Who is Rishabhanatha? Guide to the First Jain Tirthankara
Rishabhanatha is the first Tirthankara of Jainism - the earliest of the twenty-four spiritual teachers of the current cosmic cycle. According to Jain tradition, he lived at an unimaginably ancient time when humanity had only just begun to require guidance. He was originally a king who taught his people the first arts of civilised life: cooking, agriculture, writing, mathematics, dance, music, and the ordering of social relations. When his teaching was complete, he renounced his royal life, took the ascetic vows, achieved kevala jnana (omniscience), and became the first Tirthankara of this era. His son Bahubali is one of the most famous figures in Jain iconography, embodied in the enormous stone statue at Shravanabelagola. This guide describes Rishabhanatha as he is preserved in Jain tradition and continues to be honoured by millions today.
A note on sensitivity. Rishabhanatha is a central figure of living Jain religion. This guide describes him respectfully within Jain tradition.
Key Takeaways
- Rishabhanatha (also called Adinatha, “the first lord,” and Rishabhadeva) is the first of the twenty-four Tirthankaras of Jainism in the current cosmic cycle.
- His name means “the bull-lord” (from Sanskrit rishabha, meaning “bull”), and his symbol is the bull.
- According to Jain tradition, he lived at an incalculably ancient time, at the transition from the earlier era in which humans lived spontaneously in ease to the current era in which they must work and learn.
- Before renunciation, he was a king who taught humanity the earliest arts of civilised life: cooking, agriculture, writing, mathematics, music, dance, and the ordering of society.
- He is credited with fathering the first two great emperors of the current era: Bharata (from whom India traditionally takes its name Bharatavarsha) and Bahubali.
- His son Bahubali is one of the most iconic figures in Jain art, embodied in the 57-foot stone statue at Shravanabelagola in Karnataka, built in 981 CE.
- After his renunciation, he practiced extreme austerity for a very long time - the tradition preserves specific figures in the millions of years, reflecting the deep-time cosmology of Jainism.
- He achieved kevala jnana (omniscience) and taught for a long period, then achieved nirvana at Mount Kailash (Ashtapada in Jain tradition).
Who is Rishabhanatha?
Rishabhanatha is the first Tirthankara of Jainism in the current cosmic cycle - the earliest of the twenty-four spiritual teachers who make possible the path to liberation in this era of Jain cosmological time.
Definition - Rishabhanatha
The first of the twenty-four Tirthankaras of Jainism in the current cosmic cycle. Also called Adinatha (“the first lord”) and Rishabhadeva. His name means “the bull-lord.” He is credited with teaching humanity the first arts of civilised life before renouncing his royal role and becoming the first Tirthankara of the era.
He is called by several names in Jain tradition:
- Rishabhanatha (Rishabha, “bull,” plus natha, “lord”)
- Rishabhadeva (Rishabha plus deva, “god”)
- Adinatha (Adi, “first,” plus natha, “lord” - “the first lord”)
- Adishwara, Adideva, and various other honorific titles
His symbol in Jain iconography is the bull (rishabha), from which his name is derived. In visual representations of the twenty-four Tirthankaras, each Tirthankara has a distinctive symbol; the bull identifies Rishabhanatha.
The teacher of the first arts
The Jain cosmological account of Rishabhanatha’s era is central to understanding his role.
Jain cosmology holds that time moves in vast cycles alternating between periods of increasing prosperity (utsarpini) and decreasing prosperity (avasarpini). Within each period, humanity’s condition changes dramatically. In the earliest ages of prosperity, humans lived spontaneously with abundant natural provision - the wish-fulfilling kalpa vriksha trees supplied all needs, and there was no work, no scarcity, no death by disease.
As time progressed and prosperity gradually decreased, humans came to require guidance. Rishabhanatha was born into this transitional moment. He was the son of the earlier era’s last patriarch Nabhi and his wife Marudevi. His birth marked the transition from spontaneous ease to the current era of learning and work.
Before renunciation, Rishabhanatha ruled as king. He is credited with teaching humanity the essential arts: agriculture (how to cultivate food when it no longer grew spontaneously), cooking (how to prepare it), writing (with letters given specifically to his daughters), mathematics, dance, music, weaving, and the ordering of social relations including marriage and property. Read teaching people agriculture, teaching cooking and crafts, and teaching writing and social order.
Different Jain sources give different lists of the arts he taught, but all agree that he established the foundational framework of civilised human life. Without his teaching, humanity would not have survived the increased difficulty of the current era.
Renunciation and enlightenment
When Rishabhanatha’s teaching was complete, he divided his kingdom among his sons and renounced his royal life. He took the ascetic vows. Read renunciation of Rishabhanatha and giving away wealth.
He practiced extreme austerity for a very long time. The Jain tradition preserves specific temporal figures for his ascetic practice - millions of years - reflecting the deep-time cosmology of Jainism and the tradition that early humans lived enormously longer than we do now.
During his ascetic wandering, he did not accept food for over a year. This was not by his choice but by circumstance: no one had learned yet how to give alms properly to a wandering ascetic. Finally King Shreyansa, his descendant, recognised what was appropriate and offered him sugarcane juice. This was Rishabhanatha’s first meal after his year of unwitting fasting. The event is commemorated annually in the Jain festival of Akshaya Tritiya. Read Akshaya Tritiya connection.
Rishabhanatha eventually achieved kevala jnana - omniscience, the perception of all things across time and space simultaneously. He became the first Tirthankara of the current era. He taught for a long time, then achieved nirvana (complete liberation) at Mount Kailash (called Ashtapada in Jain tradition). Read Rishabhanatha’s enlightenment and Rishabhanatha’s liberation.
Rishabhanatha’s sons: Bharata and Bahubali
Rishabhanatha is credited with fathering one hundred sons in Jain tradition (also, one daughter Brahmi, to whom he taught writing, and another Sundari, to whom he taught mathematics). Of the sons, the two most important are Bharata and Bahubali.
Bharata inherited the largest portion of Rishabhanatha’s kingdom and became the first chakravartin (world-emperor) of the current era. In Jain tradition, India (Bharatavarsha) takes its name from him.
Bahubali received a smaller kingdom. When Bharata sought to conquer all the earth and demanded submission from his brothers, Bahubali refused. The two agreed to settle the matter through three specific duels (staring, wrestling, and fighting with fists) rather than through a great war. Bahubali won all three duels against his elder brother.
At the moment of victory, standing over Bharata about to strike, Bahubali suddenly realised the pointlessness of his triumph. He was about to strike his own brother over a kingdom. He set down his fist. He renounced everything on the spot. He stood in meditation without moving for a full year - so long that vines grew up his legs and around his arms. At the end of that year he achieved kevala jnana and became a liberated being. His enormous stone statue at Shravanabelagola in Karnataka, carved in 981 CE and 57 feet tall, is one of the most famous religious images in India. Read Bahubali’s meditation, Bahubali’s inner victory, Bahubali and Bharata conflict, and his children Bharata and Bahubali.
Rishabhanatha compared to other founder-teachers
Rishabhanatha’s specific role - the teacher of humanity’s earliest arts who becomes the first spiritual liberator - is unusual.
| Tradition | Founder-teacher | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jainism | Rishabhanatha | First Tirthankara; teacher of arts | Symbol: bull |
| Buddhism | Shakyamuni Buddha | Historical founder | Focus on liberation from suffering |
| Chinese | Fuxi | Teacher of writing, hunting, cooking | Cultural founder |
| Chinese | Yellow Emperor | Founder of ordered civilization | Cultural ancestor |
| Egyptian | Osiris | First king; teacher of agriculture | Later killed and resurrected |
| Greek | Prometheus | Fire-bringer and teacher | Punished by Zeus |
The pattern of a first-founder who is both a cultural teacher and a spiritual figure is not confined to Jainism. Rishabhanatha’s specific form - the king who teaches the arts and then renounces everything to become the first liberated teacher - is distinctively Jain, and preserves a specific Jain understanding of the relationship between culture and liberation.
Read the stories
Rishabhanatha appears throughout Jain tradition. Some entry points:
- The Birth of Adinatha
- Teaching People Agriculture
- Renunciation of Rishabhanatha
- Rishabhanatha as First Tirthankara
- Rishabhanatha’s Enlightenment
- Bahubali’s Meditation
- Akshaya Tritiya Connection
Rishabhanatha is what Jain tradition kept as its earliest teacher of the current era - the king who taught humanity the arts of surviving in a difficult age and then walked away from everything to walk the ascetic path himself. His son Bahubali’s realization that no victory over a brother is worth its cost is one of the tradition’s most powerful moral moments. Rishabhanatha’s worship continues today across the Jain community - in temples across India, in the Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola, and in the memory that all Tirthankaras of this era descend, in tradition, from the first Tirthankara who was also the first king.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Rishabhanatha?
Rishabhanatha is the first of the twenty-four Tirthankaras of Jainism in the current cosmic cycle. He is also called Adinatha (“the first lord”) and Rishabhadeva. He was originally a king who taught humanity the earliest arts of civilised life before renouncing his royal role, taking the ascetic vows, achieving kevala jnana (omniscience), and becoming the first Tirthankara of this era.
What does the name Rishabhanatha mean?
The name is a Sanskrit compound. Rishabha means “bull” (a symbol of strength and dignity). Natha means “lord.” Rishabhanatha is “the bull-lord.” His symbol in Jain iconography is the bull, and he can be identified in Jain art by the bull carved at the base of his images.
When did Rishabhanatha live?
According to Jain cosmological tradition, at an incalculably ancient time - millions of years ago, at the transition from an earlier prosperous age to the current age of learning and work. The traditional figures are enormously large by comparison to conventional historical dating. Jainism does not treat Rishabhanatha as a historical figure in the way it treats Mahavira (who lived in the sixth to fifth century BCE); he is a mythological or cosmological figure at the beginning of the current era.
What did Rishabhanatha teach?
Before his renunciation, as king, he is credited with teaching humanity the essential arts of civilised life: agriculture, cooking, writing, mathematics, music, dance, weaving, and the ordering of social relations including marriage and property. Different Jain sources give different lists, but all agree that he established the foundational framework of civilised human life for the current era.
Who is Bahubali?
Bahubali is one of Rishabhanatha’s sons. He is famous in Jain tradition for the moment when, at the point of victorious battle over his elder brother Bharata, he suddenly realised the futility of the conflict, renounced everything, and stood in meditation for a full year - so long that vines grew up his legs. He achieved kevala jnana and became a liberated being. His enormous 57-foot stone statue at Shravanabelagola in Karnataka, carved in 981 CE, is one of the most famous religious images in India.
What is Ashtapada?
Ashtapada is the mountain in Jain tradition where Rishabhanatha achieved nirvana (complete liberation). It is generally identified with Mount Kailash in western Tibet - the same mountain that in Hindu tradition is the home of Shiva. Both traditions treat this Himalayan peak as sacred, though for different reasons. Ashtapada is one of the most sacred sites in Jainism, though pilgrimage to it is difficult due to its remote location.