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Life Story of Rṣabhadeva : 175
Rṣabhadeva's grace. By the Sundari's sincerity of taking bhavadīkṣā Rṣabhadeva was very much pleased and he gave her initiation. Bharata's son Marīci failing to follow the hardship of caritra became a Tridandi " but he was always with Rṣabhadeva. So indirectly Rṣabhadeva was the founder of Tridaṇḍii-monks. Rṣabhadeva once went to Aṣṭāpada. Bharata reached there where he was told by Rṣabhadeva that after him, twenty-three tirthankaras, and after Bharata eleven Cakravarti would come one after another. Bharata's son Marīci would be the first Vasudeva in Polanpur having the name Tripṛṣṭa. Then he would be born in Mahāvideha. His parent's name would be Dhananjaya and Dhāriņi. Then he would be Cakravarti and his name would be Priyamitra. After going round in rebirth cycle for a long, he would be born in Bharatakṣetra and would be the last Tirthankara Mahāvīra12. After that Rṣabhadeva went from Aṣṭāpada and spread his spontaneous material knowledge as well as his profound knowledge and experience of austerity like Dharma, meditation, and emancipation from corner to corner. He went to Kośala, Magadha, Kāśī, Chedi, Malava, Gujrat, Sourastra and so on. He made a halt in the mountain Śatruñjaya. According to his instruction and blessing Rṣabhasena (Pundarika) along with Gaṇadharas stayed in the mountain and Pundarika was the first among them to get emancipation by Śaileși Dhyana. By Rṣabhadeva's grace Śatruñjaya became one of the remarkable pilgrimage of Jains13. Rṣabhadeva as a king created four classes. Similarly in the case of Dharma also, he created four kinds of Samghas- Sādhu, Sādhvī, Śrāvaka and Śrāvikā. . By his grace eighty four thousands of Sadhus, three lacs Sadhvīs, three lacs and fifty thousands Śrāvakas, five lacs and fifty four thousand of Śravikas, four thousand seven hundred and fifty four Purvis, nine thousand Avadhijñānīs and twenty thousand Kevalajñānīs made the Jaina religion prosperous.
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Rṣabhadeva came to know that his time had come to an end. He went back to Aṣṭāpada. When eighty-nine fortnights of the third spoke in this Avasarpiņī-kāla remained, in the forenoon of the
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