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Jainism : The Oldest Religion
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nábheh putrasca Rşabhah Rşabhād Bharato' bhavat / tasya nāmnā tvidam varsām Bhăratam ceti kirtyate //
This is, Rşabha was the son of Nābhi and Rşabha gave birth to son Bharata and after the name of this Bharata, this country is known Bhārata Varsa.
In the Rgveda, there are clear references to Rşabha, the Ist Tirtharkara, and to Aristanemi, the 22nd Tirtharkara. The Yajurveda also mentions the names of three Tirtharkaras, viz. Rşabha, Ajita and Aristanemi. Further, the Atharvaveda specifically mentions the sect of Vrātyas and this sect signifies Jainas on the ground that the term Vrātya means the observer of Vratas or vows as distinguished from Hindus at those times. Similarly, in the Atharvaveda, the term Mahāvrätya occurs and it is supposed that this term refers to Rşabhadeva, who could be considered as the great leader of the Vratyas.
7. Jaina tradition and Archaeological Evidence
From some historic references, it can be regarded that Rşabhadeva must be the founder of Jainism. In this connection, Dr. Jacobi writes. 'There is nothing to prove that Pārśva was the founder of Jainism. Jaina tradition is unanimous in making Rşabha, the first Tithankara, as its founder and there may be something historical in the tradition which makes him the first Tirthankara'.
There is evidence to show that so far back as the first century B.C., there were people who were worshipping Rşabhadeva. It has been recorded that king Khāravela of Kalinga in his second invasion of Magadha in 161 B.C., brought back treasures from Magadha and in these treasures, there was the idol, known as Agrajina, of the first Jina(Rşabhadeva), which had been carried away from Kalinga three centuries earlier by king Nanda-I. This means that in the 5th century B.C., Rşabhadeva was worshipped and his statue was highly valued by his followers. As we get in ancient inscriptions, authentic historical references to the statues of Rşabhadeva, it can be asserted that he must have been the founder of Jainism.
Other archaeological evidences belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization of the Bronze Age in India also lend support to the hoary
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