BIOGRAPHIES OF ṚṢABHA AND THE RISE OF ŚATRUÑJAYA

Eva De Clercq

Scholarly as well as popular discourse on Śatruñjaya, the most famous and important of
Śvetāmbara pilgrimage sites, associate the sanctity of the site with the time of the first
Tīrtha#kara, Ṛṣabha or Ādinātha.1 This association became firmly established since its inclusion
in Jinabhadrasūri’s pilgrimage handbook Vividhatīrthakalpa composed in 1333.2 However, if we
retrace the biography of Ṛṣabha in older sources, it is clear that this association did not always
exist. In this paper, I examine accounts of Ṛṣabha’s life, both from Śvetāmbara and Digambara
authors, to determine the time, the environment and the way in which the connection between
Śatruñjaya with Ṛṣabha developed.3

SOURCES

Being the first Tīrtha#kara, biographies of Ṛṣabha or Ādinātha, abound.4 The oldest life stories of
Ṛṣabha are those from the more ancient strata of the Śvetāmbara Āgama. A first account of his
life is found in the Kalpasūtra (210-227) dating from around the second or first century BCE. An
important later, more developed canonical account is found in the Āvaśyakaniryukti (ca. 2nd-3rd

1
See f.i. the recent publications on Śatruñjaya by Andrea Luithle-Hardenberg (2011: 99 and 2012) and Hawon Ku
(2007: 4). The following websites mention Ṛṣabha’s association with Śatruñjaya:
http://onlinejainstories.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/the-stories-of-shri-shatrunjay-tirth-palitana-gujarat/ (consulted
29/07/2014) and http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=76840 (consulted 29/07/2014)
2
The relevant part on Śatruñjaya of this text has been translated by John Cort (1990) and Christine Chojnacki (1995:
vol. 1, 113-145). I discuss Jinabhadrasūri’s account of Śatruñjaya below.
3
I have examined the biographical material from the following sources: Kalpasūtra (ca. 2nd-1st c. BCE, Śv.),
Āvaśyakaniryukti (ca. 2nd-3rd c., Śv., including commentaries of Haribhadra (8th c.) and Malayagiri (12th c.)),
Jambūdvīpaprajñapti (pre-5th c., Śv.), Vimalasūri’s Paümacariya (?5th c., Śv.), Sa#ghadāsa’s Vasudevahi i (?5th c.,
Śv.), Śīlā#ka’s Caüppa amahāpurisacariya (9th c.; Śv.), Hemacandra’s Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita (12th c., Śv.),
Raviṣeṇa’s Padmapurā a (7th c., Dig.), Svayambhūdeva’s Paumacariu (9th-10th c., Dig./Yāpanīya), Jinasena
Punnāṭa’s Hariva'śapurā a (8th c., Dig), Jinasena’s Ādipurā a (9th c., Dig.), and Śubhacandra’s Pā avapurā a
(1552, Dig.).
4
In John Cort’s (1993: 189) counting of Jina biographies, based on Velankar’s Jinaratnakośa, Nemi appears to have
received most attention (34 biographies), followed by Śānti (29). Ṛṣabha and Pārśva share the third position with
twenty-four biographies each.

1
c.).5 Equally significant is the canonical version in the sixth Upā*ga called Jambūdvīpaprajñapti
(pre-5th c.).6

More elaborate renderings of Ṛṣabha’s life are found in texts concerning the Jain Universal
History, compositions generally termed purā a or carita, which narrate the lives of the Śalākā-
puruṣas or Mahā-puruṣas, “great men”. Standard is a list of 63 Śalākā-puruṣas, which includes the
24 Tīrtha#karas, twelve Cakravartins (“world emperors”), and nine triads of a Baladeva,
Vāsudeva and Prativāsudeva.7 Complete accounts of the Jain Universal History, relating the
biographies of all the Śalākā-puruṣas of the current time period, are called mahā-purā as.8 The
most important Digambara mahā-purā a is the encyclopedic Ādi-purā a, “purā a of Ādinātha”
of Jinasena, supplemented by the Uttara-purā a, “purāna of the later [Śalākā-puruṣas]” of his
disciple Guṇabhadra (9th c.). About a century later the Digambara poet Puṣpadanta composed an
Apabhraṃśa Mahāpurā u. The oldest available Śvetāmbara mahā-purā a is the
th
Caüppa amahāpurisacariya, “biographies of the 54 great men”, of Śīlā#ka (9 c.), composed in
Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit roughly contemporaneously with Jinasena’s and Guṇabhadra’s text. The best
known and most authoritative Śvetāmbara mahā-purā a is undoubtedly Hemacandra’s
Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita, “biographies of the 63 Śalākā-puruṣas” (12th c.).

Aside from mahā-purā as, and purā as or caritas dealing specifically with Ṛṣabha, his
biography is also found in purā ic compositions where one would perhaps not expect them,
namely the Jain versions of the Rāmāya a, Mahābhārata and Hariva'śapurā a. What is
significant is that these represent the oldest Jain purā as and often predate the composition of the
mahāpurā as. As an explicit counter-tradition, most Jain purā as strive to emulate the
(theoretical) orthodox purā ic model of the pañca-lak$a a, five requisite subjects.9 This explains
why so many Jain purā ic texts do not immediately commence the story after which they are
named, but with a description of the universe and the division of time, as this parallells the
lak$a as sarga and pratisarga, creation and recreation of the hindu model. The time that we are
now experiencing, and in which all the Śalākā-puruṣa biographies are situated, is a degenerative
5
I accept the dating for these texts as suggested by Dundas (2002: 23-4)
6
I take here the Vallabhi council as the ultimate date for the composition.
7
Note that some older lists mention only 54 Śalākā-puruṣas, excluding the nine Prativāsudevas (f.i. Śīlā#ka’s
Caüppa amahāpurisacariya). Other, later, lists include more categories such as the nine Nāradas, eleven Rudras,
24 Kāmadevas, etc. (See Cort 1993: 195-197).
8
In hindu contexts, the term mahāpurā a refers to a closed set of eighteen “great purā as”. The Jains deliberately
use the same term here to establish theirs as a counter-tradition.
9
For more on the definitions of Jain purā as, see De Clercq 2005.

2
period (avasarpi ī), at the beginning of which humans endured the best possible situation, a
bhoga-bhūmi, “pleasure land”, in which everything came provided for from wishing trees
(kalpav/k$as), and in which there was no fear, no disease, etc. Gradually things became more
unpleasant and eventually the wishing trees disappeared. At a certain point during this
avasarpi ī, people fell victim to evil deeds, and there arose a need for the institution of law and
punishment. In due course there appeared a succession of Kulakaras, “patriarchs”, parallels to the
Manu’s of the orthodox purā a-lak$a a of manvantara, to educate the people on the changes
going on around them.10 The last of these Kulakaras, Nābhi, was the father of Ṛṣabha, linking the
manvantara theme with the biography of the first Tīrtha#kara.11 The pañca-lak$a a topic of
va'śānucarita is found reproduced in the fact that Ṛṣabha, aside from being the first Tīrtha#kara,
is also the progenitor of the two traditional epic royal dynasties. Ṛṣabha himself is the first king
of the Ikṣvāku (or solar) dynasty, whereas the Soma (or lunar, Hari) dynasty was founded by his
grandson Somaprabha, son of Bāhubali.12 Since Rāma is generally recognized as a significant
descendant of the Ikṣvāku-vaṃśa, it makes sense that the biography of the dynasty’s first king,
Ṛṣabha, who is thus Rāma’s direct forefather, be told in the Jain Rāmāya as. The same rationale
is behind the inclusion of Ṛṣabha’s life story in the Jain Hariva'śapurā as, Mahābhāratas and
Pā avacaritas: as the grandfather of Somaprabha, he is the direct forefather to Kṛṣṇa and the
Pāṇḍavas.

As a result the corpus of purā ic Ṛṣabha biographies is vast and goes back to the earliest
examples of Jain purā ic literature. The oldest available text that refers to itself as a purā a is a
Jain rendering of the Rāmāya a, the Paümacariya in Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit by the Śvetāmbara
Vimalasūri, who probably lived in the fifth century or some centuries earlier.13 The
Padmapurā a (completed in 678) by the Digambara Raviṣeṇa is an expanded Sanskrit translation
of Vimalasūri’s poem. The oldest surviving Hariva'śapurā a was composed by the Digambara

10
Note that, aside from the term kulakara, these characters are sometimes called manu in the Jain texts. (f.i. in the
Hariva'śapurā a 7.173, Pā avapurā a 2.104, Ādipurā a 16.266)
11
Some texts mention Nābhi as the penultimate and Ṛṣabha himself as the last Kulakaras of this time period (f.i.
Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 2.35-36, Ādipurā a 16.266)
12
According to some accounts, the Ikṣvāku dynasty was named after the fact that Ṛṣabha, when he was about one
year old, drank sugarcane juice (ik$u) from the thumb of Śakra (Āvaśyakaniryukti 189-190, Vasudevahi i 161,
Caüppa amahāpurisacariya 37, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.654-659). Other accounts mention that the dynasty
is named after the fact that Ṛṣabha quenched the people’s hunger and thirst by teaching them how to collect
sugarcane juice (Ādipurā a 16.264). According to Vimalasūri (5.9) and Raviṣeṇa (5.2-10) the dynasty is named
“solar dynasty” (āditya-va'śa) after Bharata’s son Ādityayaśas.
13
For discussions on the date of the Paümacariya, see Kulkarni 1990: 51-59 and Chandra 1970: 9-17.

3
Jinasena Punnāṭa (completed in 783) in Sanskrit. The Vasudevahi i of the Śvetāmbara
Sa#ghadāsa, like the Paümacariya in Māhārāṣṭrī and also dating from the fifth century at the
latest, is somewhat of an outsider. Though it focuses on material included in the Jain Hariva'śa
tradition, it does not follow the standard pattern of a Jain purā as commencing with the
biography of Ṛṣabha, but rather includes it in the middle of the story as a secondary narrative told
by the grandmother of one of the ladies Vasudeva marries.14 All of these contain a purā ic
Ṛṣabha biography earlier than any mahāpurā a.

THE ESSENTIAL BIOGRAPHY OF ṚṢABHA15

As mentioned previously, with the degeneration of time at a certain point during this avasarpi ī a
succession of Kulakaras was born to instruct the people.16 The last Kulakara Nābhi and his
beautiful wife Marudevī (interchangeable with Marudevā in many compositions) were destined to
become the parents of the first Tīrtha#kara. Several narratives here include an account of the
previous incarnations of Ṛṣabha.17 The birth of an extraordinary being from Marudevī is

14
For more on the different themes of the Jain Hariva'śapurā as, see De Clercq 2008.
15
For convenience sake, I give the names in Sanskrit instead of any Prākrit variant.
16
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 150-168, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 2.35-36, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.137-206,
Cauppa amahapurisacariya 10, Vasudevahi i 157-158, Ādipurā a 3.52-239, Paümacariu 1.11.9-13.3,
Padmapurā a 3.73-88, Paümacariya 3.48-56, Hariva'śapurā a 7.122-176, Pā avapurā a 2.103-107.
Most Śvetāmbara sources mention seven Kulakaras: 1. Vimalavāhana, 2. Cakṣuṣmat, 3. Yaśasvin (or Yaśasvat), 4.
Abhicandra, 5. Prasenajit, 6. Marudeva and 7. Nābhi. The Digambara sources, as well as two Śvetāmbara texts
(Jambūdvīpaprajñapti and the Paümacariya), give an extended list of fourteen Kulakaras, with the following six
preceeding Vimalavāhana: 1. Pratiśruti, 2. Sanmati, 3. Kṣema#kara, 4. Kṣemandhara, 5. Sīma#kara and 6.
Sīmandhara. Between Abhicandra and Marudeva, they insert a Kulakara named Candrābha. Some Digambara texts
name Vimalavāhana, Cakṣuṣmat, Abhicandra and Candrābha in a different order. They moreover place Marudeva
before Prasenajit. Vimalavāhana is by Raviṣena replaced by one Vipula, by Jinasena Punnāṭa by Vipulavāhana, by
Śubhacandra by Vipulādvāhana, while Vimalasūri names one Dhīra instead of Yaśasvin.
17
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 170-178, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.1.36-911, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 11-34,
Vasudevahi i 165-178, Ādipurā a 4.1-11.221.
Up to twelve previous existences are narrated: 1. Dhana the merchant, 2. birth in Uttarakuru, 3. Saudharma god, 4.
Vidyādhara prince Mahābala, 5. Īśāna god Lalitā#ga, 6. prince Vajraja#gha, 7. birth in Uttarakuru, 8. Saudharma
god, 9. son of a physician (names vary), 10. god in Acyuta, 11. Cakravartin Vajranābha, son of the Jina Vajrasena,
12. god in Sarvārthasiddhi.
The Kalpasūtra, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti, Vimalasūri, Raviṣeṇa, Svayambhūdeva, Jinasena Punnāṭa and Śubhacandra
give no previous birth stories of Ṛṣabha. It is remarkable that the only Digambara version to include accounts of
Ṛṣabha’s previous births, Jinasena’s Ādipurā a, differs only in the ninth existence, where Ṛṣabha was a prince
Suvidhi, instead of a physician’s son, and in that it commences the narrative with Mahābala, excluding the first three
existences present in the other (Śvetāmbara) texts. Hariva'śapurā a (9.58-59) briefly lists the names of Ṛṣabha’s
previous births at the time of his renunciation. This list conforms to the Jinasena’s.
The Āvaśyakaniryukti lists all twelve existences, but the commentator claim the existences 2 to 6 to be later additions
(Bruhn 1954: 48-49).

4
announced by a number of miraculous phenomena, variously described by different authors, such
as Kubera producing a rain of gems even before the descent into the womb.18 Like in all the
Tīrtha#kara biographies, the most significant prenatal event is the sequence of dreams seen by
Marudevī, fourteen, according to the Śvetāmbara sources, or sixteen, according to the Digambara
texts. The shorter, Śvetāmbara list of dreams is: 1. a (white) bull, 2. an elephant (sometimes
identified as Airāvata), 3. a lion, 4. the goddess Lakṣmī, 5. a garland (sometimes two), 6. the
moon, 7. the sun, 8. a banner, 9. a (golden) pitcher (sometimes two), 10. a pond, 11. an ocean, 12.
a heavenly palace (vimāna), 13. a heap of gems, 14. a (smokeless) fire.19 The Digambara sources
replace the banner with two fish, and add a throne and a Nāga palace. Moreover according to the
Digambaras the bull comes second, after the elephant.20 The dreams are initially explained by
Nābhi, sometimes with further clarification from one of the Indras.21 In due course Marudevī
gives birth to a son.22 When the gods become aware of the birth of a new Tīrtha#kara, they

In the Vasudevahi i the previous births of Ṛṣabha are narrated at great length at a later point in the narrative when
Ṛṣabha breaks his fast with Śreyāṃsa, with whom he has been connected for several existences. Śreyāṃsa is here the
narrator of these previous birth stories. The Vasudevahi i account excludes the first three existences, commencing
with Mahābala.
Note that Hemacandra includes the account of the previous births of Ṛṣabha before the appearance of the Kulakaras.
18
This motif is found in Hariva'śapurā a 8.37-38, Ādipurā a 12.84-95, the Paumacariyam 3.67, Padmapurā a
3.155, Paumacariu 1.16.4-7, Pā avapurā a 2.109. According to the Ādipurā a (12.69-80), as well as
Pā avapurā a (2.108), Indra ordered the building of a city, Ayodhyā, also known as Sāketa, Sukośalā and Vinītā
previous to this occasion. In the Padmapurā a (3.169-171), Paümacariu (2.2.1-5) and Hariva'śapurā a (8.146-
150), Kubera builds a city of gold called Sāketa just after the birth of Ṛṣabha. In most Śvetāmbara sources too
Ayodhyā is built through divine intervention, though much later at Ṛṣabha’s installation as king (See note 27).
Nevertheless these texts mention the city or palace of Nābhi being beautified with gemstones by the gods at Ṛṣabha’s
birth.
The Digambara texts (including Paümacariu and Paümacariya) also describe how divine princesses, identified as
Dikkumārīs, are dispatched to look after the pregnant Marudevī (Hariva'śapurā a 8.39-55, Ādipurā a 12.164-254,
Paümacariya 3.59-60, Padmapurā a 3.112-121, Paümacariu 1.14, Pā avapurā a 2.111). In most Śvetāmbara
sources Dikkumārīs come to serve Marudevī and her son after the birth (Āvaśyakaniryukti 187-188, Vasudevahi i
159-160, Caüppa amahāpurisacariya 34-35, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.273-317). The Hariva'śapurā a
(8.105-117) describes a second group of Dikkumārīs attending Marudevī and the child.
Other miraculous phenomena described at this point are the gods coming to praise Marudevī (Vasudevahi i 158),
Marudevī being beautified by the embryo and her pregnancy proceeding without discomfort (Hariva'śapurā a
8.99-102, Caüppa amahāpurisacariya 34 and Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.250-260, Ādipurā a 12.257-262),
peace among all creatures (Caüppa amahāpurisacariya 34 and Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.263).
19
As in Vasudevahi i 158, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.212-226, and Paümacariya 3.62. The Āvaśyakaniryukti
(186), Kalpasūtra (207) and Caüppa amahāpurisacariya (34) do not list all the dreams. The Pā avapurā a and
Jambūdvīpaprajñapti do not mention the dreams at all.
20
As mentioned in Padmapurā a 3.124-139, Paümacariu 1.15, Hariva'śapurā a 8.58-75, Ādipurā a 12.103-120
21
As in Caüppa amahāpurisacariya 34 and Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.234-248.
Most Śvetāmbara texts describe Marudevī’s dream sequence after the descent of Ṛṣabha in her womb. Exceptions
are the Vasudevahi i and Paümacariya, where Marudevī has the dreams prior to Ṛṣabha’s descent. According to
the Digambara texts too, Ṛṣabha descends into Marudevī’s womb after the dream sequence.
22
Āvaśyakaniryukti (187) and Hemacandra (1.2.267) are explicit about the birth being easy, painless and bloodless.
Other texts describe unusual natural phenomena such as the sky suddenly becoming clear, a heavenly drum

5
immediately set out to come and perform the birth consecration (janmābhi$eka). After putting
Marudevī to sleep by way of a spell and placing an illusory child with her, Śakra, the Indra of
Saudharma heaven, takes the newborn to Mount Meru, where he and the other gods bathe him
with water from the Milkocean on the rock Pāṇḍuśilā (variants: (Ati)pāṇḍukakambalā,
Pāṇḍukambalā). Śakra then adorns the child with jewels and decorations and places him back
with his mother.23 The boy is named Ṛṣabha or Vṛṣabha, “the excellent one” or “the bull”.24 He
grows up in the company of divine attendants sent by Indra.25 In due course, he marries two
women, Sunandā and Suma#galā, both of whom soon give birth to children, including Bharata,
Bāhubali and two daughters Brāhmī and Sundarī.26 Due to the general deterioration in the

resounding, happiness even in hell, clouds raining perfumed water, earthquakes and tsunamis
(Caüppa amahāpurisacariya 34, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.268-272, Ādipurā a 13.5-8).
On the attendence of the Dikkumārīs in Śvetāmbara sources, see note 18.
23
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 188, Vasudevahi i 160-161, Caüppa amahāpurisacariya 35-37,
Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.318-629, Hariva'śapurā a 8.118-234, Paümacariya 3.71-103, Padmapurā a 3.161-
212, Paümacariu 2.1.1-2.7.6, Ādipurā a 13.9-14.158, Pā avapurā a 2.113-130
According to the Caüppa amahāpurisacariya it is Śakra’s general Harinaigameṣin who is ordered to put Marudevī
to sleep. In the Paumacariya he is the one to place the illusory child with Marudevī and later place Ṛṣabha back with
her. In the Digambara sources it is Śakra’s wife (Paulomī, Indrāṇī or Śacī) who puts Marudevī to sleep and places the
illusory child with her. In Hariva'śapurā a Paulomī is the one who puts the child back with Marudevī.
Most texts, except Kalpasūtra, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti, Ādipurā a and Pā avapurā a, agree that Indra or the god
inserts ambrosia into the thumb of Ṛṣabha for him to suck on.
The Digambara texts describe how Indra performs a dance before Ṛṣabha and his parents, prior to the departure of
the gods (Paümacariu 2.7.5-6, Padmapurā a 3.211-212, Hariva'śapurā a 8.233-234, Ādipurā a 14.95-158,
Pā avapurā a 2.129).
Āvaśyakaniryukti (188) and Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita (1.2.630-646) mention that, after the abhi$eka of Ṛṣabha, the
gods proceed to Nandīśvaradvīpa to celebrate the birth.
24
The sources cite different explanations for his name: (1) because a bull appeared to his mother in a dream
(Āvaśyakaniryukti 188, Vasudevahi i 161, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 37, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.648,
Paümacariya 3.106, Ādipurā a 14.160-163), (2) because he has the mark (lāñchana) of a bull on his thigh
(Āvaśyakaniryukti 188, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 37, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.648) , (3) because he is
“excellent”, a “leader” of the people (Ādipurā a 14.160-163, Hariva'śapurā a 8.196, Pā avapurā a 2.125 (name
given by Indra); Paümacariu 2.7.6-8 (name given by Marudevī), Padmapurā a 3.219 (name given by Nābhī))
25
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 191-193, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.653-734, Ādipurā a 14.164-15.50, Paümacariu
2.7.9-8.1, Padmapurā a 3.221-230, Paümacariya 3.107-110, Hariva'śapurā a 9.4-6, Pā avapurā a 2.131-132.
A motif exclusive to Śvetāmbara texts is that of Ṛṣabha’s sister, Suma#galā, born simultaneously and with whom he
grows up and who will become his wife. According to the Śvetāmbara accounts, up to the time of Ṛṣabha humans
were born in pairs of a male and a female, who would later become husband and wife (albeit without a marriage
ceremony). Due to the general decay of time, the male of one pair is struck by a coconut and dies untimely. Nābhi
takes care of the female, Sunandā, who would later become the second wife of Ṛṣabha, initiating the new custom of
marriage (Āvaśyakaniryukti 194-195, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.650+735-756, Cauppa amahapurisacariya
37-38, Vasudevahi i 161).
26
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 194-197, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.757-892, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 37,
Vasudevahi i 162, Ādipurā a 15.51-16.8, Paümacariu 2.8.7-8, Padmapurā a 3.260-261, Paümacariya 3.119-120,
Hariva'śapurā a 9.18-23.
Sunandā and Suma#galā are Śvetāmbara names. Digambara variants for Suma#galā are Yaśasvatī (Ādipurā a,
Pā avapurā a) and Nandā (Padmapurā a, Paümacariu, Hariva'śapurā a). According to the Śvetāmbara texts,
Suma#galā first gave birth to the twin Bharata and Brāhmī, and later to 49 more twins, and Sunandā gave birth to the
twin Bāhubali and Sundarī. In the Digambara texts, Suma#galā’s counterparts (Yaśasvatī or Nandā) gave birth to one

6
avasarpi ī the people are struggling, and seek the help of Ṛṣabha, who teaches them how to
prepare food, skills leading to professions, etc. and creates a division of categories, initiating the
societal division into castes. He teaches Brāhmī how to write and Sundarī how to do arithmatic,
and instructs Bharata and Bāhubali in the arts and sciences. Ṛṣabha himself is consecrated as
their king in a ceremony lead by the gods.27 After a long and fruitful reign, Ṛṣabha becomes
disgusted with the material world and decides to renounce it, upon which the Laukāntika gods
come to applaud and encourage him.28 He distributes his land and possessions among his sons
and relatives. Indra and the other gods arrive for the initiation ceremony.29 He mounts a divine
palanquin, Sudarśanā, is carried around in procession, and taken to a park Siddhārtha.30 After

hundred sons, of whom the first was Bharata, and the second the future Gaṇadhara, Ṛṣabhasena, as well as to a
daughter Brāhmī.
27
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 197-206, Kalpasūtra 211, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 2.37 Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.893-
984, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 37-39, Vasudevahi i 162-163, Ādipurā a 16.103-275, Paümacariu 2.8.2-6,
Padmapurā a 3.231-258, Paümacariya 3.111-118, Hariva'śapurā a 9.24-46, Pā avapurā a 2.134-214.
In the Śvetāmbara texts the immediate cause for the people’s request for help is the rise of crime. They further
describe how on the occasion of Ṛṣabha’s consecration (rājyābhi$eka) Śakra orders Kubera to build the city of Vinītā
(Ayodhyā).
According to the Digambaras (and the Paümacariya) Ṛṣabha created three castes, k$atriya, vaiśya and śūdra. The
brāhma a caste was founded later by Bharata. Most Śvetāmbara texts (except Paümacariya) list four castes (var a),
using other than the traditional names: 1. ugra, described as guards, 2. bhoga, described as advisors, 3. rājanya,
described as companions, and 4. k$atriya, described as the rest (śe$a). The Vasudevahi i (162) mentions nāga,
described as “those who say what needs to be done”, as the fourth category instead of k$atriya. The
Cauppa amahapurisacariya uniquely gives both the threefold categorisation common in Digambara texts, and the
fourfold Śvetāmbara list. For a discussion of Ṛṣabha as the founder of society, see Mette 1973: 7-24.
Note that in Cauppa amahapurisacariya Ṛṣabha is consecrated before the birth of his children. In the
Paümacariya, Padmapurā a and Paümacariu the consecration occurs prior to Ṛṣabha’s marriage and fatherhood.
28
As in Kalpasūtra 211, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 2.37, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.2.985-1040,
Cauppa amahapurisacariya 39-40, Vasudevahi i 163, Ādipurā a 17.1-71, Paümacariu 2.8.9-10.9, Padmapurā a
3.263-272, Paümacariya 3.122-129, Hariva'śapurā a 9.47-71, Pā avapurā a 2.215-223.
According to Hemacandra and Śīlā#ka, the direct cause of Ṛṣabha’s disgust is a spring festival in the garden, at
which Ṛṣabha starts to reflect upon attachment to sensory objects. In the Digambara texts, Ṛṣabha’s disgust is
engendered by the sensuous dance of an Apsaras, Nīlāñjanā (Nīlāñjasā in Hariva'śa- and Pāndavapurā a), sent by
Indra. In the Ādipurā a, Paümacariu and Pā avapurā a her life as an Apsaras comes to an end during this dance,
causing her to disappear (or die). Raviṣeṇa and Jinasena Punnāṭa do not explicitly mention her dying or disappearing.
The text of the Paümacariya is very unclear here, stating that Ṛṣabha became disgusted with the world upon seeing
nīla' vāsa', “blue cloth” (3.122). This may be an error in the edition.
29
As in Kalpasūtra 211, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 2.37, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.3.1-27,
Cauppa amahapurisacariya 40, Vasudevahi i 163, Ādipurā a 17.72-77&92, Paümacariu 2.10.9-11.3,
Padmapurā a 3.273-283, Paümacariya 3.130-135, Hariva'śapurā a 9.72-74 & 94-95, Pā avapurā a 2.224-225.
According to some Śvetāmbara texts (Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita, Cauppa amahapurisacariya and Vasudevahi i)
this distribution of gifts lasted for a whole year.
30
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 314, Kalpasūtra 211, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 2.37, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.3.28-61,
Cauppa amahapurisacariya 40, Vasudevahi i 163, Ādipurā a 17.81-183, Paümacariu 2.11.1-4, Padmapurā a
3.275-281, Paümacariya 3.132-134, Hariva'śapurā a 9.72-74 & 94-95, Pā avapurā a 2.224-225.
The Padmapurā a has Tilaka instead of Siddhārtha for the name of the park, Paümacariya reads Vasantatilaka. The
Pā avapurā a does not give a name. Paümacariu, Padmapurā a and Hariva'śapurā a agree that this place was
also called Prayāga. In the Paümacariu, Padmapura a and Paümacariya Ṛṣabha’s distribution of possessions takes
place in the park.

7
removing his attire, he pulls out his hair in five fistfulls.31 Four thousand other kings also
renounce the material world.32 Thereupon Ṛṣabha starts his life as an ascetic, without taking any
food or water. The other renunciants are unable to bear the hunger and thirst and soon start eating
roots.33 One day Nami and Vinami, the young sons of Kaccha and Mahākaccha, appear before
Ṛṣabha to ask him for land, since they had been sent away at the time when Ṛṣabha gave away
his territory. When Ṛṣabha does not answer, they stay near him to serve him. Dharaṇendra, the
lord of the Nāgas, appears and gives them the rulership over the Vidyādharas of the Vaitāḍhya
mountains, as well as some vidyā’s, a kind of magical power.34 Thereafter Ṛṣabha continues his
meditation, and after a year of not having eaten, he roams around and reaches the city of
Gajapura, where his fast is broken by the sugarcane juice given by prince Śreyāṃsa, who had
remembered from a previous birth that ascetics need to receive food, thereby initiating the giving
of alms.35 Ṛṣabha continues to roam and perform austerities, and after one thousand years, he
reaches a park Śakaṭamukha near the city of Purimatāla, where he settles under a banyan tree,

31
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 315, Kalpasūtra 211, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 2.37, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.3.6272,
Cauppa amahapurisacariya 40, Vasudevahi i 163, Ādipurā a 17.184-210, Paümacariu 2.11.4-6, Padmapurā a
3.283-285, Paümacariya 3.137-138, Hariva'śapurā a 9.98, Pā avapurā a 2.227.
According to the Śvetāmbara authors, he replaces his ornate clothing with a cloth from the gods (deva-dū$ya).
According to the Digambara texts, he was naked.
Ṛṣabha’s hair was collected by Indra and deposited in the Milkocean. Most Śvetāmbara authors further agree that
Ṛṣabha only pulled out four fistfulls, leaving one tuft of hair to remain. Exceptions here are Paümacariya which is
not specific about the number of fistfulls, and Vasudevahi i, which does not mention the pulling out of the hair at
all.
32
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 313-315, Kalpasūtra 211, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 2.37, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.3.77-
80, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 40, Vasudevahi i 163, Ādipurā a 17.212-218, Paümacariu 2.11.7, Padmapurā a
3.286, Paümacariya 3.139, Hariva'śapurā a 9.100. Some sources list Kaccha, Mahākaccha and Marīci as being
among them.
33
Āvaśyakaniryukti 316, Kalpasūtra 212, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 2.38, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.3.93-123,
Cauppa amahapurisacariya 40, Vasudevahi i 163, Ādipurā a 18.1-63, Paümacariu 2.11.8-13.6, Padmapurā a
3.287-305, Paümacariya 3.139-143, Hariva'śapurā a 9.101-127, Pā avapurā a 2.228.
There is a difference in emphasis between the Śvetāmbara texts, which describe Ṛṣabha wandering from place to
place, and the Digambaras, who stress here and later in the narrative that he performs austerities in the same place.
The texts attribute the origin of different kinds of ascetics to these other renunciants who adopted different lifestyles.
34
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 317, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.3.124-233, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 40,
Vasudevahi i 163-164, Ādipurā a 18.91-19.192, Paümacariu 2.13.7-15.9, Padmapurā a 3.306-339, Paümacariya
3.144-162, Hariva'śapurā a 9.128-134.
35
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 318-322, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.3.234-333, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 40,
Vasudevahi i 164-5, Ādipurā a 20.1-110, Paümacariu 2.16.1-17.7, Padmapurā a 4.1-19, Paümacariya 4.1-14,
Hariva'śapurā a 9.135-202, Pā avapurā a 2.229-242.
Variants for Gajapura include Hāstinagara, Hastināgapura and Ibhapura, all having the same meaning of “elephant-
city”.
According to the Śvetāmbara texts, Śreyāṃsa is the son of Somaprabha and great-grandson of Ṛṣabha, whereas in
Digambara text Śreyāṃsa is the brother of Somaprabha and grandson of Ṛṣabha.

8
begins to meditate and attains kevala-jñāna.36 The gods arrive and construct a samavasara a.37
Ṛṣabhasena (or Vṛṣabhasena) becomes the first of 84 disciples, Gaṇadharas, and head of the
monastic community. Ṛṣabha’s daughter Brāhmī becomes the first nun and a number of other
men and women renounce the world or become members of the lay community.38 After
delivering a sermon, Ṛṣabha sets out to roam the land in the company of his followers.39 As the
kevala of Ṛṣabha coincided with Bharata’s attainment of the divine cakra, “discus”, most texts
hereafter give an account of Bharata’s conquest of the six parts of Bhārata (digvijaya), followed
by the fight with his brother Bāhubali who subsequently renounces the material world.40 On

36
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 335-340, Kalpasūtra 212, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 2.38, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.3.386-
399, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 41, Vasudevahi i 183, Ādipurā a 20.155-272, Paümacariu 3.1.1-3.11,
Padmapurā a 4.21-30, Paümacariya 4.16-19, Hariva'śapurā a 9.205-213, Pā avapurā a 2.243.
According to Jinasena Punnāṭa, the city is named Pūrvatāla instead of Purimatāla, and the park is Śakaṭāsya.
Moreover, he names Vṛṣabhasena, the younger brother of Bharata and soon-to-be Gaṇadhara, as ruler of this city.
Svayambhūdeva (3.9.1-4) agrees that Ṛṣabhasena is the king of Purimatāla.
Before reaching Purimatāla, several Śvetāmbara texts include an account of an evening visit of Ṛṣabha to Takṣaśilā,
where Bāhubali was king. By morning, when Bāhubali wanted to go and visit his father, Ṛṣabha had already left.
Bāhubali thereupon commenced a new custom of paying hommage to the footprints of the Jina (Āvaśyakaniryukti
322-334, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.3.335-385, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 41).
37
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 341, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.3.400-486, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 41, Ādipurā a
22.1-23.196, Paümacariu 3.4.1-7.10, Padmapurā a 4.31, Paümacariya 4.20.
38
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 344-347, Kalpasūtra 213-225, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 2.38, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita
1.3.644-663, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 42, Vasudevahi i 183, Ādipurā a 24.163-181, Paümacariu 3.10.1-3,
Padmapurā a 4.32, Hariva'śapurā a 9.215-220.
According to Śvetāmbara sources, Ṛṣabhasena is a son of Bharata, whereas Digambara texts describe him as the
younger brother of Bharata.
Āvaśyakaniryukti and Hemacandra describe Sundarī as the first laywoman, whereas in Kalpasūtra,
Jambūdvīpaprajñapti, Ādipurā a and Hariva'śapurā a she also becomes a nun. Bharata is named for first layman
in Āvaśyakaniryukti and Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita, whereas Kalpasūtra and Jambūdvīpaprajñapti name Śreyāṃsa
as the first layman. According to Jinasena and Jinasena Punnāṭa, however, Śreyāṃsa renounces the world on the
occasion of Ṛṣabha’s kevala.
Limited to some Śvetāmbara texts is the account of Ṛṣabha’s mother, Marudevī, attaining kevala and, immediately
thereafter, salvation, when she is brought on the back of an elephant to the samavasara a of her son, making her the
first person in this era to attain salvation (Āvaśyakaniryukti 344, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.3.488-534,
Cauppa amahapurisacariya 41-42). According to the Digambaras women cannot attain salvation.
39
Note that in Digambara sources, he speaks with a divya-dhvani, “divine sound”, whereas in Śvetāmbara texts he
produces his speech naturally.
40
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 348, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 3, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.4.1-5.798,
Cauppa amahapurisacariya 42-49, Vasudevahi i 183-189, Ādipurā a 27.1-35.212, Paümacariu 3.13.1-14.8,
Padmapurā a 4.59-77, Paümacariya 4.36-55, Hariva'śapurā a 11.1-102, Pā avapurā a 2.244-246.
Note that Jambūdvīpaprajñapti does not refer to Bāhubali.
Three Śvetāmbara texts (Āvaśyakaniryukti, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita and Cauppa amahapurisacariya) include
the account of how Bharata, upon his return from conquest, finds his sister Sundarī emaciated. He hears from his
retinue that, though she had not been physically allowed to renounce the world together with her sister Brāhmī on the
occasion of Ṛṣabha’s kevala, mentally she did. Bharata gives her permission to become a nun. According to the
Jambūdvīpaprajñapti and the Digambara texts, she had become a nun on the occasion of Ṛṣabha’s kevala.
Bharata is unable to become a full Cakravartin until all his brothers submit themselves to him. 98 brothers leave him
their territories when they renounce the world with Ṛṣabha, without a fight. The last brother, Bāhubali, renounces the
world after a duel with Bharata, eventually becoming a kevalin and joining Ṛṣabha’s assembly on Mount Aṣṭāpada.
According to Raviṣeṇa Bāhubali is the first to attain mok$a in this era.

9
multiple occasions, Bharata visits the samavasara as of Ṛṣabha on Mount Aṣṭāpada, where he
hears sermons on diverse subjects.41 During an ultimate stay on Mount Aṣṭāpada, Ṛṣabha,
together with ten thousand sages commences his final meditation and fast and dies, attaining
eternal emancipation.42 Bharata and the gods come to perform the funerary rites.43

ṚṢABHA AND ŚATRUÑJAYA

With one exception, none of the Ṛṣabha biographies examined above, make any reference to
Śatruñjaya. Nevertheless, the renowned Vividhatīrthakalpa of Jinaprabhasūri, a guidebook to
Śvetāmbara pilgrimage sites, is clear about its association. The Śatruñjayakalpa, the first kalpa in
this composition, begins with an invocation of Ṛṣabha (Nābheya, son of Nābhi), to whom it is
said a temple on top of the mountain is dedicated. The multiple other names of Śatruñjaya are
listed, one of which, Puṇḍarīka, is explained as deriving from the name of an ascetic who attained
liberation there together with five crores of other ascetics (v. 4). There is no further explanation
who this Puṇḍarīka was, or when he lived. Later we learn of images that were installed in his
honour (v. 83-84, 118). The text then mentions that countless great seers, beginning with
Ṛṣabhasena, held assembly there (v. 14). Ṛṣabhasena is known in all the biographies examined as
the first Gaṇadhara of Ṛṣabha, described by Śvetāmbara sources as the son of Bharata - though

Exclusive to some Śvetāmbara texts (Āvaśyakaniryukti 348-361, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.6.1-52,

Cauppa amahapurisacariya 49) is the inclusion of the story of Marīci at this point. Marīci, the son of Bharata, was
an ascetic in Ṛṣabha’s assembly. Unable to adhere to the strict rules of Jain ascetic life, he eventually founded a
heretical order. Marīci was destined to become a prativāsudeva in a future life, and later the last Jina of our era,
Mahāvīra.
41
The Śvetāmbara texts appear to prefer the name Aṣṭāpada, whereas the Digambaras use Kailāsa more often.
Ṛṣabha visits this mountain several times, in between wanderings to other, generally unnamed locations.
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 361 & 367-432, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 3, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.6.53-226 & 1.6.257-
390, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 49, Vasudevahi i 183-189, Ādipurā a 33.1-206, 41.1-83 (no explicit mention of
the location of the samavasara a), Paümacariu 4.13.1-9, Hariva'śapurā a 12.1-5, Pā avapurā a 3.279-283.
42
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 434, Kalpasūtra 227, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 2.40, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.6.459-493,
Cauppa amahapurisacariya 49, Vasudevahi i 185, Ādipurā a 47.322-343, Paümacariu 4.14.9, Paümacariya
4.89, Padmapurā a 4.131, Hariva'śapurā a 12.80-82
43
As in Āvaśyakaniryukti 435, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 2.41-43, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.6.522-565,
Vasudevahi i 185, Ādipurā a 47.344-354.
According to Āvaśyakaniryukti 435, Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.6.566-677, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 50, and
Vasudevahi i 185, Bharata erects funerary monuments for Ṛṣabha on the location of his death (caitya or stūpa).
Bharata too eventually attains kevala and mok$a (Āvaśyakaniryukti 436, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti 3.87,
Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita 1.6.715-755, Cauppa amahapurisacariya 50, Ādipurā a 47.391-398, Paümacariu
4.14.9, Paümacariya 4.89, Padmapurā a 4.131, Hariva'śapurā a 13.1-5, Pā avapurā a 3.285).

10
not explicitely the oldest - and by Digambara sources as a brother of Bharata. He is not named
again, though later it is said that the first Gaṇadhara of the first Jina, the first son of the first
Cakravartin - that is Ṛṣabhasena - was the first to attain salvation on Mount Śatruñjaya (v. 22).
He was followed by many kings from the Ikṣvāku and Vṛṣṇi (lunar) dynasties (v. 85), among
whom Ṛṣabha’s relatives, Nami and Vinami (v. 23), and the Pāṇḍavas (v. 30, 86), who in Jain
Universal History lived at the time of Tīrtha#kara Nemi. The text also claims that all the
Tīrtha#karas, except Nemi, held a sermon on Mount Śatruñjaya (v. 16).

An account linking Śatruñjaya with the time of Ṛṣabha, earlier than the Vividhatīrthakalpa, is
found in the Sārāvalī, one of the canonical Prakīr aka texts, estimated to date from the eleventh
century (Dundas 2002: 88). Far more frequently than Śatruñjaya, this text uses the name
Puṇḍarīka to refer to the mountain, named after Puṇḍarīka, said to be the son of Bharata and
grandson of Ṛṣabha (v. 17). Puṇḍarīka had become a mendicant at the time of Ṛṣabha’s
enlightenment, and was sent by Ṛṣabha himself to Saurāṣṭra to a hill to preach and ultimately
attain salvation there (v. 18-43). Like the Vividhatīrthakalpa it also names Nami and Vinami,
kings of the Ikṣvāku and Soma dynasties, and the Pāṇḍavas as having attained liberation there (v.
50-53). There is no mention of the first Gaṇadhara named Ṛṣabhasena in this text.

The earliest purā ic account linking Ṛṣabha with Śatruñjaya – and the exception to all the texts
discussed previously - is the biography of Ṛṣabha in Hemacandra Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita,
probably composed soon after the Sārāvalī and seemingly influenced by it. It moreover gives
further information on the identity of Puṇḍarīka. Like in most other texts, the description of
Ṛṣabha’s kevala is followed by the foundation of the tīrtha, the fourfold Jain community of
monks, nuns, laymen and –women, and the installation of the Gaṇadharas. At this point,
Hemacandra introduced Ṛṣabhasena, a son of Bharata (1.3.641-7, tr. Johnson 1931, vol. 1: 208),
who requests to be initiated. Ṛṣabha initiates him, together with 499 other sons of Bharata and 70
grandsons, naming only Bharata’s son Marīci explicitely (1.3.649). The text then names Brāhmī
as renouncing the world (1.3.650), implying that she and Ṛṣabhasena became the first members
of the female and male mendicant community. Sundarī is said to have become the first laywoman
(1.3.651), and Bharata himself “adopted laymanship”, implying him to be the first member and
leader of the laymen community (1.3.652). A few verses later Hemacandra recapulitates, listing
the four parts of the community, that is, monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen, and their leaders or
first members: “Sādhus, Puṇḍarīka, etc.; sādhvīs with Brāhmī at their head; laymen, Bharata, etc.;

11
and laywomen with Sundarī at their head – this became the rule of the fourfold congregation at
that time and continues even today – the best house of dharma” (tr. Johnson 1931, vol. 1: 209).44
These verses do not name Ṛṣabhasena, but Puṇḍarīka, as the first monk, suggesting that
Ṛṣabhasena and Puṇḍarīka may be one and the same person. Immediately thereafter (1.3.657),
Hemacandra reverts back to the name Ṛṣabhasena, when he describes how 84 of the monks,
“Ṛṣabhasena and others” (vratinām /$abhasenaprabh/tīnā') became Gaṇadharas and were
taught the scriptures. Some verses further down (1.3.677) Ṛṣabhasena is again named as the first
of the Gaṇadharas. Hereafter he is not mentioned for several chapters. After itinerant periods with
at least three visits to Mount Aṣṭāpada for samavasara as, Hemacandra uniquely inserts an
episode of about sixty verses where Ṛṣabha visits Mount Śatruñjaya. At the commencement of
this episode, the first Gaṇadhara is mentioned again, though his name here is not Ṛṣabhasena, but
Puṇḍarīka, confirming the identity of the two in Hemacandra’s text: “Surrounded by Puṇḍarīka
and the other gaṇadharas, the Lord went purifying the earth under pretext of wandering” (tr.
Johnson 1931, vol 1: 353).45 From here on the text only speaks of Puṇḍarīka, no longer of
Ṛṣabhasena, as the first Gaṇadhara. Hemacandra then lists the places which Ṛṣabha “purifies”
with his presence (392-5), until he reached Śatruñjaya in the land of the Saurāṣṭras. Hemacandra
describes Mount Śatruñjaya in twenty verses (396-416), taking the portrayal in the Sārāvalī as his
basis and enhancing it with poetic embellishments. Like in Sārāvalī 33, Hemacandra commences
with a description of the silver, gold and gemstones present on Śatruñjaya (1.6.396-7), betraying
the same fascination with alchemy which was developed further in later texts such as the
Vividhatīrthakalpa (see Granoff 1999). Similar to Sārāvalī 34-36, Hemacandra lists a great
number of trees flourishing on Śatruñjaya.46 True to the literary genre of mahākāvya of his
composition, he includes some idyllic portraits of Saurāṣṭran women, picking mangoes and
singing songs (1.6.402), parties of Śabara women drinking wine (1.6.406), coconuts crushed by
traveler caravans (1.6.414), etc. Like Sārāvalī 39 he concludes his description by stating the
measurements of the mountain: fifty yojanas in circumference at its base, ten at its peak and eight
yojanas high. Ṛṣabha ascends the mountain and enters the samavasara a, constructed there by

44
sādhava3 pu arīkādyā3 sādhvyo brāhmīpurask/tā3,
śrāvakā bharatādyās tu śrāvikā3 sundarīmukhā3.
caturvidhasya sa*ghasya vyavastheyam tadā ‘bhavat,
adyāpi varttate seya' dharmasya parama' g/ham. 1.3.655-656
45
pu arīkaprabh/tibhir v/to ga adharair atha,
nātho ‘apy acālīt prapunan vihāravyājato mahīm. 1.6.391
46
Note that Hemacandra does not mention the wishing trees referred to in Sārāvalī 37.

12
the gods. After a three-hour sermon, Puṇḍarīka, again named as Ṛṣabha’s supreme Gaṇadhara
(ga adharāgra ī3, 1.6.421), seats himself on Ṛṣabha’s foot stool and himself delivers a sermon
on the Jain dharma. After some time, Ṛṣabha left to wander elsewhere, instructing Puṇḍarīka to
stay on Śatruñjaya: “You remain here on the mountain, surrounded by crores of Munis. Here your
omniscience and that of the followers will appear soon from the power of the place. (1.6.426b-
427, tr. Johnson 1931, vol 1: 356)”. The “power of the place” (k$etraprabhāva 1.6.433) is again
stressed in the words of Puṇḍarīka, when he instructs his crores of followers to engage in a fast
until death. In due course, all attain kevala and liberation, and the gods come from heaven to
celebrate this (1.6.429-445).47 Hemacandra concludes: “Just as the master, the Blessed Ṛṣabha,
was the first Tīrthakṛt, so Mt. Śatruñjaya became the first tīrtha” (1.6.446, Johnson 1931, vol. 1:
357). He then describes how Bharata made a shrine on Mount Śatruñjaya, where he installed
icons of Ṛṣabha and Puṇḍarīka. (1.6.448-449), initiating a long tradition of building activity.48
Hemacandra refers to Śatuñjaya only once more under the name of Mount Vimala, as the place
where the Pāṇḍavas attain salvation (8.12.127). Compared to Hemacandra’s account, the one of
the Vividhatīrthakalpa is greatly amplified. Its claim that all the Tīrtha#karas, except Nemi,
preached there, is nowhere substantiated in the Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita. Moreover, it mentions
that Bharata built no less than twenty-three temples there, in addition to one built for Marudevī
by Bāhubali. Jinabhadra’s description is different from that in the Sārāvalī and Hemacandra’s
text, and excludes the list of trees growing there, though there is a reference to the mines of
quicksilver and gems and to herbs (v. 9) on the mountain, and the measurements are the same (v.
13).

Hemacandra’s inclusion of this description of Mount Śatruñjaya is exceptional. Like most of the
other Ṛṣabha biographies, the Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita too emphasizes Mount Aṣṭāpada as the
single most significant place associated with Ṛṣabha, mentioning at least four individual visits
and samavasara as there between his itinerant periods. Though other places visited by Ṛṣabha
after he became a kevalin are listed by Hemacandra and other authors, Mount Aṣṭāpada appears

47
Note that Sārāvalī 40 explicitely mentions that Puṇḍarīka had five crores of followers. Hemacandra is less
specific.
48
Note that Sārāvalī 46-47 explicitely mentions that Ṛṣabha later returned to Śatruñjaya for a samavasara a to
declare it the first tīrtha.

13
to have been the only place where he sermoned to audiences of gods, kings, etc., with the
exception of Mount Śatruñjaya in the Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita.49

Later Śvetāmbara texts develop the association between Ṛṣabha and Śatruñjaya even further, a
prime example being the Śatruñjayamāhātmya by Dhaneśvarasūri, dating from the fourteenth
century at the earliest.50 This text, which emulates the hindu purā ic genre of the māhātmya,
glorifying, among others, sacred sites, consists of narratives, mostly from Jain Universal History,
connected with Śatruñjaya. Of its fourteen chapters, six deal with Ṛṣabha or his immediate
descendents. The composition opens by paying hommage to the Tīrtha#karas Ṛṣabha, Śānti,
Nemi, Pārśva and Mahāvīra, after which the author praises the Gaṇadhara Puṇḍarīka, who, on
Ṛṣabha’s orders, is said to have composed the first māhātmya on Śatruñjaya consisting of one
hundred thousand lines (pāda). Dhaneśvarasūri’s version is said to be based on a summary of this
original made by Mahāvīra’s Gaṇadhara Sudharma (1.1-15). These statements accord the highest
authority to the Gaṇadhara Puṇḍarīka. The narrative setting is that of a visit by Mahāvīra to
Śatruñjaya, where the Indra of Saudharma enquires about the history, etc. of the site (1.26-286).
The third chapter commences the biographies of Ṛṣabha and his relatives with the appearance of
the Kulakaras, Ṛṣabha’s birth, consecration as king, his renunciation and kevala, as well as
Bharata’s conquest, and the renunciation of his brothers. On the occasion of Ṛṣabha’s kevala and
the installation of the four parts of the community and the Gaṇadharas, the first Gaṇadhara is
initially named Ṛṣabhasena (3.256), some verses later (3.269) referred to as Puṇḍarīka, and then
again named Ṛṣabhasena (3.273), apparently following Hemacandra’s text closely.51 The fourth
chapter describes the battle between Bharata and Bāhubali, and Bharata’s visit to Śatruñjaya. The
fifth chapter elaborates on Bharata’s pilgrimages and building activity on Śatruñjaya and other
sacred sites. The sixth chapter portrays the death of Ṛṣabha and Bharata on Mount Aṣṭāpada, and
the biography of Bharata’s son and successor Sūryayaśas. The seventh chapter closes the stories

49
Uniquely, the Vasudevahi i twices describe Ṛṣabha visiting other places for special occasions: he comes to
Vinītā for Bharata’s abhi$eka as Cakravartin (183), and later to Takṣaśīla, when Bāhubali renounced the world (187).
In the other texts, Bharata periodically goes to Mount Aṣṭāpada to hear a sermon and praise the Jina, and Bāhubali,
after attaining kevala joins Ṛṣabha’s community on Mount Aṣṭāpada.
50
The early date (5th to 7th c.) assigned to this text by Albrecht Weber (1858: 8-13) has in recent decades
convincingly been refuted by M.A. Dhaky (2002: vol 1, 116 & 120n12; quoted by Cort 2010: 147).
51
Note that Weber (1858: 26), and in his wake Burgess (1901: 248), mistake this Ṛṣabhasena as referring to Ṛṣabha
himself. The text is however very clear that it concerns the son of Bharata who requests Ṛṣabha for initiation as a
monk. (...bharata-na'dana3 utthāya /$abhasena3 svāmina' ta' vyajijñapat. 3.256).

14
of Ṛṣabha and his direct descendents with an the account of two grandsons of Ṛṣabha, Drāviḍa
and Vālikhilla, who undertook pilgrimages to Śatruñjaya.52

EARLIER MENTIONS OF ŚATRUÑJAYA

Śatruñjaya hardly finds any mention in the earlier Śvetāmbara canonical texts.53 The only
attestation I could retrace was to the sixth A*ga, the 7āyādhammakahāo (Settujja in sūtra 130),
where it is named as the site of the final liberation of the Pāṇḍavas. Śatruñjaya is moreover not
entirely absent from the early Jaina purā as either, albeit without any connection to Ṛṣabha.
Purā ic poets, both Digambara and Śvetāmbara, from before the eleventh century, such as
Guṇabhadra (9th c.), Jinasena Punnāṭa (8th c.) and Śīlā#ka (9th c.), all follow 7āyādhammakahāo
in naming Mount Śatruñjaya as the site where the Pāṇḍavas from the Jaina version of the
Mahābhārata meet their end.54 Because these characters are not considered true Śalākā-puruṣas,
the poets do not alot many words to the description of this site or of the event. After the
Śvetāmbaras began to associate Mount Śatruñjaya with Ṛṣabha from about the eleventh century
onwards, for Digambaras it simply remained the site where these Pāṇḍavas attained liberation. As
such for Digambaras too it is still a siddha-k$etra, “place of final liberation”, and therefore
worthy of respect.

The history of the rise to significance of Mount Śatruñjaya as a sacred site runs parallel to the
additions and changes in the Śvetāmbara accounts of the Ṛṣabha story. Despite the references to a
sacred mountain Śatruñjaya before the tenth century mentioned above, the oldest (surviving)
inscription on the site dates from the year 1006, and is found on an icon representing Puṇḍarīka,
located near the main Ādīśvara temple (Dundas 2002: 223). Around the same time, from about
the eleventh century onwards, significant changes occur in Śvetāmbara Ṛṣabha biographies,
beginning with the Sārāvalī, and with Hemacandra’s Tri$a$%iśalākāpuru$acarita as most
authoritative representative. These texts add visits and sermons of Ṛṣabha on Śatruñjaya and
describe how his chief Gaṇadhara, who is renamed Puṇḍarīka, attains liberation there, granting

52
Drāviḍa and Vālikhilla do not appear as grandsons of Ṛṣabha in the older purā ic tradition. They are, however,
mentioned in the Vividhatīrthakalpa as kings who attained liberation on Śatruñjaya (Śatruñjayakalpa 24, as Draviḍa
and Vālikhilya).
53
See Hawon Ku 2007: 27-30 for a discussion on the absence of Śatruñjaya from the Śvetāmbara canon.
54
See Uttarapurā a 72.267, Hariva'śapurā a 65.18, Caüppa amahāpurisacariya 207.

15
the secondary name Puṇḍarīka to the site. None of the earlier biographies of Ṛṣabha mention
Puṇḍarīka, but instead agree on Ṛṣabhasena or Vṛṣabhasena as the name of Ṛṣabha’s first
Gaṇadhara. Digambara accounts did not undergo this change, both regarding the name of
Ṛṣabha’s Gaṇadhara as Ṛṣabhasena and the sacredness of Mount Śatruñjaya as the place on
which the Pāṇḍavas attained liberation, and which, as far as they are concerned was never visited
by Ṛṣabha.

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