Rishabhanatha
Also called: Adinatha · Topic: Buddhism, Jainism and Heterodox Traditions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Ṛiṣhabhanātha, also called Ādinātha ("the first lord"), is the first of the twenty-four Jaina tīrthankaras. A tīrthankara is a teacher who guides people across the "river of existence" to liberation. Jaina tradition says he taught people farming, crafts and how to live in an ordered society, so he is seen as a founder of human civilisation as well as of the faith. His symbol is the bull. He shows that Jainas see their faith as much older than Mahāvīra.
Example
Jaina images of Ṛiṣhabhanātha show him with a bull below his seat, and sometimes with locks of hair falling on his shoulders. Mahāvīra was the twenty-fourth and last tīrthankara of the present age, with 23 teachers before him, starting with Ṛiṣhabhanātha.
Don't confuse with
- Mahāvīra: Mahāvīra was the last tīrthankara (sixth century BCE), not the founder of Jainism. Ṛiṣhabhanātha is honoured as the first.
- Pārśhvanātha: he was the twenty-third tīrthankara, the one just before Mahāvīra. He was not the first.
Related concepts
- Jainism
- Tirthankara
- Parshvanatha
- Mahavira
- Kevala jnana
- Ahimsa
- Karma
- Five vows of Jainism
- Aparigraha
- Triratna of Jainism