Text 28]
Lord Rṣabhadeva's Teachings
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sonality;  parama-suhṛt —everyone's sublime well-wisher;  bhagavān —the Supreme Personality of Godhead;  ṛṣabha-apadeśaḥ —who is celebrated and known as Rṣabhadeva;  upaśama-śilānām —of persons who have no desire for material enjoyment;  uparata-karmaṇām —who are no longer interested in fruitive activities;  mahā-munīnām —who are  sannyāsīs ;  bhakti —devotional service;  jñāna —perfect knowledge;  vairāgya —detachment;  lakṣaṇam —characterized by:  pāramahaṁsya —of the best of human beings;  dharmam —the duties;  upaśikṣamāṇaḥ —instructing;  sva-tanaya —of His sons;  śata —hundred;  jyeṣtham —the eldest;  parama-bhāgavatam —a topmost devotee of the Lord;  bhagavatjana-parāyaṇam —a follower of the devotees of the Lord,  brāhmaṇas  and  Vaiṣṇavas ;  bharatam —Bharata Mahārāja;  dharaṇi-pālanāya —with a view to ruling the world;  abhiṣicya —placing on the throne;  svayam —personally;  bhavane —at home;  eva —although;  urvarita —remaining;  śarīra-mātra —the body only;  parigrahaḥ —accepting;  unmattaḥ —a madman;  iva —exactly like;  gagana-paridhānaḥ —taking the sky as His dress;  prakīrṇa-keśaḥ —having scattered hair;  ātmani —in Himself:  āropita —keeping;  āhavanīyaḥ —the Vedic fire;  brahmāvartāt —from the place known as Brahmāvarta;  pravavrāja —began to travel all over the world.
TRANSLATION
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thus the great well-wisher of everyone, the Supreme Lord Rṣabhadeva, instructed His own sons. Although they were perfectly educated and cultured, He instructed them just to set an example of how a father should instruct his sons before retiring from family life. Sannyāsīs, who are no longer bound by fruitive activity and who have taken to devotional service after all their material desires have been vanquished, also learn by these instructions. Lord Rṣabhadeva instructed His one hundred sons, of whom the eldest, Bharata, was a very advanced devotee and a follower of Vaiṣṇavas. In order to rule the whole world, the Lord enthroned His eldest son on the royal seat. Thereafter, although still at home, Lord Rṣabhadeva lived like a madman, naked and with disheveled hair. Then the Lord took the sacrificial fire within Himself, and He left Brahmāvarta to tour the whole world.