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This Purana is a delight for the good, and a pleasure for the common people. It is both beneficial and enjoyable, and thus it satisfies everyone completely. ||4|| This Purana has been created and will surely remain in this world until the end of the Yuga. Thus, with this enthusiasm, I begin the narration of the story. ||46||
(Thus ends the introduction.)
Then, King Shrenik, having drunk the nectar of the excellent character of Lord Vrishabhadeva, desired to taste the remaining portion, as if it were something held in his hand. ||47|| He stood up in the middle of the assembly, folded his hands, bowed his head slightly, and then prayed to Gautam Ganadhar, saying, "O Lord, by your grace, I have heard this excellent Purana of Lord Vrishabhadeva. Just as Lord Vrishabhadeva attained Nirvana at the end of this Purana and became happy, so too have I become very happy by hearing it. It is said that in the Tirtha of Lord Vrishabhadeva, there was a king named Jayakumar, the best among all kings, who defeated even Arkakiti, and whose prowess is still famous on earth. During his Digvijaya, he defeated Meghakumar, for which Maharaja Bharat himself took out the Veerapatta and tied it around his neck. Just as Vrishabhadeva was the first among those who performed Tirtha, Emperor Bharat was the first among the Chakravartis, and King Shreyans was the first among those who initiated the practice of Dana Tirtha, so too was he the first to establish the practice of Swayamvara. He made a vow in battle and defeated Arkakiti, the grandson of Lord Vrishabhadeva, single-handedly, as if in a game, and bound him. Then came Vrishabhasena 1, Kumbha 2, Dridharatha 3, Shatadhanu 4, Devasharma 5, Devabhaav 6, Nandan 7, Somadatta 8, Suradatta 9, who was superior in qualities, Vayusharma 10, Yashobahu 11, Devagni 12, Agnidev 13, Agnigupta 14, Mitraagni 15, Halabhrut 16, and others. ||56||