name 72 arts for men thought by rushabdev
According to Jain tradition, Bhagwan Rishabhdev (Adinath) taught:
- 72 kalā (arts/skills) to men, and
- 64 kalā to women,
to establish organised social life, education and livelihood in his time.
These 72 arts are described in detail (with examples and explanations) in Jain granths such as “Bhagavana Mahavira” (by Pandit Muni Shri Chauthmalji), in the chapter titled “The Seventy Two Kalas”, where they are numbered from (1) to (72).
Some examples from that traditional list (in English rendering) are:
- Leham – art of writing
- Ganiyam – art of counting / mathematics
- Ruvam – art of drawing and portrait-making
- Gita-kala – art of singing
- Vadya-kala – playing musical instruments
- Tāla-kala – rhythm / keeping time in music and dance
- Nritya-kala – dancing
- Dhanur-vidyā / Ayudha-vidyā – use of bows, weapons and warfare
- Vaidya-kriyā – basic medical knowledge
- Vanijya-vidhi – methods of trade and commerce
- Ratna-parīkṣā – testing and valuing precious stones
- Dhātu-veda / Dhātu-parīkṣā – testing metals
- Krishi-vidyā – agriculture and farming methods
- Vastra-vidhi – weaving and cloth-making
- Kavitva-śakti – composing poetry
… and many more up to (72) Sanjīvana – techniques described as reviving one who is almost dead, through mantras, medicines etc., in the old narrative style.
Different authors use slightly different spellings and English equivalents, and there are minor variations in ordering or naming between texts and traditions, but the core idea is the same: Rishabhdev gave society a complete set of skills — from language, maths, arts and music to agriculture, medicine, governance, trade, even advanced crafts and occult-type practices (mantra–yantra–tantra) as they were understood in that era.
The exact full list of all 72 names with detailed explanations is quite long to reproduce here and is best read from a proper granth or a curated Jain site. A concise Jain explanation is available here on JainKnowledge: “72 arts for men and 64 crafts for women by Rishabh Nath”