Adinātha (also called Rishabhanātha, Ādinātha, Adishvara) is the first Tirthankara of the present time cycle in Jainism. Here is the basic, authentic outline of his life as taught in Jain scriptures, with note of differences between Digambar and Śvetambar traditions.

Key points (purva bhava to moksha)

• Birth and family

- Born in Ayodhyā (modern-day Ayodhya) to Nabhi (Nabhirāja) and Marudevī. - He belongs to the Ikṣvāku dynasty and is regarded as the founder of Jain dharma in the present half-cycle. In many texts he is called Ādinātha, the first teacher (tirthankara) of this era.

• Early life and rule

- As a prince, he grew up amid great prosperity and led his people with righteousness. He is sometimes described as a Chakravartin (universal monarch) in some narratives, but the core Jain view emphasizes his role as a supreme teacher who established kevala-jnāna (omniscience) and the path of liberated living.

• Renunciation and renown for spiritual discipline

- After many virtues and years of righteous rule, he renounced worldly life to seek mokṣa (liberation) and to teach others the Jain path. - He practiced intense austerities and meditation. He is said to have practised fasting and disciplined self-control over a long period, preparing for kevala-jnāna.

• Kevala-jnāna (omniscience)

- He attained kevala-jnāna—perfect, infinite knowledge—on a specially auspicious occasion and began to teach the Jain path to all beings.

• Teachings and companions

- He preached the core Jain principles: right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct; nonviolence (ahimsa); truth; non-attachment; and the conduct appropriate to a liberated soul. - His first disciples included Ganadharas who helped him organize the teachings and spread the doctrine. The number and names of Ganadharas vary a little between texts, but they form the core group that preserved his teachings.

• Major offspring and continuities

- His son Bharata (Bharata Chakravarti) and Bahubali are prominent figures in later Jain stories. Bahubali is especially famous for his meditation and the statue at Śravaṇabelgola; Bharata is noted as a great king and ancestor of the Bharata lineage.

• Path to mokṣa (nirvāṇa)

- Adinātha’s body and soul continued their journey towards liberation. After long years of austere practice and guidance to others, his soul attained nirvāṇa (mokṣa) by shedding all karmic bonds. - The traditional account places his mokṣa at Mount Ashtapād (often identified with a holy peak in some traditions) where the soul remained in siddha-loka, free from rebirth.

• Death and siddhi

- Upon attaining mokṣa, his liberated soul remains as a siddha (perfect being) in the Jain cosmology.

• Devotees and symbols

- His emblem is the bull. His yaksha (attendant spirit) is Goumukh and his yakshini (female attendant) is Chakreshvarī. - The banyan tree (vatavrikṣa) is often associated with his life events and devotion.

• Important dates and timing (context)

- Jain sources present Adinātha as the primordial Tirthankara of this time cycle, with a long, mythic chronology and great ages for Tirthankaras. The exact numbers differ across texts, but the traditional emphasis is on spiritual primacy and foundational teaching.

Notes on differences between Digambar and Śvetāmbara traditions

• Both traditions agree on the essential role of Adinātha as the first Tirthankara and on many core events (birth, renunciation, kevala-jnāna, teaching, mokṣa).
• Details such as exact dates, the sequence of events, and some narrative embellishments vary:

- Śvetāmbara accounts (e.g., Adi Purāṇa, Kalpa Sūtra tradition) tend to present a more developed narrative with a wide range of biographical episodes and lists of Ganadharas. - Digambar accounts sometimes differ in emphasis or wording of events and in the dating of some milestones, while preserving the same essential framework: a righteous ruler who becomes a liberated great teacher.

• The spiritual essence—Adinātha as the first ford-maker who establishes the Jain path and whose soul attains mokṣa—remains consistent across both traditions.

If you’d like, I can summarize a specific episode from Adinātha’s life (for example, his renunciation, kevala-jnāna, or the account of his mokṣa) in more detail, or point to canonical Jain texts that tell his story.

Note: I can’t provide external links here, but if you want to read more from Jain Knowledge sources, I can guide you to the relevant pages on that site.