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CHAPTERI
Tirthamkaras from Rsabha to Aristanemi
RŞABHANĀTHA The canonical texts like the Kalpasūtral and Samavāyānga' give us some idea about the life of the first Jaina Tirthamkara. He is regarded as the first Tirthamkara of the current osappini and is uniformly described as belonging to Kosala (Kosalie). His father was Kulakara Nābhi of Vinītā (Ayodhyā) city and his mother was called Marudevī. He belonged, like Mahāvīra, to the Kāśyapa lineage. The canonical texts would have us believe that he was 500 dhanusas (bowlengths) in height. A few vague and indistinct details are given about him in the texts, and it is extremely difficult to reconstruct a coherent account of his life from the early Jaina works. The Avasyakaniryukti," a work written after the first century AD, informs us that Rsabha, in course of his wanderings, visited countries like Jonaga and Suvannabhūmi, and also mentions his two wives, Sumangalā and Sunanda, and his hundred sons, including Bharata. He lived for 2 m pūrva years as a prince and 6 m and 3 lakh pūrva years as a king. During his reign, we are told, he taught for the benefit of his people, 72 kalās, 64 mahila-gunas, 100 arts, and 3 occupa man. Rşabha, after anointing his 100 sons as kings of various kingdoms, renounced the world and attained omniscience outside the town of Purimatāla, which was near his home town.“ According to the Samavāyānga,” his first disciples were Rşabhasena and Bambhī. The same text tells us the name of the tree associated with him, i.e., nyagrodha.8 Rsabha had under him 84 groups of ganas, 84 ganaharas (group-leaders), 84,000 monks with Rşabhasena as their head, 3 lakh nuns with Bambhi and Sundari as heads. His chief lay disciples were Sejjamsa and Subhaddāo and his total lifespan, according to the texts, was 84 lakh years. He died on the summit of Atthavāya which has tentatively been identified with Kailash. According to the seventh century text, the Avasyakacūrni, Rsabha's son constructed a shrine on this mountain.
I have tried above to give readers some idea about Rşabha's life
