Rsabha

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In Hinduism, Lord Rsabha was incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He appeared in the womb of Merudevi, the wife of King Nabhi. The King underwent many severe austerities and penance to please Lord Visnu to get a son like Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu accepted his plea and thus appeared as Lord Rsabha - son of King Nabhi and Merudevi.

Jains accept Lord Rsabha as Rishabha, their first Tirthankar. Hindus regard their practices are atheistic and contradictory to the teachings of Lord Rsabha in the Srimad Bhagavatam.^[1]

[edit] Children

He followed the orders of His guru and accepted a wife named Jayanti, who had been given to Him by the King of heaven, Indra. He begot a hundred sons in the womb of Jayanti. Of these hundred sons, the eldest was known as Bharata. Since the reign of Maharaja Bharata, the Indian sub-continent has been called Bharata-varsa. Rsabhadeva's other sons were headed by Kusavarta, Ilavarta, Brahmavarta, Malaya, Ketu, Bhadrasena, Indrasprk, Vidarbha and Kikata. There were also other sons named Kavi, Havi, Antariksa, Prabuddha, Pippalayana, Avirhotra, Drumila, Camasa and Karabhajana. Instead of ruling the kingdom, these nine became mendicant preachers, following the religious precepts of the Bhagavatam. Their characteristics and activities are described in the Eleventh Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam during the talks between Vasudeva and Narada at Kuruksetra. To teach the general populace, King Rsabhadeva performed many sacrifices and taught His sons how to rule the citizens.^[2]

Thus Lord Rsabha was an ideal father, who gave ept instructions to his sons. The instructions of Lord Rsabha to his sons are present in Canto 5, Chapter 5 of the Srimad Bhagavatam.