Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.4.8

atha ha bhagavān ṛṣabhadevaḥ sva-varṣaḿ karma-kṣetram anumanyamānaḥ pradarśita-gurukula-vāso labdha-varair gurubhir anujñāto gṛhamedhināḿ dharmān anuśikṣamāṇo jayantyām indra-dattāyām ubhaya-lakṣaṇaḿ karma samāmnāyāmnātam abhiyuñjann ātmajānām ātma-samānānāḿ śataḿ janayām āsa

SYNONYMS

atha — thereupon (after the departure of his father); ha — indeed; bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ṛṣabha-devaḥ — Ṛṣabhadeva; sva — His own; varṣam — kingdom; karma-kṣetram — the field of activities; anumanyamānaḥ — accepting as; pradarśita — shown as an example; guru-kula-vāsaḥ — lived at the gurukula; labdha — having achieved; varaiḥ — gifts; gurubhiḥ — by the spiritual masters; anujñātaḥ — being ordered; gṛha-medhinām — of the householders; dharmān — duties; anuśikṣamāṇaḥ — teaching by example; jayantyām — in His wife, Jayantī; indra-dattāyām — offered by Lord Indra; ubhaya-lakṣaṇam — of both types; karma — activities; samāmnāyāmnātam — mentioned in the scriptures; abhiyuñjan — performing; ātmajānām — sons; ātma-samānānām — exactly like Himself; śatam — one hundred; janayām āsa — begot.

TRANSLATION

After Nābhi Mahārāja departed for Badarikāśrama, the Supreme Lord, Ṛṣabhadeva, understood that His kingdom was His field of activities. He therefore showed Himself as an example and taught the duties of a householder by first accepting brahmacarya under the direction of spiritual masters. He also went to live at the spiritual masters' place, gurukula. After His education was finished, He gave gifts (guru-dakṣiṇā) to His spiritual masters and then accepted the life of a householder. He took a wife named Jayantī and begot one hundred sons who were as powerful and qualified as He Himself. His wife Jayantī had been offered to Him by Indra, the King of heaven. Ṛṣabhadeva and Jayantī performed householder life in an exemplary way, carrying out ritualistic activities ordained by the śruti and smṛti śāstra.

PURPORT

Being an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Ṛṣabhadeva had nothing to do with material affairs. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, paritrāṇāya sādhūnāḿ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām: [Bg. 4.8] the purpose of an incarnation is to liberate His devotees and to stop the demoniac activities of nondevotees. These are the two functions of the Supreme Lord when He incarnates. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said that in order to preach, one must live a practical life and show people how to do things. Āpani ācari' bhakti śikhāimu sabāre. One cannot teach others unless he behaves the same way himself. Ṛṣabhadeva was an ideal king, and He took His education in the gurukula, although He was already educated because the Supreme Lord is omniscient. Although Ṛṣabhadeva had nothing to learn from gurukula, He went there just to teach the people in general how to take an education from the right source, from Vedic teachers. He then entered householder life and lived according to the principles of Vedic knowledge — śruti and smṛti. In his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.10) Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, quoting the Skanda Purāṇa, states:

śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi-

pañcarātra-vidhiḿ vinā

aikāntikī harer bhaktir

utpātāyaiva kalpate

[BRS 1.2.101]

Human society must follow the instructions received from śruti and smṛti, Vedic literature. Practically applied in life this is worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to the pāñcarātrika-vidhi. Every human being must advance his spiritual life and at the end return home, back to Godhead. Mahārāja Ṛṣabhadeva strictly followed all these principles. He remained an ideal gṛhastha and taught His sons how to become perfect in spiritual life. These are some examples of how He ruled the earth and completed His mission as an incarnation.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness