King Nabhi or Nabhi Rai was the 14th or the last ''
Kulakara
In Jainism, ''kulakara'' (also ''manu'') refers to the wise men who teach people how to perform the laborious activities for survival. According to Jain Cosmology, when the third ''ara'' (epoch) of the '' avasarpani'' (present descending half-cy ...
'' of ''
avasarpini'' (the descending half of the cosmic time cycle in Jainism and the one in which the world is said to be at present). He was the father of
Rishabhanatha
Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain c ...
, the first ''
tirthankara
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passag ...
'' (founder of Jainism) of present ''avasarpini''. According to Jain text ''
Ādi purāṇa
Ādi purāṇa is a 9th century Sanskrit poem composed by Jinasena, a Digambara monk. It deals with the life of Rishabhanatha, the first ''Tirthankara''.
History
Adi Purana was composed by Jinasena (a Digambara monk) as a Sanskrit poem praising ...
'', Nabhirāja lived for 1
crore
A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...
''purva'' and his height was 525 ''dhanusha'' (long bows).
According to
Jain literature
Jain literature (Sanskrit: जैन साहित्य) refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the ca ...
, India was known as ''
Nābhivarṣa
The Republic of India has two principal short names, each of which is historically significant, "India" and "Bharata". A third name, "Hindustān", is sometimes an alternative name for the region comprising most of the modern Indian states o ...
'' (land of Nabhi) before being renamed as ''Bhāratavarṣa'' after
Bharata, the son of
Rishabhanatha
Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain c ...
.
Life
King Nabhi or Nabhi Rai was the fourteenth or the last ''
Kulakara
In Jainism, ''kulakara'' (also ''manu'') refers to the wise men who teach people how to perform the laborious activities for survival. According to Jain Cosmology, when the third ''ara'' (epoch) of the '' avasarpani'' (present descending half-cy ...
'' of ''avasarpini''. He taught the men how to cut the ''nabhi'' (
navel chord
In placental mammals, the umbilical cord (also called the navel string, birth cord or ''funiculus umbilicalis'') is a conduit between the developing embryo or fetus and the placenta. During prenatal development, the umbilical cord is physiologic ...
s) and organised them into social polity. Marudevi, queen of king Nabhi, saw the
14 auspicious dreams. When she shared her dreams with the king, he explained that she will give birth to a ''tirthankara''. She then gave birth to
Rishabhanatha
Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain c ...
, the first ''tirthankara'' of present ''avasarpini''. According to Jain text ''
Ādi purāṇa
Ādi purāṇa is a 9th century Sanskrit poem composed by Jinasena, a Digambara monk. It deals with the life of Rishabhanatha, the first ''Tirthankara''.
History
Adi Purana was composed by Jinasena (a Digambara monk) as a Sanskrit poem praising ...
'', Nabhirāja lived for 1
crore
A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...
''purva'' and his height was 525 ''dhanusha'' (long bows). Nabhi is depicted as one of the Manus in ''
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sa ...
''. He is shown as the great-grandson of
Svayambhuva, the first
Manu
Manu may refer to:
Geography
* Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region
**Manú National Park, Peru
** Manú River, in southeastern Peru
* Manu River (Tripura), which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh
*Manu Tem ...
.
According to
Jain literature
Jain literature (Sanskrit: जैन साहित्य) refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the ca ...
, India was known as ''
Nābhivarṣa
The Republic of India has two principal short names, each of which is historically significant, "India" and "Bharata". A third name, "Hindustān", is sometimes an alternative name for the region comprising most of the modern Indian states o ...
'' (land of Nabhi) before being renamed as ''Bhāratavarṣa'' after
Bharata, the son of Rishabhanatha.
See also
*
Salakapurusa
According to the Jain cosmology, the śalākapuruṣa ( sa, शलाकपुरूष) "illustrious or worthy persons" are 63 illustrious beings who appear during each half-time cycle. They are also known as the ''triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuru ...
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
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*
Solar dynasty
Jain giants
Rishabhanatha
{{Jainism-stub