Rishabha (Hinduism)

This article is about the avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. For the founder of Jainism, see Rishabhanatha. For the solar month in traditional Indian lunisolar calendar, see Vṛṣabha.

Rishabha
Rishabha illustrated as an avatar of Vishnu, one of many versions of Vishnu avatars.
Texts	Puranas

In Hinduism, Rishabha is one of the twenty-four avatars of Vishnu in the Bhagavata Purana. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Some scholars identify this avatar to be the same as the first tirthankara of Jainism, Rishabhanatha. ^{[3] [4]}

Vedic references and etymology

The name Rishabha appears in several early vedic texts. ^[5] The context in the Rigveda, Atharvaveda and the Upanishads suggests that it means bull, sometimes "any male animal" or "most excellent of any kind". ^{[6] [5]}

Comparative religion scholar Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (later President of India) argued that Rishabha was worshipped by the first century BCE and that the Yajurveda mentions three Tirthankaras: Rishabha, Ajitanatha and Arishtanemi ^[7]

Examples of Rishabha appearing in the Vedic literature include verses 6.16.47 of Rigveda, 9.4.14–15 of Atharvaveda, 3.7.5.13 and 4.7.10.1 of Taittiriya Brahmana. ^[8]

Depiction in the Bhagavata Purana

Rishabha is described as a partial avatara of Vishnu, with an extended account of his life spanning four chapters of the fifth book of the Bhagavata Purana (5.3–5.6), detailing his divine birth, kingship, ascetic renunciation, and final departure from the world. ^[9]

Divine birth and incarnation

The Bhagavata Purana presents five lists of Vishnu's avataras, and Rishabha is included in four of them, with only the shortest omitting his name. ^[9]

He was born to King Nabhi and Queen Merudevi, although in an alternative account, his mother is named Sudevi. ^[9] According to the text, King Nabhi was a virtuous but childless monarch who performed rigorous austerities and commissioned a grand sacrificial ritual to Vishnu for an heir. Pleased by his devotion, Vishnu is said to have incarnated through Nabhi’s wife with the purpose of exemplifying the dharma of celibate sramanas. ^[9]

Of note, Kenneth R. Valpey and Ravi M. Gupta trace the earliest use of the term sramana to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad as a general term for wandering ascetics, only later becoming associated with Jain and Buddhist monks. In the Bhagavata Purana, however, it refers more broadly to naked, celibate sages who represent either a new ideal of holiness or, at times, heretical figures. ^[9]

According to the narrative, Rishabha possessed divine traits and powers from birth. Indra, filled with envy, once withheld rainfall, prompting Rishabha to miraculously generate rain himself. Recognizing his divine nature, King Nabhi relinquished the throne and appointed Rishabha as king, entrusting him to the guidance of the brahmanas. ^[9]

Kingship and family life

According to the Bhagavata, Rishabha first adopted the life of a student under a guru, setting an example of ideal conduct. After completing his education, he married Jayanti, who is described as a gift from a repentant Indra, and lived a model household life. He fathered one hundred sons, the eldest being Bharata, after whom the earth is said to have received its name. ^[9] Though described as the eternal, self-satisfied Bhagavan, Rishabha undertakes worldly duties primarily to demonstrate dharma, which the text presents as neglected in that age. His rule is described as effective, bringing satisfaction to his subjects.

Valpey and Gupta note that although the Bhagavata Purana aligns with Jain traditions in portraying Rishabha as an ideal king and father of Bharata, it diverges by attributing key cultural innovations - such as agriculture and the varna system - not to Rishabha but to King Prithu, thereby presenting a more limited role for Rishabha as a culture hero in comparison to Jain accounts. ^[9]

Renunciation and teachings

The Bhagavata recounts that Rishabha met his sons at a gathering of sages in Brahmavarta and instructed them in the values of renunciation and devotion. He emphasizes the rejection of sense gratification, describing it as characteristic of animal life, and advocates for austerity and spiritual association as means to purify the heart. A central theme in his monologue is the "knot of the heart" - attachment formed through conjugal and material bonds - which must be loosened to overcome the illusion of maya. ^[9]

Rishabha outlines practical steps for spiritual advancement, including associating with devotees, following a spiritually elevated master, controlling the senses, and engaging in bhakti yoga. ^[10] Notably, he expresses strong praise for brahmanas, portraying them as embodiments of the Vedas and declaring that food offered to them pleases him more than sacrificial offerings. This praise has been interpreted as part of the text’s effort to contrast Rishabha’s orthodoxy with the anti-Brahmanical views traditionally associated with Jainism. ^[9]

After delivering his teachings, Rishabha is portrayed as exemplifying his own principles by crowning his son Bharata and renouncing the throne to pursue a life of complete detachment. He adopted the path of an avadhuta - wandering naked, with unbound hair, and maintaining a vow of silence, appearing to others as if mad or senseless. ^[9]

Comparison with Jain Tradition

Main article: Rishabhanatha

According to John E. Cort and other scholars, there is a considerable overlap between Jain and Hindu Vaishnava traditions in the western parts of India, with Hindus adopting Jain sacred figures in Hindu texts like Rishabha and his son Bharata. ^{[11] [12]}

See also

• Bharata (Jainism)

References

1. Matchett, Freda (2001). Krishna, Lord or Avatara?: the relationship between Krishna and Vishnu. 9780700712816. p. 152. ISBN   978-0-7007-1281-6.
2. Wendy Doniger (2014). On Hinduism. Oxford University Press. pp. 593 note 46. ISBN   978-0-19-936009-3.
3. PS Jaini (1977). "Jina Rishabha as an avatar of Vishnu". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. XL (2): 321–327.
4. D Dennis Hudson (2008). The Body of God: An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram. Oxford University Press. pp. 19–21. ISBN   978-0-19-970902-1.
5. Prioreschi 1996, p. 205.
6. Rishabha, Monier Monier-Williams, Sanskrit English Dictionary and Etymology, Oxford University Press, page 226, 3rd column
7. Radhakrishnan 1923, p. 287.
8. Bloomfield 1906, p. 293.
9. Gupta, Ravi M.; Valpey, Kenneth R. (2013). The Bhāgavata Purāṇa: Sacred Text and Living Tradition. Columbia University Press. pp. 152–155. ISBN   978-0-231-14998-3.
10. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. "Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 5, Chapter 5 – Lord Ṛṣabhadeva's Teachings to His Sons". Vedabase.io. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
11. John E. Cort (2001). Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India. Oxford University Press. pp. 23, 108–118, 135. ISBN   978-0-19-513234-2.
12. Padmanabh S. Jaini (1977), Jina Ṛṣabha as an Avatāra of Viṣṇu, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Cambridge University Press, Vol. 40, No. 2 (1977), pp. 321-337

Bibliography

• Bloomfield, Maurice (1906), A Vedic Concordance: Being an Alphabetic Index to Every Line of Every Stanza of the Published Vedic Literature and to the Liturgical Formulas Thereof, Harvard University Press, ISBN   9788120806542
• Prioreschi, Plinio (1996), A History of Medicine: Primitive and ancient medicine, Horatius, ISBN   978-1-888456-01-1
• Radhakrishnan, S. (1923), Indian Philosophy, The Macmillan Company