KAYOTSARG

Tirthankar Parshvanath shown in Kayotsarg posture

Kayotsarg means to give up one's physical comfort and body movements, thus staying steady, either in a standing or any other posture, and concentrating upon the true nature of the soul as being separate from the body. Kayotsarg literally means abandonment of body, thoughts and mind and get absorbed only in the conscious self. It also means self-awareness by complete relaxation and inactivity.


Normally the practitioner takes a comfortable posture either lying down or sitting or standing and breathes calmly. Then self suggest each and every part and entity of the body to be relaxed and feel the same. Once the body is completely relaxed, the practitioner practices to realize separate existence of soul from body and then forget about the body and practices to identify the Self. Then one practices of complete awareness of the self without any hindrance.

Kayotsarg can be practiced in standing, sitting or lying down posture. Essential thing is to maintain the immobility of the body. A standing meditative posture was more common in olden days. A posture, easy to follow but difficult to practice. It is also called ‘urdhva Kayotsarg’. Kayotsarg or body abandonment posture. Standing like this, completely immobile with arms hanging free from the body, was considered a form of severe penance. It also shows that they were following the doctrine of ahimsa or non-violence, since by keeping still they could not harm any creatures, even accidentally.

In ancient times, the method of practicing Kayotsarg comprised of bodily relaxation. Practicing Kayotsarg with an awareness of inbreathing and out-breathing results in greater concentration and relaxation. Concentration is essential for practicing Kayotsarg, even though, Kayotsarg in itself is an exercise for increasing concentration. Synchronized with respiration, Kayotsarg becomes even more effective. Kayotsarg means 'rising above the body'. As one transcends the body, there is a falling off in the consciousness of outer phenomena. That is the right occasion for practicing anupreksha (contemplation) or auto-suggestion. As long as the conscious mind is active and gross consciousness operates, the practice of contemplation or autosuggestion is not wholly effective. But when a human goes deep into him/herself, a new event transpires.

All Tirthankars are depicted in Kayotsarg posture

Kayotsarg is typical to Jin spirituality. Historically, evidence of the same has been found even amongst the Indus Valley Civilization. Prof. Ram Prasad Chanda, who supervised Indus Valley Civilization excavations, states in his article Mohenjo-Daro: Sindh 5000 Years Ago in Modern Review (August, 1932) that, “Not only the seated deities on some of the Indus seals are in Yoga posture and bear witness to the prevalence of Yoga in the Indus Valley Civilization in that remote age, the standing deities on the seals also show Kayotsarg (a standing or sitting posture of meditation) position. The Kayotsarg posture is peculiarly Jain. It is a posture not of sitting but of standing. In the Adi Purana Book XV III, the Kayotsarg posture is described in connection with the penance of Rishabha, also known as Vrsabha.

Majority of the Jin followers of ancient world preferred to meditate in a standing posture. It was an exercise that required training, practice, and willpower. According to Hemchandra’s Yogshastra, provides one of the earliest lists of actual Yoga pose’s, all of which entail asana in the literal sense of sitting or standing: paryankasana, virasana, vajrasana, abjasana, bhadrasana, dandasana, utkatikasana, godohikasana, and Kayotsargasana. Kayotsarg, the last listed pose, carries a twofold distinction. First, it describes that the arms need to hang down (pramlambitabhujadvandam) and that one needs to stand in an attitude of equanimity toward the body (stanam kayanapeksam). Second, this pose, like the practice of the five vows, is said to deliver one into a state of bodily control: When the body of an ascetic remains immobile as he dwells in the posture called ‘abandoning the body’ (Kayotsarg)…this is said to be control of the body.

Hemachandra gives considerable attention to the five breaths, specifying their location and color.  He also relates the breaths to the elements. For Hemachandra, the mind and breath cannot be separated: Where the mind is there is the breath, and where the breath is there the mind is. Accordingly, they both have the same activity, mixed like milk and water.

If the practitioner of Yoga controls the breath, the mind comes under control, which is the key to liberation: When one of the two ceases to function, the other also ceases. When is active, the other is also active. When both activities stop, liberation results on account of the cessation of sensory impressions.

The centrality of breath in releasing one from discomfort and dissatisfaction (duhkh) cannot be overstated. The Yogshastra describes a mind-body continuum involving ethics, postures, breathing, and meditation. The Yogshastra describes the physical placement of lips, eyes, teeth, and countenance during meditation, and specifies that the meditator should face either east or north.

To practice standing meditative pose, choose a place where you are least disturbed. Stand still; initially you may take the support of a wall or pillar. Once you are used to standing without any movement you may not require any support at all. Next relax completely. Stand still! It will take a lot of practice to be still without any internal or external movement or wanting to move. When you are still physically, your internal body equilibrium may not be still. This too needs to be made still and only practice can make your body go absolutely immobile internally as well externally.

Once this motionless form is achieved, you should not feel your body. The only aspect of awareness will be your mind, your breath. The next aspect is to concentrate on breathing, pick any form that you are most comfortable with and get it into a rhythm. Ease your breathing and relax your body to the level that you do not feel it. Let go off all thoughts and even awareness. Once that is achieved, start concentrating on pure meditation. This is a start, when it is accomplished, aim for deeper form of meditation while standing. 

Written By: Dhara Kothari

Spiritual Lounge

http://spirituallounge.com/

LORD SHANTINATH: THE 16TH JAIN TIRTHANKAR

Lord Shantinath was the 16th Tirthankar (Ford-maker) of present era in Jainism. Shantinath was born to King Viswasen Raja and Queen Achira Rani at Hastinapur in the Ikshvaku clan. His birth date is the thirteen day of the Jyest Krishna month of the Indian calendar.

Previous Births of Lord Shantinath

Kind Shrishen 2. Birth as a Celestial Being 3. Shriprabhdev 4. Amittej Vidyadhar, 5. A Celestial Being 6. Aparajit Baldev, 7. In the Achyut Celestial World. 8. Vajrayudh Chakravarti, 9. In the Graiveyak dimension 10. Meghrath 11. In the Sarvarthasiddha dimension, 12. Lord Shantinath.


The 10th Birth: King Meghrath

According to Jain Cosmology this Universe is divided into three realms. The upper realm is constituted of 12 Celestial Worlds. We live in the middle realm which contains billions of galaxies (dweep). The lower realm is constituted of seven hells. The souls that reside in the upper realm are powerful than us (from absolute perspective all souls are alike but because of virtuous karma many souls take birth in the celestial worlds). The celestial beings can do things which we can’t.

Meghrath was a benevolent and religious ruler. He was compassionate and protected all living things. Being a Kshatriya and a warrior he had the chivalry to sacrifice all he had in order to protect those in trouble. One day while observing the partial renunciation vow (Paushadh) he was about to start a discourse on the religion propagated by the Tirthankars. All of a sudden a pigeon, trembling with fear, fell in his lap and uttered in choking human voice, "Save me, O king! Give me refuge; take me under your protection!" The compassionate king comforted the bird and took it under his protection. The pigeon was followed by a falcon who too uttered in human language, "O king! This pigeon is my food, leave it alone." The king tried to explain, "It has taken refuge with me, as such I am duty bound to protect it. I will give you any type of food you want; why kill a living thing just to fill your stomach?" The falcon insisted, "If you will not leave it I may die of hunger. I am a carnivore; who will provide me food. If I die, you will be responsible and bear the sin." When the falcon did not yield, Meghrath said at last, "O falcon! As long as I exist, I will not allow you to die. I will cut out flesh from my body equivalent to the weight of this little pigeon and give it to you. You may satisfy your urge to eat. But under no circumstance I shall allow you to kill the bird that has taken refuge with me." The falcon agreed to this proposal and the king put the pigeon in one pan of balance and in the other started putting pieces of flesh cut out from his own body. Surprisingly, the weight of the pigeon continued to increase as the king went on putting his flesh in the pan. Witnessing this pathetic scene, the queens and the members of the assembly were moved to tears. They requested the king not to sacrifice his precious life for a mere pigeon. The falcon, was also requested relent but he too declined. The king continued to cut flesh from his body and put it in the pan of the balance. At last, when the pieces of flesh were not enough, the king got up from his seat and sat down in the pan. Everyone present was dumb struck at this lofty compassion and chivalry displayed by the king. Suddenly there was a flesh of divine light and a divine personage appeared. The pigeon and the falcon disappeared. The celestial being appeared and addressed the king, "Maharaj! The Indra was praising your compassion and courage, in his assembly. I could not contain myself and came around to test you myself. All this was my creation. You come out with flying colors. You are worthy of the praise bestowed on you by Indra. Please forgive me." The celestial being filled Meghrath’s wounds instantaneously and left for his abode. Whenever there is a talk about chivalry and compassion king Meghrath’s name is taken with respect.
Disturbed by the miseries of the mundane life, one day king Meghrath was doing mediation. He transcended to a very high level of purity. Knowing about this uncommon purity and determination of Meghrath, indra bowed to him with reverence, "My salutations to you O citizen Yogi! There are but a few in this world who could reach this level of detachment and purity." Two senior consorts of Indra, Surup and Atirup did not like this gesture of praise of a mere human. They both came to disturb the meditation of Meghrath. They made several beautiful and voluptuous damsels appear before the king. These beauties tried to disturb Meghrath by a display of dances and inviting gestures. When these night long seductive afflictions failed to disturb king Meghrath, the goddesses, before returning to their abode, appeared themselves and asked the king to forgive them. King Meghrath, then, crowned his son and took Diksha from Arhat Dhanrath. Due to his increasing purity in meditation in the face of many afflictions, he earned the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma. Completing his age he reincarnated in the Sarvarthsiddha dimension.

Birth of Lord Shantinath
From the Sarvarth Siddha Dimention of the heavenly realm, the being that was Meghrath descended into the womb of queen Achira, wife of king Vishvasen of Ikshvaku clan and ruler of Hastinapur. On the thirteenth day of the dark half of the month of Jyeshta the queen gave birth to the great and illustrious son. The whole universe, including even the hell, was pervaded by a soothing glow and a feeling of joy and happiness. Due to the pacifying influence during the period of pregnancy, the new born was named Shanti Kumar (Shanti = Peace). When he came of age he was married to several beautiful princesses.

The Sovereign King Shantinath
After a few years king Shantinath got a son who was named Chakrayudh. Several years later, the divine disc weapon appeared in the armory. When the traditional worship rituals of this weapon were concluded, it started moving toward the east on its own. Shantinath followed the Chakra with his armed forces. Most of the kings on the way surrendered. After defeating the remaining few Shantinath became a Chakravarti (A Sovereign King).

Renunciation and Spiritual Practices
Slowly and steadily all his Karmas to live in palace and rule as a king was over. He realized the real purpose of his life, his ultimate goal to be achieved in this very life span. He handed over the responsibilities of the kingdom to his son Chakrayudh.

For the entire year from that time, he distributed wealth among the people. One day, along with thousand other kings, he came out of the palace, removed his hair with his fist, uttered, “Namo Siddhanam” (I bow down to all liberated souls) and became an ascetic.

He went roaming place to place and meditating. Lots of problems came in his path but they all had to surrender to Lord Shantinath’s feet. Due to his pacifying glow of compassion all the animals around him used to come near him and sit peacefully. For one long year, Lord Shantinath did hard practices and remained engrossed in meditation to realize the self.

Omniscience and Nirvana

After wandering as an ascetic for one year he returned to the same jungle of Hastinapur Town, where he had taken renunciation. There on the ninth day of the bright half of the month of Paush, while meditating under a Nandi Tree, Lord Shantinath attained Omniscience. His first discourse was on the subject of disciplining the senses. In his first religious discourse his son, mother, wife, all the people of Hastinapur and many people from all around came. Under the influence of the Pravachan Chakrayudh also took diksha (renunciation) and started his journey towards Moksha in the end.

He came to the Sammet Shikhar after a long period of preaching and propagating true religion. There, along with nine hundred other Omniscient ascetics, Lord Shantinath started his final meditation to shed the non-destructive karma. On the thirteenth day of the dark half of the month  of Jyeshtha Lord Shantinath attained Nirvana.

FOUR GREAT PRINCPLES BY LORD MAHAVIR

Lord Mahavir has given four principles to explain the law of karma. He divided the principle of karma in four lines to make it simple.

• I’m not the cause behind anyone’s happiness
• I’m not the cause behind anyone’s misery
• Nobody is the cause behind my happiness
• Nobody is the cause behind my misery

If we combine all the four lines into one then we’ll get this:

“I’m the sole cause behind my misery and happiness”

If any living being is happy or unhappy then it is because of itself. This principle cannot be understood from single aspect. If we believe that there is only one birth then it will create complexities. Our action by mind, speech and body accumulates karma particles (fine sub atomic particles) to us (sentient energy or soul) and whenever they depart they gives result, either good or bad depending on our intent at the time of accumulation. Now the fact is they depart the soul in a specific time and keeps the soul in the cycle of birth and death. It is possible that karma accumulated in this birth may give fruits after many births. That’s why we don’t understand why bad things are happening with us. That is happening with so many living beings, no matter how they are by nature in their present birth. Someone might be benevolent and compassionate person in present life yet he faces misery and sorrow in his life. If he doesn’t believe in reincarnation then he will think, “Why this happens to me? I haven’t hurt anyone; I wish the good for everyone then why I always face sorrow?”

In this way he will take God to be responsible behind his sorrow and will believe that his fortune is in God’s hand. But if he expands his thinking then perhaps he would realize that the root of misery is prepared in some of the previous births. That is reality. If there is no previous birth then everyone in this world would be in same status. We see in this world that someone is rich, someone is poor, someone is rich but isn’t well in study. Suppose there are two brothers, one does well in study and the other is dull. There are too many differences in this world, among people, animals, plants etc. All are alive, all possess souls. Some soul reincarnates as a flower, some reincarnates as human, some as four sensed insects or some as five sensed animals, all according to their own karma, the action done through mind, body and speech. Here, I have given two stories below to understand this more deeply.

(1) The first one is about Lord Mahavir. This was the 13^th year of his spiritual pursuit and he hasn’t gained Omniscience yet. He was standing in Kayotsarg Meditation under a tree outside the village Grambhikgrama. It was evening time, then one cow herder passed by him who was returning home. Suddenly the cow herder remembered that he is missing something so he decided to go back. He was with his cattle so he thought he should keep the cattle here. He had not anything to tie the cattle. He saw a man (Lord Mahavir) standing in meditation. He didn’t know what that man was doing, he though he might be resting under a tree so he asked Lord Mahavir to look for the cattle and left that place without any answer from the Lord. The Lord was deeply engrossed in the highest form of meditation so he wasn’t aware of the outer world. Soon the cows also marched further and left the place. The cow herder returned after sometime and he didn’t find the cattle so he asked the Lord. The Lord didn’t reply. Upon enquiring for several times he became angry at Lord Mahavir. His anger was so high that he pierced sharp grass pegs in the Lord’s ears and pushed them with stone. The pain was very high but the Lord tolerated it silently.

Here we will become angry at the cow herder. The Lord, at first also thought that why this happened to him. What mistake he did in the past that he had to suffer this pain. Lord Mahavir was highly compassionate person from the time of his birth. He was born with three types of knowledge and he did never think bad for the others then why this happened to him? He wasn’t Omniscient at that time so his knowledge was limited but when he started to contemplate on this then he realized and recollected memories of his previous births.

He saw that few births before being born as Lord Mahavir, he had taken birth as Triprishtha Vasudev. He was a powerful king. One night he was listening music in his room. The sweet music was going on. Then Triprishtha ordered his door-keeper to stop the music when he falls asleep. Soon, King Triprishtha fell asleep but the door-keeper now absorbed in music forgot to follow his king’s order and the music was still going on. After sometime the King arose and found that the music was still going on. He became very angry because the door-keeper didn’t follow his order. So the king decided to punish him as his order was not taken seriously by him. The door-keeper begged to him for this minor fault but the king was very angry as he was in great pride for his power. He immediately ordered his men to pour hot melted liquid in the door-keeper’s ears. So this happened and the door-keeper died in agony because of the hot lead which was poured in his ears. At the time of death he decided to take revenge and developed rage for the King. The King reincarnated in the seventh hell (Pitch Dark Hued) after that life.

After taking several births the being of Triprishtha Vasudev took birth as Lord Mahavir. He purified his soul in the later births after life in a hell and destroyed much bad karma by strict austerities but still the karma of that birth (birth as Triprishtha) were still not destroyed and he had to suffer in the final birth. The cow herder was the being who was a door-keeper in that birth. He developed rage at Triprishtha Vasudev and took revenge by hammering grass sticks into Lord Mahavir’s ears. But in the final birth Lord Mahavir was awakened and tolerated this affliction silently and peacefully. He had realized that whatever happens is just because of our own actions. He gained Omniscience a couple of days after that event and became 24^th Tirthankar of present age. If we see the whole matter then we realize that whatever happened was justice.

(2) Now the second story is about Monk Skandhaksuri. After becoming a monk he undertook strict austerities and meditation. He used to observe two days fast and would break it by accepting little food and again he would continue fasting. Thus he did since the day of renunciation. His body became very weak but his soul shone bright. He was rapidly removing karma and was feeling very happy in his inner world. He became very much conscious to his soul and least conscious to his body so he reached the higher stage of spiritual development.

One day he was meditating outside the town then two soldiers arrived. They were holding sharp axes in their hands. They told the monk, “As per our king’s order we are here to remove your skin”. The monk smiled at them and replied, “It’s your duty to follow your king’s order you may start removing my skin I’m staying here to make your task easier”.

Monk Skandhaksuri was highly developed soul who would see his body nothing more than clothes. The soldiers started to remove his entire skin but the monk even didn’t budge an inch. At that time he started to observe the pain and thought that this pain is not to me but it is to this external body. I’m not this body, not this pain but I am totally different substance, the soul. By contemplating this way he reached the highest form of spiritual meditation and gained the Absolute Knowledge, Omniscience. Soon after his Omniscience he left the body and attained Nirvana. But in his Omniscience, before attaining Nirvana he could see that why this happened to him. Just before starting his meditation he passed near the king’s palace. The queen was his sister. By seeing his brother wandering as an ascetic barefoot under scorching sunrays she became very upset and began to cry. Her husband, the King saw her crying and he saw the monk. He couldn’t identify the monk to be the queen’s brother. He thought in a different way and took the monk to be the queen’s lover. The king was in panic that he even didn’t ask anybody and just ordered the soldiers to remove monk Skandhaksuri’s skin. The monk, before he attaining Nirvana saw all this in his Omniscience and also extended this matter. He found the root of this and learned that in some of his previous births he had taken birth as a man. One day he was cutting a musk-melon. He had such a trick of cutting the fruits that he could cut the whole skin of a fruit at once. He cut the whole rind of the melon at once using a knife, but this time he felt proud of himself and said to his friends, “did you see that? How clever is my trick? How nicely I have removed the entire rind of this melon? Can you do like this?”

At that time he forgot that even a fruit is alive and posses a soul. It is one-sensed living being and feels pain whenever we remove its rind (skin or outer layer). If we feel sorry for that and be compassionate then we don’t bind strong karma. But if we feel proud and don’t repent for that then we bind strong karma (nikachit) and we have to pay for that in some of the future births. In that birth the being of Monk Skandhaksuri didn’t repent for that but he felt proud about his trick instead so he bound strong karma which came into action in his present birth. The soul that resided in the musk-melon reincarnated as a king after many births and so he killed the monk by removing the entire skin of his body. But the monk, now in the stage of higher spiritual meditation didn’t become angry but gained the Absolute Knowledge (Omniscience) and attained Nirvana. After his Nirvana, the king realized his mistake and he along with the queen renounced the world and became Omniscient in the end.

From the above two stories we can understand the law of karma. We can realize that whatever happens to us, either good or bad, is because of our own fault. In this case we should not become angry or happy at the cause because they’re just efficient causes, the root and the real cause behind that is ourselves. If we believe this and develop faith in this then we can attain perfect equanimity and liberation.

FRUITS OF ANGER

Lord Mahavir has said that, “Anger causes degradation of soul.” Even religious person, a spiritually raised soul can fall into the endless cycle of birth and death because of anger. Anger creates a slope that leads the soul to the lower life forms. In the Jain history there are many stories clearly stating bad results by anger. In this article I have mentioned two stories.

The first story is of Monk Khandhaksuri. He lived in the times of the 20^th Jain Tirthankar Lord Munisuvrat. Khandhaksuri was the disciple of the Lord and there were 500 disciples under him. He was observing strict way of austerities and deep meditation. Before he renounced the world he was a prince and listener of Lord Munisuvrat. He was very much interested in the Jain Philosophy and he used to give lessons to those who were atheists. He had converted many peoples to the path of Lord Munisuvrat. There was a cruel person named Palak. He was king’s minister and was against Jainism. One day he was preaching against Jainism. By hearing about that, Khandhak went to Palak and stopped him to do so. Palak became so angry to him and decided to take revenge. After sometime, Khandhak became Lord Munisuvrat’s disciple and renounced the world.

One day, Monk Khandhaksuri asked for permission from Lord Munisuvrat to go to his sister’s abode along with his 500 disciples in order to convert her and her husband to Jainism. Lord Munisuvrat, in the power of his Omniscience could see that Khandhaksuri will face death in the way so he said him to stay. Monk Khandhaksuri asked the Lord, “Will I attain Liberation?” The Lord replied, “All your 500 disciples will attain Liberation except you.” Upon hearing this reply from the Omniscient Lord the monk thought, “For the beneficial of 500 souls I shall not look for my destiny.” So he started his journey toward the village of Kumbhkaraktak where his mundane sister was living.

The king’s minister Palak was informed about that and he decided to take revenge. He ordered the soldiers to hide the weapons in the ground. After that Palak went to the King and said him that Monk Khandhaksuri is an imposter who is sent here by the neighbor king. He has buried weapons in the land. The King said, “If this is fact then the monk will be punished.” On his way Monk Khandhaksuri was stopped by the soldiers and was blamed to be an imposter. The soldiers found weapons in the ground. The king became angry and ordered Palak to punish the monk. The monk realized that this web is created by Palak in order to take revenge. He decided to remain silent. Palak constructed a huge mixture to kill the Monk and all his 500 disciples. He ordered them all to jump in the mixture one by one. The Monk Khandhaksuri told his disciples not to be scared. He taught them that,

“Oh great souls, whenever you jump in the mixture don’t concentrate on the pain but contemplate that, I’m not this body but I’m a soul which is imperishable, eternal and beyond all other objects of the Universe.”

Every Monk, one by one followed his master’s instruction and just before they depart from the body they all attained Omniscience and attained Nirvana. This was continued until the 499 monks attained Nirvana. Now Monk Khandhaksuri and a teenager monk were left. Monk Khandhaksuri requested Palak that he will jump in the mixture first because that monk was very young, so he won’t be able to see his death. Palak didn’t accept his request and ordered the teenager monk to jump first. The monk jumped in the mixture and he too attained Omniscience and attained Liberation. Now before falling in the mixture, Monk Khandhaksuri became very angry at Palak and thought, “If my austerity has power then I want to kill this man (Palak) in every birth!” Thus he too jumped and died but because of anger he couldn’t attain Liberation and fell in the dark well of endless cycles of birth and death. He was the cause behind his all 500 disciples Liberation but he himself couldn’t gain it because of anger.

Now, the second story is about Chandkaushik Monk. He also was a well learned monk but there was absent of equanimity in his spiritual pursuit. He had a disciple who was a kid. One day they both went for alms. Unknowingly the head monk mashed a frog. The child monk told him for repentance for that mistake. The head monk’s pride stopped him to do so and he mentally thought, “How can this child monk dare to say me that!” Again at the time of night the child monk reminded him for repentance of killing the frog. Now the head monk loses his mental balance and decided to strike the child monk by the stick he was holding. So he ran after him to strike him but in the darkness he crashed with a pillar and died. In his next birth he became a mendicant. He possessed a huge farm and used to bring fruits from the farm and did austerities. He brought his previous birth’s angry nature in this birth too. Some boys used to steal fruits from his farm and he was always in rage for the boys. One day he decided to catch some boys and punish them so he lurked behind a tree and waited for them. He was holding an axe and as soon as he got chance he rushed toward those boys but unfortunately he fell down and his own axe pierced into his head and he died in agony. As a result in his third birth he became a snake who could kill anyone by looking at them by its ferocious glance! Thus we can see that his anger multiplied in every birth and pushed the soul deeper in the mundane world. Fortunately by the help of Lord Mahavir the snake learned to forgive and its anger vanished and it reincarnated in the 8^th Celestial World.

DIWALI: A CELEBRATION OF NIRVANA

Jains all over the world celebrate Diwali in remembrance of Nirvana of Lord Mahavir, the 24th Tirthankara. We celebrate this occasion with lights and feel the absence of that enlightened light that departed us in 15th October 527 B.C. Lord Mahavir was a great warrior who conquered the inner enemies like Anger, Deceit, Pride and Ego. These are our permanent enemies always present with us. He who destroys these enemies is Mahavir.

Words are unable to describe the beauty of Lord Mahavir. His glow, his knowledge, his strength, his compassion, his inner peace were infinite. He was a living temple. The day he departed us and attained liberation the people felt darkness because the light was gone. It is mentioned in the scriptures that 16 kings, 9 Malla, 9 Lichachhavis along with thousands of people celebrated the day of Lord Mahavir’s Nirvana with lighting lamps. In the same day his chief disciple Indrabhuti Gautam Swami attained Omniscience, so that day was very special in Jain history.

The oldest reference of Diwali is a related word, Dipalikaya, which occurs in Harivansha Purana, written by Acharya jinasena. The meaning of Dipalikaya is “Light Leaving the Body”.

ततस्तुः लोकः प्रतिवर्षमादरत् प्रसिद्धदीपलिकयात्र भारते

समुद्यतः पूजयितुं जिनेश्वरं जिनेन्द्र-निर्वाण विभूति-भक्तिभाक्

(The gods illuminated Pavanagari by lamps to mark the occasion. Since that time, the people of Bharat celebrate the famous festival of "Dipalika" to worship the Jinendra (i.e. Lord Mahavira) on the occasion of his nirvana.)

The purpose behind this celebration is to remind the absence of Lord Mahavir. He taught us to overcome inner weakness, fear, anger, attachment, delusion because all these things bind the soul with the never ending cycle of birth-death-rebirth. Lord Mahavir also taught that each soul, whether it is human, animal, plant or one-sensed micro organism, each has potential to get rid of this endless cycle of rebirth. The human body is the supreme machine that can lead the soul to liberation and it is rare and very hard to being born as a human. One should never waste any moment of this precious human birth. Because if we will waste this rare occasion of being born as human then the soul will again go through countless births in the other form of body. So each moment one has to be aware. Every moment we are emitting bad vibrations to the Universe. These vibrations are full of lust, desires of mundane life etc are the cause of bondage and the soul attracts Karmic particles like a magnet attracts iron particles. When these vibrations reflect to us we feel bad and good happenings with us.

So it is important that in this occasion of Diwali one has to remember the teaching of Lord Mahavir and develop desires for Liberation.

A REAL INSPIRING STORY OF ILACHI KUMAR

In ancient times there was a town named Ilavardhan in which there lived a businessman named Dhandatta. He had a wife named Ilachi who gave birth to a very lovable and handsome boy. That being the only son, the parents deliberately kept him nameless. As a son of Ilachi, he came to be known as Ilachiputra. He was reared with all the loving care and attention in the midst of luxuries. In due course he grew to be a handsome youth and as such started being called Ilachikumar. His parents were now eager to get him married. Being the only son of a well to do family, many people offered their daughters in marriage. His parents prepared a list of selected names out of them and asked Ilachikumar to choose any one that he liked the most. But Ilachikumar could not make any selection.


One day a party of acrobats came to the town. During those days, there were no stadiums where acrobats could play. They had to show their skills on the open streets. Beating the drums in token of their arrival, those acrobats planted the poles in an open area off the main street and connected them with ropes. Many people assembled there to watch the show. The acrobats ascended the pole one after another and started demonstrating their skill of playing on the rope. They were walking and jumping over the high rope. People were very fascinated by the performance. Ilachikumar also had come there to watch the show. While watching the performance of the acrobats, his attention was drawn to the young girl of the chief of acrobats. She looked very smart and was dancing very gracefully to the tune of the drums with ringing jingle bells on her feet. Ilachikumar got too much enamored by her and could not move his glance from her.


At the end of the show, the acrobats came down the rope and started collecting money from the people who had assembled for the show. People were very pleased with the performance and paid handsomely. Thus collecting good amount, the acrobats left the place and every one went home. Ilachikumar also had to go home. He was however so much fascinated by the girl that he remained absorbed in thoughts about her and could not fix his mind anywhere else. At lunchtime his parents called him to join. There too, he remained silent and finished the lunch without uttering a single word. His parents had never seen him so serious and wondered about his absent-mindedness. His father asked him about the reason for his seriousness, but he kept quiet. After the father left, the mother lovingly asked him to speak out whatever was in his mind. Ilachikumar said that it was no use telling her about that. As she repeatedly asked him, he finally replied that his mind was attracted towards the girl of the acrobats and he wanted to marry her.


His mother was taken aback to hear that. She said that she could get him very beautiful and lovable girls from well to do families and asked him to forget that wretched acrobat girl. He replied that no other girl would attract his mind and he wanted to marry only that girl. Realizing the firmness of his mind, the mother told her husband about their son’s intentions. Dhandatta was shocked to hear this. He tried to dissuade the son from his intention but Ilachikumar remained firm. Dhandatta was a sensible man. He could see that Ilachikumar would not stay peaceful without that girl. He did not want to lose his son for the sake of prestige. He therefore called the chief of acrobats and requested him to give his daughter in marriage to Ilachikumar.


The acrobat however said that he could not do that because he was bound by the convention of his tribe. Dhandatta thought that he might be looking for getting money for the girl. He therefore offered to give as much wealth as the acrobat wanted for agreeing to marry his daughter to his son. The acrobat however declined his offer and replied that he could not break the convention. Dhandatta then asked him about his tribal convention. The acrobat said that he could give his daughter only to the person who could win an award from a royal court by pleasing the king with his acrobatic skill and would give dinner to his community out of the prize money. Dhandatta was disappointed to hear that because it was apparently impossible for his son to fulfill that condition. He explained to his wife what had happened. She called her son and said that the girl would marry only to an expert acrobat and asked him to forget her.


Ilachikumar did not give any reply. He however could not change his mind. He felt that he could not survive without that girl and was willing to make any sacrifice for her. He was even prepared to learn the acrobatic skill for that purpose. His parents were baffled by his silence but thought that he would come to senses in due course. They felt confident that Ilachikumar could never become an expert acrobat. As Ilachikumar continued to remain absent minded, they tried to divert his mind. All their efforts however failed and Ilachikumar stayed bent upon getting that girl somehow. When the acrobat group therefore decided to leave Ilavardhan, Ilachikumar secretly slipped from his home and left town along with them.


He discarded his fancy clothes and donning the course clothes of the acrobats, he started learning their skill. He was smart by nature and used all his diligence to learn the acrobatics. The girl too got enamored of him and helped him in all possible ways to learn the skill. With her help, he could easily master the skill and soon became an expert acrobat. In due course, when the group reached the city of Benatat, he requested the father of the girl to organize a show at the royal court there. Thereafter, the chief went to the king and requested him to watch the performance of the young acrobat and to award a suitable prize, if it was thought fit.


The king agreed and accordingly the acrobats fixed the poles in the compound of the royal palace, where the officers of the state and elite of the city were invited to watch the performance. At the right time, the king occupied his seat in the balcony of the palace. Bowing to him, Ilachikumar went over the pole and then jumping over the rope, he started displaying his acrobatic skill. He was tightly walking over the high rope intercepted with risky jumps and summersaults. It was a superb performance. No one had ever watched such acrobatic feats. Every one was highly fascinated by his skill. Ilachikumar was feeling gratified by the appreciation of the people. He thought that it should have been enough for pleasing the king too. He therefore came down and bowing to him again, he requested for an appropriate award.


The king was however more fascinated by the young girl than by the performance. He thought that he could easily gain her, if he somehow got rid of the acrobat. He therefore pretended that his mind was too much occupied with the problems of the state and could not give attention to the performance. He therefore requested Ilachikumar to show his skill again. Accordingly, Ilachikumar got over the rope again and displayed his skill. At the end of that show when he came down, the king pretended to be drowsy and asked him to show the performance again. Ilachikumar could not believe that. He suspected that there was something wrong somewhere. Since he was however keen to gain his long cherished goal of getting married to the girl, he decided to try again.


He again started the ropewalk, which to him was as easy as walking on the plain surface. He triumphantly looked around. From that height, he noticed, at a little distance, that a beautiful woman was offering sweet food to a monk. She was in the prime of her youth and was very attractive and highly graceful. Ilachikumar was however surprised to observe that the monk was not even looking at her. He was amazed to see that while he himself was hankering for the acrobat girl, the monk remained totally unaffected in the presence of that lovely woman. He was struck by the detachment of the monk. He compared the girl of his choice with that woman. The acrobat girl was no doubt attractive but the woman there was far more attractive. What could have been the force that kept the monk aloof in presence of that woman? And while remaining aloof, happiness was evident on his face! This detachment of the monk raised a quick train of thoughts in the mind of Ilachikumar.


"How come, I do not get detached, even though I have been repeatedly asked by the king to show the performance!" He recalled the excuses of the king for making him perform on the rope again and again. He could suspect that the king was in all probability attracted by the girl and was waiting for his fall from the rope. "In that case I would never secure the girl for whom I have abandoned my home and the parents.” The happiness that he was looking for, was an illusion. At home, he had been a little exposed to the religious principles. He had learned about the soul within the body and its immense capabilities. He realized that his achievements as an acrobat must have been due to that inner capability. That monk could remain unaffected, because he remained tuned to his soul and stayed vigilant about the pitfalls. "As an acrobat, I also have to remain constantly vigilant, because the slightest unawareness on my part can result in fall from the height and consequent death. Why then, should I not use the same vigilance for the sake of the spiritual uplift?"


He had treaded a long path of spiritual pursuit in earlier life. The impact of that achievement was lying subdued within, waiting for an opportunity to manifest itself. The sight of the monk provided the needed opportunity. He became fully awakened realizing that he was the soul and all the other situations were simply illusory. While on the rope, he dwelt deep into his Self and attained omniscience. Then he quietly climbed down and bid farewell to every one, as he left the place.


Key Message:
The focus of this is on the principle of detachment. Attachment can be to materialistic things or to people/feelings. Often times, attachment causes us to behave in ways that may be hurtful to others and/or inconsistent with the principles of Jainism. We should strive to minimize our attachments (i.e. detach ourselves) and focus on our souls. Our souls don’t require any type of attachment to materialistic things or people in order to attain omniscience. A soul is completely detached and leaves everything behind when it moves to the next life.

LORD RISHABHDEV: 1st JAIN TIRTHANKAR

Lord Rishabhdev also known as Lord Adinath was the first Jain Tirthankar of present time cycle. He lived before civilization developed. Because of this, he had the name of Ādināth - the original lord. He became a Siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma.

LIFE
Rishabha was born to King Nabhi Raja and Queen Marudevi at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku clan. According to Jain beliefs, Rishabh existed before civilization developed. He taught people agriculture, tending of animals, cooking, and more. He had one hundred and one sons.
His eldest son - Bharat - was a chakravarti king - the conqueror of the known world. In the later part of his life he retired to become a monk and attained moksha. Because he became a siddha, he is occasionally worshipped. According to Jain beliefs, India was named Bhārata-varsha or Bhārata after him. His second son was Bahubali, whose statue stands at Shravanabelagola, Karnataka as well as at Karkala. Marudevi mother of Adinath was the first person to achieve liberation - even before Rishabh himself. Rishabh's grandson Marichi's soul later became Mahavira. Lord Rishabha attained omniscience or infinite knowledge at Palitana (Gujarat) and attained liberation (Moksha) at Ashtapad mountain in Himalayas.

References in Hinduism

Rishabha is mentioned in the Hindu text of the Bhagavata Purana as an avatar of Vishnu. He is mentioned in all the Vaishnava/Shaiva Puraņas, as well as in some other texts.
According to the Bhāgavata, he was born to show the people of this world the path of salvation. It was he who advised the people to follow the path of eternal bliss, instead of indulging in a life of worldly pleasures and enjoyment. He is the founder and promoter of sramanic culture. In the depth study of the vedas and puranas, which contain numerous references to Rishabha.

The Bhagavata Purana says: In the womb of Merudevi, wife of Nabhi, Rishaba had his eighth avatara. He showed himself in a form that is to be worshipped by those in any stage of life.

Bhāgavata calls him "शरीर मात्र परिग्रह " (body his only possession), "गगन परिधानः " (wearing the sky), वातरशना (wearing the wind).

PREVIOUS BIRTHS OF LORD RISHABHDEV

In his previous incarnation, Lord Rishabha Dev was in the mahavideh shetra as Dhannaseth. He was a big business man. He offered alms and services to many ascetics and others. Later he completed 7 births as Dev and humans. He was then born as Vaidya Jivanand in his 9th incarnation. As Vaidya Jivanand he discovered a medicine for pandu rog (a dreaded skin disease).

In his 11th incarnation he was born as Chakravarti King Vajranabh. As King Vajranabh he had supported poor and desolate masses. After many years of public service Vajranabh renounced the world and became an ascetic. As a result of unprecedented spiritual practices, including religious studies, penance, tolerance, and meditation, he earned Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma. These pious deeds of earlier births resulted in his taking birth as Rishabha Dev.

THE AGE OF THE TWINS

During the first three Aras of the current descending cycle man was completely dependent on nature for all his needs. The wish-fulfilling trees provided all that he needed. Man was simple, peaceful and contented in attitude. The environment was absolutely unpolluted. Water was tasteful, cold, and sweet. Even the sand was sweet as sugar. The air was healthy and exhilarating. The grains and fruits were nutritious and filing. A simple meal of little quantity of fruit and water lasted for days. Filled stomach and satisfied desires acted as antidote to irritation and reduced disputes and other sinful activities. The whole animal kingdom lived in harmony with the nature.

With the passage of time gradual changes occurred and around the end of the third Ara the yield from the Kalpa-vrikshas reduced. The alround deterioration in conditions spelled the beginning of quarrels and disputes. To guard against these disputes and to live in peace and harmony, man formed groups and the Kulkar system was evolved. A number of people collected to form a ‘Kula’ (family) and the head of the group was called ‘Kulkar’. It was the duty of the ‘Kulkar’ to remove discord and establish order. Nabhiraja was the seventh and the last in the line of Kulkars. His wife was Marudevi. This epoch of Kulkar system was known as the epoch of twins (Yugalia). A human couple used to give birth to twins - one male and one female. This twin would become husband and wife on reaching adulthood. The twins used to lead a happy and contented life and died a natural death together.

To consume what was available was the way of life. As such this period was also known as Bhog-Bhumi-Kaal or the era of free consumption. Up to the time of Kulkar Nabhiraja man lived in this land of abundance.

BIRTH OF LORD RISHABHDEV

It was during the last part of the third Ara of the current descending cycle of time that the great and pious soul that was to become Rishabhdev descended into the womb of Marudevi on the fourth day of the dark half of the month of Ashadh (according to the Hindu calendar) during the night. When this pious soul was conceived, mother Marudeva dreamt of fourteen (sixteen according to Digambara Jain Sects) auspicious things. Nabhiraja was an experienced and scholarly person. When he heard about these dreams from Maudevi, he said, "Oh queen! You will give birth to a highly endowed soul who will show the path of peace and happiness to this world".

On the eighth day of the dark half of the month of Chaitra, around midnight, healthy Marudevi gave birth to twins. This pious birth influenced the surroundings. The sky became filled with a soothing glow, the wind became fragrant and the whole atmosphere became impregnated with unprecedented joy that was hard to describe.

From all around came the fifty six goddesses of directions. They circumambulated the Tirthankar’s mother and bowed before her. They also sang in praise of the child that was to become Tirthankar and then proceeded to perform post-birth cleaning rituals.

At that instant the king of gods of the Saudharm dimension, Saudharmendra Shakra, also came to know that the first Tirthankar has taken birth. He arrived with his large retinue of gods and, bowed before the mother.

After the salutations the mother was put to sleep. Saudharmendra created five look alike bodies of himself. With one body he carefully lifted the baby in his hands. With the second body he took an umbrella in his hands and stationed the body behind the baby. With the third and fourth bodies he took whisks and stationed these bodies on both sides of the baby. With the fifth body he lifted his divine weapon, Vajra, and stationed himself ahead of the baby as a body guard. In this formation the king of gods airlifted the baby to Meru mountain. There, all gods, including their 64 kings with their consorts, ceremoniously performed the post-birth anointing rituals. This ceremony, popularly known as Janma-kalyanaka, of a Tirthankar, is unparalleled in this world.

NAMING CEREMONY

Next morning Nabhiraja organized the birth celebrations. He invited his friends and relatives to a feast and announced, "As there is a sign of a bull on the thigh of the new born, and Marudevi first of all saw a bull in her great dreams, we name this child as ‘Rishabha Kumar’." His twin will be known as "Sumangala".

MARRIAGE

Rishabha Kumar was married to a girl named Sunanda whose twin died in an accident. This was the beginning of the marriage system. He was also married to his twin Sumangala in a ceremony that was arranged by the gods. Prince Rishabha led a happy married life. In due course Sumangala gave birth to Bharat, Brahmi and ninety eight other sons. Sunanda gave birth to Bahubali and Sundari.

EVOLUTION OF CRAFTS AND TRADES

Prince Rishabha was a highly endowed, farsighted and industrious individual. He had a profound insight into the human psychology. Looking at the needs the times and society he evolved numerous arts, crafts and trades and taught them to people with right aptitude and physical and mental capacities. To some he taught farming and to others the trade of agricultural produce. He invented the alphabets, language, and the numbers along with the tools for writing. Brahmi lipi, named after her daughter is still not a forgotten thing. For self defense he evolved martial arts and taught these to individuals with strong physique. He also established systems of social security and penal codes. Pottery, architecture, music, dance, and many other arts and crafts that enriched the human society in the fields of knowledge, arts, entertainment, administration, etc. are said to be his contributions.

RISHABHDEV AS A KING

Slowly and steadily king Nabhi started putting major responsibilities of his Kingdom on Rishabha dev. Such was the effect of Rishabha dev's words, that by just saying, "Oh! Man! You should have not done this, the culprit felt ashamed and stopped his bad works immediately. When Nabhi Raja saw that Rishabha dev has taken all the responsibilities of kingdom and performing them very well. Infact he seemed to have become idol of people. He then one day, on the request of the people’s representatives, nominated Rishabha to become the first king of this age. He arranged for an elaborate coronation ceremony and handed over the reigns of the state to Rishabha Kumar. The ceremony was attended by all members of the family, large number of twins, and gods. The gods created a golden throne and anointed Rishabha with the water collected from various pilgrimage centres. They attired him in divine dress and ornaments and formally put the crown on his head. The twins humbly poured water on his feet from the cups made of lotus leaves. Rishabha became the first king of this era. The king of gods ordered Kuber, the god of wealth, to construct a suitable city. This beautiful city was named Vinita; later on it became popularly known as Ayodhya.

For many years Rishabha dev continued to rule his people and open new frontiers of knowledge. During the reign of his father the population was organized into random groups only. Rishabhdev reorganized them according to their virtues, activities and professions, and broadly divided the society into three groups. Trading community was known as Vaishya, martial community was known as Kshtriya and all other people indulging in a variety of services were known as Shudra. Till his times the Brahman group was not formed.

PATH OF RENUNCIATION

After a long span of time (6.3 million Purva) he started losing interest in mundane things and activities, and started drifting towards detachment. Once, while he was watching a dance, the dancer suddenly died. . Rushabhdev became very disturbed by this incident. He started pondering over the incident and realized that every phenomenon and every situation in the universe undergoes changes and that no situation stays forever. He developed complete detachment for everything that is impermanent and ephemeral and he decided to devote his life to the search of lasting happiness. He felt that he should transfer all his responsibilities to his sons and proceed towards liberation through spiritual practices. He also desired to reach the state of omniscience and consequently show the path of disciplined life and spiritual practices. His concept was that indulgence in mundane things does not give happiness. It gives only an illusion of happiness. True happiness is derived out of freedom from mundane indulgences.

Following the stream of his thoughts Rishabhdev divided the area of his rule between his one hundred sons. Bharat was given the state of Ayodhya and Bahubali that of Takshashila. Getting free of the responsibilities of the state, Rishabhdev decided to take Diksha (the formal initiation into the ascetic way). At that time the gods from the edge of the universe (the Lokantikdev) arrived and requested, "O savior of the human race! Your desire to show the path of renunciation to the mankind is admirable, kindly proceed soon to the task of propagating Dharma."

After one year of meritorious charity, Rishabhdev sat in the palanquin named Sudarshana and arrived in the Siddharth-vana garden. It was the eighth day of the dark half of the month of chaitra when, under an Ashok tree, Rishabhdev abandoned all his apparels and ornaments. He started pulling out his long strands of hair. After four fistfuls, when he was pulling out the fifth fistful of hair Indra said, "Sir! This strand of hair on the crown of your head and hanging down over you shoulders looks attractive. Kindly leave it as it is." Rishabhdev agreed. Due to this bunch of hair he got he popular name-Keshariya ji (one with hair). The king of gods collected the hair pulled out by Rishabha dev in a divine cloth and immersed them in the divine ocean of milk.

Following the example of Rishabha dev many of his subordinate rulers as well as common people got inspired to embrace the ascetic way of life. It is mentioned in scriptures that with Rishabhdev four thousand others also took Diksha.

BEGINNING OF RELIGIOUS CHARITY AND ALMS GIVING

After becoming an ascetic, Rishabhdev took the vow of total silence and started wandering accompanied by other ascetics. When, after his penance, he went out to beg for food, he did not get anything to eat. The common people of that age were ignorant about the practice of giving food as alms. They did not even appreciate the need to do so. Whenever Rishabhdev approached them, they offered him respect and valuable gifts as they would to a king. Rishabha dev would then proceed ahead without accepting anything. As time passed the accompanying ascetics conferred among themselves and decided to eat fruits and vegetables naturally available. They slowly drifted away from Rishabha dev and the true ascetic way of life. After one entire year of wandering from place to place and doing harsh spiritual practices without touching any food or water Rishabha dev decided to beg food once again. He came to Hastinapur town.

Bahubali’s son, Somprabh, was the king of Hastinapur. His son Shreyans Kumar saw a dream during night that Suvarnagiri, the golden mountain had turned black and he had brought it back its golden color by washing it with pitchers full of milk. He narrated his dream to his father and friends, but no one could interpret its significance.

Shreyans Kumar was sitting in the balcony of his palace and brooding over the dream he saw last night. All of a sudden he heard the noise caused by happy masses who had seen Rishabha dev entering the town. Thousands of citizens of Hastinapur rushed toward Rishabhdev with gifts. Rishabhdev did not even look at these things and continued his graceful walk in the direction of the palace. When Shreyans saw approaching Rishabha dev, he rushed to welcome his great grandfather. After bowing down at the great ascetics feet when Shreyans looked at Rishabha dev’s face he could not shift his gaze. He went into a state of meditative thoughts and suddenly he acquired Jati-smarana Gyana, the knowledge that opens up memories of the past births. In his past birth Shreyans was the charioteer of king Vajranabha (the past incarnation of Rishabha dev). This knowledge also made him aware of the duties of laity toward Shramans. He realized that Bhagavan Rishabha dev had been wandering around without food or water due to the prevailing ignorance of the people regarding ascetic norms.

With due reverence he requested Rishabha dev, "Prabhu! I am honored by your presence. I have just received 108 pitchers full of fresh sugar-cane juice that are pure and suitable for you in all respects. Kindly accept the juice and break your fast." Rishabha dev extended his cupped palms and Shreyans poured the sugar-cane juice from a pitcher. Rishabha dev broke his fast and the skies reverberated with the sound of divine drums and divine applaud, "Hail the alms giving!" The gods also showered gems, flowers and perfumes.

This was the beginning of the tradition of religious charity and alms giving. In memory of this incident, the third day of the bright half of the month of Vaishakh is celebrated as Akshay Tritiya festival. The Jains specifically celebrate it as the breakfast day after the penance of Varsha Tap (one meal and fast on alternate days for one year).

OMNISCIENCE AND NIRVANA

For one thousand years Bhagavan Rishabha dev continued his harsh spiritual practices completely ignoring his body and other mundane activities. On the eleventh day of the dark half of the month of Falgun he was meditating under a banyan tree in the Shakatmukh garden outside Purimtal town, close to Ayodhya. Around forenoon he transcended to the purest higher state of meditation. The intensity of his practice caused the shedding of the knowledge and perception obscuring Karmas as well as the illusory Karmas. As a result, he attained omniscience, the purest and enlightened state of soul. Rishabha dev became a Jina.

When Rishabha dev attained omniscience the whole world was filled with a soothing glow for a moment. Numerous gods descended from heavens to pay their respects to the Tirthankar. They also created the Samavasharan, the divine pavilion. King Bharat also proceeded toward the divine assembly riding an elephant and taking along his grandmother Marudevi. Apprehensive about the hardships of the ascetic life of her son, Marudevi was relieved when she beheld the scintillating face of Rishabha dev sitting in the divine assembly surrounded by happy and dazzling gods. The vision of her son perched on the spiritual pinnacle triggered the flow of spontaneous joy in the heart of Marudevi. This mundane joy slowly turned into the ultimate bliss and she acquired omniscience. Coincidentally, at the same moment she completed her age and became liberated soul (Siddha). Bhagawan Rishabha dev made the announcement Marudevi had become a Siddha.
In his first discourse Rishabha dev detailed the trilogy of right conduct. Knowing about the significance of life as a human being and importance of a dutiful life, thousands of people including Rishabhasen, the eldest son of Emperor Bharat, and five thousand other members of royal family embraced the acetic way of life. Thousand of other persons accepted the Shravak Dharma (the religious way for laity). As he founded the four pronged religious ford at the beginning of the present era, Bhagavan Rishabha dev became popularly known as Adinath, the first Tirthankar.

The first disciple of Bhagavan Rishabha dev was Rishabhasen. He became the first chief disciple. He was also known as Pundarik.

LIBERATION

For a long time Bhagavan Rishabha dev continued to propagate his religion having the five great vows as its central theme. When he realized that all his remaining Karmas are approaching their end he proceeded to the Ashtapada mountain. On the thirteenth day of the dark half of the month of Magh, a little before noon time, Rishabha dev, along with ten thousand other ascetics, was observing a six day fast without water. He was sitting in the meditation in the Paryanka pose. When the moon entered the Abhijit lunar mansion he got nirvana and got liberated from all sorrows.

The king of gods, Saudharmendra, Emperor Bharat, numerous gods and men gathered and celebrated the auspicious event of Bhagavan Rishabha dev’s Nirvana.

-Rahul Zota