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Gommata Colossus in Sravana Belgola
S. K. Ramchandra Rao
The first of the twenty four Tirthankaras, was Rsabhadeva (called Adinatha), held in highest esteem. The subject of the Gommata colossus in Sravana Belgola, Karkala and Venur-all in Mysore State, is described in legends as the younger son of this first Tirthankara, the elder one being Bharata, after whom, according to the Jainas, India is celebrated as Bharatavarsa, Bharatakhanda or Bharatabhumi.
Rsabhadeva was a king before he became a saint. His parents, Maru and Puru, find a mention not only in Jaina Adipurāna but in the Brahmana Bhagavata-purāna also. This Rsabhadeva had two wives, Yasasvini and Sunanda. Of his sons, Bharata the elder was born of the former, and Bahubali the younger of the latter ; he had a large number of children besides these. When the king entered old age, he divided his empire amongst his sons and retired into a forest retreat for practising austerities. Bharata now became lord of Ayodhya, and Bahubali of Paudanapura. Bharata in due course aspired to become the sole lord of the whole country and directed his brothers, who were now independent lords of different territories as decreed by their father, to surrender their independence to his suzerainty. The brothers (whose number is given as a hundred) all except Bahubali, not approving of Bharata's mentality, relinquished their kingdoms and retired to jungle retreats
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