Marudevë was the mother of the first Jain Tirthankara, Rishabhanatha and the queen of King Nabhi. According to the à ÂvetÃÂmbara canon, she was the first person to have attained Moksha in the current Avasarpiá¹Âë.
The enlivening of the embryo through the descent of the future Tërthankara's soul in the mortal body is celebrated as Garbha KalyÃÂnaka At this time, Queen Marudevi dreamt fourteen auspicious dreams (à ÂvetÃÂmbara belief) or sixteen auspicious dreams (Digambara belief). According to Digambara accounts, King NabhirÃÂja, who was endowed with clairvoyance, explained the significance of these dreams to her in the morning. As per à ÂvetÃÂmbara monk, Acharya Hemachandrasuri's Triá¹£aá¹£á¹Âià ÂalÃÂkÃÂpuruá¹£acarita, celestial beings, including Indra, interpreted and explained the meaning of these dreams to Queen Marudevi as described below: -
The interpretation of 16 dreams as believed by the Digambara sect is as follows: -
After these sixteen dreams she saw a large, beautiful bull entering her open mouth, indicative of a pious and extraordinary soul entering her womb.
As per the à ÂvetÃÂmbara tradition, Marudevi attained moksha while sitting on an elephant. According to the à ÂvetÃÂmbara canon, MarudeviâÂÂs eyesight had become weak after she constantly cried in pain of separation from her son Rishabhanatha. One day, Bharata came to meet Marudevi, his paternal grandmother and then, they received the news that Rishabhanatha had attained omniscience. Upon hearing the news, Bharata told Marudevi, âÂÂOh my grandmother let me show you the glory of your son RishabhaâÂÂ. Bharata then mounted Marudevi on an elephant and accompanied her to Purimatala City, where the samavasarana of Rishabha was established by demigods. Bharata started narrating the glory and splendor of Rishabha and how the demigods were present at his service. After hearing the glory of her son, tears of joy rolled out of MarudeviâÂÂs eyes which healed her weakened eyesight and she saw her son sitting on a throne inside samavasarana with millions of demigods at his service. At the same time, she noticed that despite having such a grand splendor, her son wasnâÂÂt interested in all these materialistic things and he also didnâÂÂt show any attachment towards his mother, Marudevi. Upon witnessing this, she got self-realization, she destroyed all her karmas and attained omniscience. At the very next moment, she attained moksha simultaneously while she was still sitting on the elephant. The demigods immersed her body in the ocean of milk to perform the final rites. à ÂvetÃÂmbara canon says that Marudevi was the first person in this Avasarpini to attain salvation.
Marudevi is mentioned in the Hindu scripture Bhagavata Purana as mother of Rishabhanatha.