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INTRODUCTION 'great Emperor) of the Aryans and the son of the first Tirthamkara, Rişabha Deva. Both the Hindu and the Jaina traditions maintain this view. The so-called aborigines are really not the original residents of India. There have been several influxes into India in the past, according to Jainism. A very large number of men from other countries came into India with Bharata himself, when he returned from his worldconquest. Then there was a very determined invasion from the north in subsequent times which, however, ended in a 'stale mate, both parties settling down in the land. These mainly are the important influxes, according to the past tradition, and no reason can be found for rejecting the account altogether. The other considerations are all minor ones and will not affect the two main arguments that have been advanced above, in support of this view, one way or the other.
The Hindus allegorised Religion itself as Rişabha, and included Him amongst the incarnations of their chief divinity, Vişņu. They also make use of the Tirthamkara's distinguishing mark, namely, the bull, as a symbol for Religion, thus implicitly acknowledging Him as the founder of Religion proper (see "The Confluence of Opposites,' Lecture vii, and the ‘Permanent History of Bharatvarsha, Vol. I, p. 213).
