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Life Story of Rṣabhadeva : 165
Armenians was undoubtedly Rishabha, the First Tirthankara of the Jains. A city in Seriya is known as Reshafa. A bronze image of Reshef (Rishabha) of the 12th century BC was discovered at Alasia near Enkomi in Cyprus. An ancient Greek image of Apollo resembled Tirthankara Rishabha"". Thus it is not that Rṣabhadeva has been worshipped only in India but has been considered as a prominent deity in other countries also.
According to some of the ancient scriptures, Jainism had been preached in Magadha (Bihar) by Rṣabhadeva at the end of Stone Age and the beginning of agricultural age. In hoary past Magadha was separated from rest of India by Ganga Sagara. The ancient history of Nepal bears this out'. It is to be noted that the name of Rṣabhadeva is found in Ṛgveda, which dates back 1500 B.C. The famous mantra from Rgveda reads as
catvāri śringā trayo asya pādā dve šīrṣe sapta hastāso asya / tridhā baddho vṛṣabho rouravīti maho devo martyāṁ ā viveśa //
This can be interpreted thus: Rṣabhadeva has four horns- of ananta-darśana, ananta-jñāna, ananta-sukha, and ananta-vīrya. Right vision, Right knowledge, and Right conduct are his three legs. He has seven hands called as saptabhangī. Action, speech and mind being enchained a living becomes saṁsārī and again after complete cessation of karmas by penance, a soul becomes emancipated or paramātma.
In Atharvaveda1o, however, there is a reference to a great vratya who is said to be Rṣabhadeva. Rṣabhadeva's father was a man of very high position and his name was Nābhi. Rṣabhadeva's mother was Maru Devi. Rṣabhadeva's grandparents were Marudeva and Śrīkāntā". Yasasvatī was the senior queen of Rṣabhadeva12. He had hundred sons from Yasasvati. She also gave birth to a daughter called Brahmi13. From his other wife Sunandă, he had one son and one daughter named Bahubali and Sundari respectively." From Marudevi one son Bharata was born. Viṣṇupurāṇa's informs Nabhi
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