The first Tirthankar was Rishabha Dev. He was also called Adinath and was one of the earliest kings of the Ikshvaku Dynasty, to which Lord Rama of the Ramayana also belonged. Adinath means the ‘First Master’ or ‘First Guru’ in the Jain tradition. Apart from Jain scriptures, even the Vedas and the Buddhist scriptures mention his name as a great king. The Rig Veda and the Yajur Veda mention this great figure of ancient Indian spiritual history.
Dr S Radhakrishnan, Professor of Comparative Religions at Oxford University and a former President of India, mentioned that the Yajur Veda contains references to three Tirthankars: Rishabha Dev, Ajit Nath and Arishtanemi. Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur, also known as Babuji, the author of Efficacy of Raj Yoga: In the Light of Sahaj Marg, talks of a sage who lived seventy-two generations before Raja Dashratha of the Surya Vamsa or Ikshvaku Dynasty and it was this sage who discovered Raja Yoga. However, he does not mention the name of that sage.
Rishabha Dev was born to King Nabhi and Queen Maru Devi in Ayodhya.
There are generally five major auspicious events that are celebrated in the life of a Tirthankar. They are the Panch Kalyanak, ‘panch’ meaning five and ‘kalyanak’ meaning auspicious events. They are Garbha Kalyanak, which is the event when the Tirthankar’s soul is conceived in the mother’s womb. The second event is the Janma Kalyanak, when the great Tirthankar’s soul is born in the mortal world. The third event is the Deeksha Kalyanak or, when the Tirthankar’s soul gives up all their worldly possessions and they start doing penance under the Deeksha-Vriksha. The fourth significant event is the Kaivalya Kalyanak, when Tirthankar’s soul attains Kaivalya. Angels and gods set up a Samavasaran or a divine preaching hall for the Tirthankars and they deliver their first spiritual sermon. This is a very important event as the Tirthankar teaches the path of purification and liberation. The fifth event is the Nirvana Kalyanak, when a Tirthankar’s soul is liberated from this worldly physical existence forever and becomes a Siddha. On this day, the Tirthankar’s soul attains a state of Eternal bliss.
When Rishabha Dev ascended the throne as King, the Earth was a bhoga bhumi, a world of bliss. Wish-fulfilling trees, or Kalpa Vrikshas, granted wishes and no one had to work hard. Depictions of these divine trees are found in ancient Sanskrit literature and their origins can be dated back to the event of Samudra Manthan, or the ‘churning of the ocean’.
During Rishabha Dev’s reign, the efficacy of the Kalpa-Vrikshas diminished and the citizens approached the king for guidance. He educated them with many skills like weaponry, agriculture, trade, arts, writing and knowledge. He taught them the use of fire for cooking grains, as earlier people ate raw fruits and vegetables. He also trained them in the systematic growth of food grains and the art of agriculture. He established the system of governance and the institution of marriage. He helped his subjects deal with disputes by ushering in a system of law and order. All his work improved the well-being of humanity.
When the Earth became a karma bhumi, or the land of duty and work, he was wise and taught people to make use of every circumstance to their best advantage. He was against laziness and sloth in spiritual aspirants.
Once, in his royal court, a celestial dancer named Nilanjana fell dead while dancing. This awakened him to the reality of the impermanence of life. He realised that his life’s final mission was to learn and teach humanity the way to liberation and freedom from this world. He renounced his royal life and went to the forest and meditated. After many years of penance under a Banyan tree, he attained Kaivalya. That was when the whole world experienced a glow and peace. He became free from his karma because of his rigorous meditation and was liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth. He was then called ‘Ocean of Knowledge’ and ‘Destroyer of Enemies’.
He wanted to teach and share all that he had learned and experienced. So he established separate orders of monks for men and women. He prescribed five major vows for monks and twelve vows for people who were not ascetics but were living a family life. The five vows are Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (not stealing), Aparigraha (non-acquisition) and Brahmacharya (chastity).
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His eldest son, Bharata, later became the emperor after him. In the Skanda Purana, it is stated that Rishabha, son of Nabhi, gave birth to Bharata and the country (India) is named Bharata Varsha after him. However, Rishabha Dev’s other sons did not wholeheartedly accept Bharata as emperor, although outwardly, they obeyed him. This was because they also had a hidden desire to rule. Rishabha Dev sensed their desire and taught them that the real purpose of human birth is to achieve liberation from rebirth and not the gratification of desires. This spiritual awakening made them follow the spiritual path.
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As the life of Rishabha Dev came to an end, he attained Mahasamadhi or Nirvana in the Ashtapad Mountains, after giving his last discourse to all disciples. After he breathed his last, his eldest son Bharata, is said to have sculpted life statues of Rishabha Dev out of the hill.
Rishabha Dev’s life is the best example of an evolved and balanced human being, like a bird flying high with two well-developed mental wings, one for success in material life and the other for success in spiritual life. Beyond the idea of balancing one’s life, he gave insights into integrating the spiritual quotient into our worldly life.