Nirgrantha-1

Author(s): M A Dhaky, Jitendra B Shah
Publisher: Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre

Page 77

N. P. Joshi
Nirgrantha
iv. Ṛsabha's sacred tree (caitya-vṛkṣa) is the ficus tree (vata-vṛksa) which, according to the Purānas, is the form of Śiva, others being the Pipala and Palāśa trees representing Visnu and Brahmä respectively. The banyan tree is the caitya-vṛkṣa of no other Tirthankara.
58
v. According to the Digambaras, the Nirvana-sthāna of Ṛsabha is mount Kailasa, which is the permanent abode of Śiva.
vi. According to the Medini-kosa, the term Rsabha-dhvaja stands both for Rsabha and Śiva. So is the term Adinatha, which denotes the first Tirthankara Rṣabha as well as Śiva, the Founder Teacher of the Natha Sect.
Rṣabha
This brings us to Rsabha, who finds mention as an avatara of Visnu in the Bhagavata" as well as the Skandapurana". Neither of the two specifically call him Jaina pontiff". The Skanda names his dharma as paramahamsya and mentions Nabhi and Marudevī as his parents. This is acceptable to the Jaina tradition.
The Bhagavata devotes four chapters for the Ṛsabha-carita and discusses his preachings. at length, but apparently there is no indication of their being connected with the Jaina philosophy. This Purana, too, calls Rṣabha's dharma as paramahamsya-dharma. According to this Purana, Ṛsabha, in the later part of his life, went wandering to the southern countries like Konka, Venka, Kutaka, etc. and met his end in a jungle fire in southern Karnataka. Thus the Purana holds that Rṣabha himself did not advocate any heterodox faith, but further adds that in the Kaliyuga, Arhat, a king of Konka, Venka and Kutaka -- would study Rsabha's teachings and misinterpreting them will establish Päkhanda-mata or heterodox faith, which would be embraced by people for generations after generations and subsequently they all would be sent to the darkest naraka (tamasyandhe) or hell.
Obviously, the Bhāgavatapuraṇa distinguishes between Rsabha and Arhat, dissociates Ṛsabha from Jainism, and makes Arhat responsible for propagating the heterodox doctrines based on misinterpreted views of Rsabha.
The Buddha
The Puranas like the Matsya, the Agnis the Varaha, the Padma, the Skanda 4 and the Bhāgavata accept Buddha as the ninth incarnation of Visnu, while a few others like the Visnu, the Vayu, and the Brahma altogether omit him. In spite of accepting Buddha as an incarnation of Visnu or even at times speaking of him in high terms like Prajñāpāramitesvara, Akhila-kṛpa, Akhilestada, Jagatpriya (VI. 71. 277-79), nobody