„梂 縈Ｏ３ 蔣潮 J - Jainism, Jain Religion - colleges

10. A pond full of lutes flowers,
11. A sea of milk,
12. A space vehicle of gods,
13. A heap of gems,
14. Smokeless fire. (R-1/a)
Nabhiraja was an experienced and scholarly person. When he heard about these dreams from Marudeva, he said, “Devi!
You will give birth to a highly endowed soul who will show the path of peace and happiness to this world”.
Birth Celebrations
On the eighth day of the dark half of the month of Charitra, around midnight, healthy Marudeva 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.
„±üü ¿¢¢Ý¢² ½±¼é J
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 ratinue of gods and bowed before the mother,
“O great mother! I, Saudharmendra Shakra, bow before you and offer my salutations”.
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 bodyguard. 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-kalyanak, of a Tirthankar, is unparalleled
in this world. (R-1/b)
Giving the Name
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 Marudeva first of all saw a bull in her great dreams, we name this child
as “Rishabh Kumar”. His twin will be known as “Sumangala”.
The Beginning of the Ikshvaku Clan
jainuniversity.org
When Rishabh Kumar was one year old, Saudharmendra came to Kulkar Nabhi for formalizing the family name. He carried
a sugar cane in his hand. Baby Rishabh was sitting in his father’s lap. When he saw the sugar cane he eagerly extended his
tiny hands to grab it. Saudharmendra gave the sugar cane to the baby and seeing his affinity for sugar cane (Ikshu) he
formally named the family as Ikshvaku. (R-1/c)
Marriage
Rishabh 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 gods. (R-1d)
Prince Rishabh 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 Rishabh was a highly endowed, farsighted and industrious individual. He had a profound insight into the human
psychology. Looking at the needs of 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 alongwith the tools for writing. For self-defense he
Amar Muni - Tirthankar Charitra - Surana # 10
www.jainuniversity.org