra himself executed a brilliant dance out of sheer joy, to the great delight of all. The lord of a body that instantly obeys all impulses of the will, his dance was a wonder in itself. He changed many forms in the course of his movements, each one more wonderful than the rest. Such joy, such happiness, was unheard of in Ajudhya, before!
When the heavenly devotees were gone, some devas remained behind to keep the young Lord company. They transformed themselves into children, and became the playmates of Rişabha Deva, looking after Him in every possible way.
The child Tirthamkara was endowed by birth with clairvoyance and the knowledge of all kinds of arts and sciences. He needed no instruction to acquire wisdom or the knowledge of the three R.s. All the noble virtues bad their abode, so to speak, in His being. Excrementurine, fæces and the like-were not formed in
