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| Rishabha |
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In Hinduism, Rishabha
is regarded to be an
avatar of Vishnu,
eighth in the
twenty-two
incarnations listed
in the Bhagavata
Purana.[1] He
appeared in the womb
of Marudevi, the
wife of King Nabhi.
The King underwent
many severe
austerities and
penance to please
Vishnu to get a son
like Vishnu. Vishnu
accepted his plea
and thus appeared as
Rsabha - son of King
Nabhi and Merudevi. Jains accept Rsabha as Rishabha, as the first Tirthankar. Rishabha Rishi is also mentioned in the Markandeya, Vayu, Brahmanda, Skanda, and Vishnu Puranas. Children He followed the orders of His guru and accepted a wife named Jayanti, who had been given to Him by the King of heaven, Indra. He begot a hundred sons in the womb of Jayanti. Of these hundred sons, the eldest was known as Bharat. Since the reign of Maharaja Bharata, the Indian sub-continent has been called Bharata-varsa. Rsabhadeva's other sons were headed by Kusavarta, Ilavarta, Brahmavarta, Malaya, Ketu, Bhadrasena, Indrasprk, Vidarbha and Kikata. There were also other sons named Kavi, Havi, Antariksa, Prabuddha, Pippalayana, Avirhotra, Drumila, Camasa and Karabhajana. Instead of ruling the kingdom, these nine became mendicant preachers, following the religious precepts of the Bhagavata Purana. Their characteristics and activities are described in the Eleventh Canto of the Bhagavata Purana during the talks between Vasudeva and Narada at Kuruksetra. To teach the general populace, King Rsabhadeva performed many sacrifices and taught His sons how to rule the citizens. Thus Rsabha was an ideal father, who gave ept instructions to his sons. The instructions of Rsabha to his sons are present in Canto 5, Chapter 5 of the Bhagavata Purana. |
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