Supplementary Note
483
any common man. It is also stated in  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  that the stool and urine of Rṣabhadeva were full of transcendental fragrance. One may imitate Rṣabhadeva, but he cannot imitate Him by passing stool that is fragrant.
The activities of Rṣabhadeva, therefore, do not support the claims of a certain class of men known as  arhat , who sometimes advertise that they are followers of Rṣabhadeva. How can they be followers of Rṣabhadeva while they act against the Vedic principles? Śukadeva Gosvāmī has related that after hearing about the characteristics of Lord Rṣabhadeva, the King of Koṅka, Veṅka and Kuṭaka initiated a system of religious principles known as  arhat . These principles were not in accord with Vedic principles, and therefore they are called  pāṣaṇḍa-dharma . The members of the  arhat  community considered Rṣabhadeva's activities material. However, Rṣabhadeva is an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore He is on the transcendental platform, and no one can compare to Him.
Rṣabhadeva personally exhibited the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  (5.6.8),  dāvānalas tad vanam ālelihānaḥ saha tena dadāha : at the conclusion of Rṣabhadeva's pastimes, an entire forest and the Lord's body were burned to ashes in a great forest fire. In the same way, Rṣabhadeva burned people's ignorance to ashes. He exhibited the characteristics of a  paramahaṁsa  in His instructions to His sons. The principles of the  arhat  community, however, do not correspond to the teachings of Rṣabhadeva.
Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa remarks that in the Eighth Canto of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  there is another description of Rṣabhadeva, but that Rṣabhadeva is different from the one described in this canto.
END OF THE FIFTH CANTO