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{{Short description|One of the avatars of Vishnu in the Bhagavata Purana}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{about|the avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism|the first tirthankara of Jainism|Rishabhanatha|the solar month in traditional Indian lunisolar calendar|Vṛṣabha}}
In [[Hinduism]], '''Rishabha Sage''' is one of the twenty-four [[avatar]]s of [[Vishnu]] in the [[Bhagavata Purana]].<ref name="Matchett">{{cite book|last=Matchett|first=Freda|title=Krishna, Lord or Avatara?: the relationship between Krishna and Vishnu|publisher=9780700712816|year=2001|page=152|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1oqTYiPeAxMC&pg=PA152 | isbn=978-0-7007-1281-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger|title=On Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUnaAgAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-936009-3|pages=593 note 46}}</ref><ref name=jaini1>{{cite journal|author=PS Jaini|title=Jina Rishabha as an avatar of Vishnu|year= 1977|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies | volume=XL| issue=2| pages=321–327}}</ref>

==Vedic references and etymology==
The name Rishabha appears in several early vedic texts.{{sfn|Prioreschi|1996|p=205}} The context in the [[Rigveda]], [[Atharvaveda]] and the [[Upanishad]]s suggests that it means [[bull]], sometimes "any male animal" or "most excellent of any kind".<ref>[http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/0200/mw__0259.html Rishabha], Monier Monier-Williams, Sanskrit English Dictionary and Etymology, Oxford University Press, page 226, 3rd column</ref>{{sfn|Prioreschi|1996|p=205}}

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]]{{sfn|Radhakrishnan|1923|p=287}}

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]].{{sfn|Bloomfield|1906|p=293}}

==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.<ref name="GuptaValpeyPages">{{cite book |last1=Gupta |first1=Ravi M. |last2=Valpey |first2=Kenneth R. |title=The Bhāgavata Purāṇa: Sacred Text and Living Tradition |year=2013 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-14998-3 |pages=152–155}}</ref>
===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.<ref name="GuptaValpeyPages" />

He was born to King Nabhi and Queen Merudevi, although in an alternative account, his mother is named Sudevi.<ref name="GuptaValpeyPages"/> 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.<ref name="GuptaValpeyPages" />

The Bhagavata Purana presents Rishabha as a divine figure from birth, telling the tale of how [[Indra]] once withheld rainfall out of envy for the prince, prompting Rishabha to miraculously generate rain himself. Thus, recognizing his divine nature, King Nabhi relinquished the throne and appointed Rishabha as king, entrusting him to the guidance of the brahmanas.<ref name="GuptaValpeyPages" />

===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 (Hinduism)|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 chakravarti|Bharata]], after whom the earth is said to have received its name.<ref name="GuptaValpeyPages" /> 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.<ref name="GuptaValpeyPages" />

===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 (religion)|maya]].<ref name="GuptaValpeyPages" />

Rishabha outlines practical steps for spiritual advancement, including associating with devotees, following a spiritually elevated master, controlling the senses, and engaging in [[bhakti yoga]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 5, Chapter 5 – Lord Ṛṣabhadeva’s Teachings to His Sons |website=Vedabase.io |publisher=Bhaktivedanta Book Trust |author=A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda |url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/5/5/ |access-date=3 September 2025}}</ref> 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.<ref name="GuptaValpeyPages" />

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.<ref name="GuptaValpeyPages" />

==Comparison with Jain Tradition==
{{main|Rishabhanatha}}

According to [[John E. Cort]] and other scholars, there is a considerable overlap between Jain and Hindu [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]] traditions in the western parts of India, with Hindus adopting Jain sacred figures in Hindu texts like [[Rishabha]] and his son [[Bharata Chakravartin|Bharata]].<ref>{{cite book|author=John E. Cort|authorlink=John E. Cort|title=Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ip7mCwAAQBAJ|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-513234-2|pages=23, 108–118, 135}}</ref><ref>Padmanabh S. Jaini (1977), [http://www.jstor.org/stable/615287 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</ref>

==See also==
* [[Bharata (Jainism)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{citation |last=Bloomfield |first=Maurice | author-link=Maurice Bloomfield |title=A Vedic Concordance: Being an Alphabetic Index to Every Line of Every Stanza of the Published Vedic Literature and to the Liturgical Formulas Thereof|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W5dEAQAAMAAJ |year=1906|publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=9788120806542 }}
* {{citation |last=Prioreschi |first=Plinio |title=A History of Medicine: Primitive and ancient medicine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJUMhEYGOKsC |year=1996| publisher= Horatius|isbn=978-1-888456-01-1 }}
* {{citation |last=Radhakrishnan |first=S. |authorlink=S. Radhakrishnan |title=Indian Philosophy |url=https://archive.org/details/IndianPhilosophyVol.1/page/n281 |publisher=[[The Macmillan Company]] |date=1923 }}

{{VishnuAvatars}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Avatars of Vishnu]]
[[Category:Rishis]]
[[Category:Jainism and other religions]]
[[Category:Hinduism and other religions]]
[[Category:Solar dynasty]]

Rishabha (Hindu sage) - Revision history

BenjaminWoodard: New The Info Initial Version