Marudevī was the mother of the first Jain

Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...

Rishabhanatha Rishabhanatha (Devanagari: ऋषभनाथ), also Rishabhadeva (Devanagari: ऋषभदेव, ), Rishabha (Devanagari: ऋषभ, ) or Ikshvaku (Devanagari: इक्ष्वाकु, ''Ikṣvāku''), is the first (Supreme preacher) ...

and the queen of King Nabhi. According to the Śvetāmbara canon, she was the first person to have attained

Moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...

in the current

Avasarpiṇī ''Avasarpiṇī'' (), is the descending half of the cosmic time cycle in Jainism and the one in which the world is said to be at present. According to Jain texts the ''Avasarpiṇī'' is marked by a decline in goodness and religion. The ascen ...

Birth of Rishabhanatha

The enlivening of the embryo through the descent of the future Tīrthankara's soul in the mortal body is celebrated as ''Garbha Kalyānaka'' At this time, Queen Marudevi dreamt fourteen auspicious dreams (

Śvetāmbara The Śvetāmbara (; also spelled Shwetambara, Shvetambara, Svetambara or Swetambara) is one of the two main branches of Jainism, the other being the Digambara. ''Śvetāmbara'' in Sanskrit means "white-clad", and refers to its ascetics' practi ...

belief) or sixteen auspicious dreams (

Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major Jain schools and branches, schools of Jainism, the other being ''Śvetāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic pract ...

belief). According to Digambara accounts, King Nabhirāja, who was endowed with clairvoyance, explained the significance of these dreams to her in the morning. As per Śvetāmbara monk, Acharya Hemachandrasuri's Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacarita, celestial beings, including

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

, interpreted and explained the meaning of these dreams to Queen Marudevi as described below: - The interpretation of 16 dreams as believed by the Digambara sect is as follows: - After these sixteen dreams she saw a large, beautiful bull entering her open mouth, indicative of a pious and extraordinary soul entering her womb.

Omniscience & salvation

As per the

tradition, Marudevi attained moksha while sitting on an elephant. According to the Śvetāmbara canon, Marudevi’s eyesight had become weak after she constantly cried in pain of separation from her son

. One day, Bharata came to meet Marudevi, his paternal grandmother and then, they received the news that Rishabhanatha had attained

omniscience Omniscience is the property of possessing maximal knowledge. In Hinduism, Sikhism and the Abrahamic religions, it is often attributed to a divine being or an all-knowing spirit, entity or person. In Jainism, omniscience is an attribute that any ...

. Upon hearing the news, Bharata told Marudevi, “Oh my grandmother let me show you the glory of your son Rishabha”. Bharata then mounted Marudevi on an elephant and accompanied her to Purimatala City, where the

samavasarana In Jainism, Samavasarana or Samosharana ("Refuge to All") is the divine preaching hall of the Tirthankara, stated to have more than 20,000 stairs in it. The word ''samavasarana'' is derived from two words, ''sama'', meaning general and ''avasar ...

of Rishabha was established by demigods. Bharata started narrating the glory and splendor of Rishabha and how the demigods were present at his service. After hearing the glory of her son, tears of joy rolled out of Marudevi’s eyes which healed her weakened eyesight and she saw her son sitting on a throne inside samavasarana with millions of demigods at his service. At the same time, she noticed that despite having such a grand splendor, her son wasn’t interested in all these materialistic things and he also didn’t show any attachment towards his mother, Marudevi. Upon witnessing this, she got self-realization, she destroyed all her karmas and attained omniscience. At the very next moment, she attained

moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...

simultaneously while she was still sitting on the elephant. The demigods immersed her body in the ocean of milk to perform the final rites. Śvetāmbara canon says that Marudevi was the first person in this Avasarpini to attain salvation.

In literature

Marudevi is mentioned in the Hindu scripture ''

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...

Birth of Rishabhanatha

Omniscience & salvation

In literature

See also

References

Citations

Sources