King Nabhi or Nabhi Rai was the 14th or the last ''
Kulakara'' of ''
avasarpini'' (the descending half of the cosmic time cycle in
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...
and the one in which the world is said to be at present). He was the father of
Rishabhanatha
Rishabhanatha (Devanagari: ऋषभनाथ), also Rishabhadeva (Devanagari: ऋषभदेव, ), Rishabha (Devanagari: ऋषभ, ) or Ikshvaku (Devanagari: इक्ष्वाकु, ''Ikṣvāku''), is the first (Supreme preacher) ...
, the first ''
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 ...
'' (founder of Jainism) of present ''avasarpini''. According to Jain text ''
Ādi purāṇa'', Nabhirāja lived for 1
crore
Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...
''purva'' and his height was 525 ''dhanusha'' (long bows).
According to
Jain literature
Jain literature () 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 canonical ''Jain Agamas'', which are wri ...
, India was known as ''
Nābhivarṣa'' (land of Nabhi) before being renamed as ''Bhāratavarṣa'' after
Bharata, the son of Rishabhanatha.
Life
King Nabhi or Nabhi Rai was the fourteenth or the last ''
Kulakara'' of ''avasarpini''. He taught the men how to cut the ''nabhi'' (
navel chords) 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 (Devanagari: ऋषभनाथ), also Rishabhadeva (Devanagari: ऋषभदेव, ), Rishabha (Devanagari: ऋषभ, ) or Ikshvaku (Devanagari: इक्ष्वाकु, ''Ikṣvāku''), is the first (Supreme preacher) ...
, the first ''tirthankara'' of present ''avasarpini''. According to Jain text ''
Ādi purāṇa'', Nabhirāja lived for 1
crore
Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...
''purva'' and his height was 525 ''dhanusha'' (long bows). Nabhi is depicted as one of the Manus in ''
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 ...
''. He is shown as the great-grandson of
Svayambhuva, the first
Manu.
According to
Jain literature
Jain literature () 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 canonical ''Jain Agamas'', which are wri ...
, India was known as ''
Nābhivarṣa'' (land of Nabhi) before being renamed as ''Bhāratavarṣa'' after
Bharata, the son of Rishabhanatha.
See also
*
Salakapurusa
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Solar dynasty
Jain giants
Rishabhanatha
{{Jainism-stub