वासो लब्धवरैर्गुरुभिरनुज्ञातो गृहमेधिनां धर्माननुशिक्षमाणो जयन्त्यामिन्द्र
दत्तायामुभयलक्षणं कर्म समाम्नायाम्नातमभियुञ्जन्नात्मजानामात्मसमानानां
शतं जनयामास ॥८॥
atha ha bhagavÄn ṛṣabhadevaḥ sva-vará¹£aá¹ karma-ká¹£etram anumanyamÄnaḥ pradarÅ›ita-gurukula-vÄso labdha-varair gurubhir anujñÄto gá¹›hamedhinÄá¹ dharmÄn anuÅ›iká¹£amÄṇo jayantyÄm indra-dattÄyÄm ubhaya-laká¹£aṇaá¹ karma samÄmnÄyÄmnÄtam abhiyuñjann ÄtmajÄnÄm Ätma-samÄnÄnÄá¹ Å›ataá¹ janayÄm Äsa
atha - thereupon (after the departure of his father); ha - indeed; bhagavÄn - the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ṛṣabha-devaḥ - Ṛṣabhadeva; sva - His own; vará¹£am - kingdom; karma-ká¹£etram - the field of activities; anumanyamÄnaḥ - accepting as; pradarÅ›ita - shown as an example; guru-kula-vÄsaḥ - lived at the gurukula; labdha - having achieved; varaiḥ - gifts; gurubhiḥ - by the spiritual masters; anujñÄtaḥ - being ordered; gá¹›ha-medhinÄm - of the householders; dharmÄn - duties; anuÅ›iká¹£amÄṇaḥ - teaching by example; jayantyÄm - in His wife, JayantÄ«; indra-dattÄyÄm - offered by Lord Indra; ubhaya-laká¹£aṇam - of both types; karma - activities; samÄmnÄyÄmnÄtam - mentioned in the scriptures; abhiyuñjan - performing; ÄtmajÄnÄm - sons; Ätma-samÄnÄnÄm - exactly like Himself; Å›atam - one hundred; janayÄm Äsa - begot.
After NÄbhi MahÄrÄja departed for BadarikÄÅ›rama, 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-daká¹£iṇÄ) to His spiritual masters and then accepted the life of a householder. He took a wife named JayantÄ« and begot one hundred sons who were as powerful and qualified as He Himself. His wife JayantÄ« had been offered to Him by Indra, the King of heaven. Ṛṣabhadeva and JayantÄ« performed householder life in an exemplary way, carrying out ritualistic activities ordained by the Å›ruti and smá¹›ti Å›Ästra.
Being an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Ṛṣabhadeva had nothing to do with material affairs. As stated in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ, paritrÄṇÄya sÄdhÅ«nÄá¹ vinÄÅ›Äya ca duá¹£ká¹›tÄm: 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. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu has said that in order to preach one must live a practical life and show people how to do things. Ä€pani Äcari’ bhakti Å›ikhÄimu sabÄre. 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 — Å›ruti and smá¹›ti. In his Bhakti-rasÄmá¹›ta-sindhu (1.2.101) ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«, quoting the Skanda PurÄṇa, states:
Å›ruti-smá¹›ti-purÄṇÄdi-
pañcarÄtra-vidhiá¹ vinÄ
aikÄntikÄ« harer bhaktir
utpÄtÄyaiva kalpate
Human society must follow the instructions received from Å›ruti and smá¹›ti, Vedic literature. Practically applied in life this is worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to the pÄñcarÄtrika-vidhi. Every human being must advance his spiritual life and at the end return home, back to Godhead. MahÄrÄja Ṛṣabhadeva strictly followed all these principles. He remained an ideal gá¹›hastha 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.
