The being that was to be Bhagavan Arishtanemi, in his earlier incarnation, was Shankh, the eldest son of king Shrishen of Hastinapur.  Bandits and smugglers were terrorizing One day some citizens and wayfarers came to the king and informed him that the highways approaching Hastinapur and the surrounding area.  No traveler or villager was safe from the attack of these bandits.  Robbery and murder became a daily routing for them.  The citizens requested the king to protect the masses.  The king deputed prince Shankh to go and punish the bandits.

Prince Shankh was an accomplished diplomat and strategist.  He planned and conducted his campaign in such a way that he apprehended the leader of bandits without any bloodshed.  While he was on his way back he heart the cry of help of a young princess abducted by a Vidyadhar (a lower god); prince Shankh challenged the Vidyadhar, defeated him and saved princess Yashomati.  When these young people saw each other they fell in love and got married.  In due course prince Shankh ascended the throne.

Once a scholarly ascetic visited Hastinapur.  King Shankh went for his Darshan, and asked him, "Why am I so deeply in love with Yashomati that all my desires to renunciate come to a naught".  The ascetic said, "Your marital ties are many a life-time deep.  For last six lives you are being married to each other, this is the seventh birth.  That is the reason for such intense and deep feeling of love for each other".

The king asked, "When these ties will be broken?"

The scholarly ascetic replied, "In your ninth incarnation you will be born as Neminath and she as Rajimati.  In that birth you will be able to break this tie of love and become the twenty-second Tirthankar.  Rajimati will also follow you on the path of renunciation and get liberated".

Knowing all this Shankh had a deep feeling of detachment.  He gave his kingdom to his son and became an ascetic.  As a result of high spiritual practices and deep devotion for Jina he earned the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma and reincarnated in the Aprajit dimension of gods.

Bhagavan Rishabhdev and twenty-one other Tirthankars were born in the Ikshvaku clan.  The twentieth Tirthankar Munisuvrat was born in the Harivamsh clan.  The great king Vasu was also from Harivamsh clan.  After a long time this clan saw another illustrious king Sauri who was the founder of the famous Sauripur town.  Sauri had two sons Andhak Vrishni and Bhog Vrishni.  Andhak Vrishni had ten sons; the eldest was Samudravijay and the youngest Vasudev.

The being that was Shankh descended from the Aprajit dimension of gods into the womb of queen Shiva Devi, wife of king Samudravijay of Sauripur.  The fourteen great dreams indicated that this being was to become a Tirthankar.  On the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Shravan queen Shiva Devi gave birth to a son.  As per the convention 56 goddesses of directions arrived and performed the birth celebrations after the post-birth cleaning. 

During the naming ceremony the king conveyed that as the queen had seen a disc with Arishta gems, the newborn would be called Arishtanemi.

Vasudev, the younger brother of king Samudravijay was a charming and handsome person.  His senior queen Rohini had a son named Balram (Padma) and junior queen Devaki had a son named Shrikrishna.  Balram and Shrikrishna were the ninth Baldev and Vasudev.

During these times the whole area of central India had become a disturbed area due to prevailing conspiracies among various kingdoms.  Cruel Kamsa and oppressive Jarasandh (the Prativasudev) were the worst of these feuding principalities.  In order to be away from these everyday problems and as per the advice of an astrologer, the Yadav clan, including Samudravijay, Vasudev, Ugrasen, and Shrikrishna etc. migrated from Mathura and Sauripur to the West Coast.  Shrikrishna constructed the large and beautiful town of Dwarka on the seacoast and near the Raivatak Mountain (Girnar).  Its grand architecture and strong fortification made it heavenly beautiful and unconquerable.

One day while wandering around, youthful Arishtanemi reached the hall of weapons of Vasudev Shrikrishna.  Seeing the divine weapons he first lifted the Sudarshan Chakra (the disc weapon) curiously and whirled it playfully.  He then lifted the giant bow, Sarang and bent it as if it was a thin cane.  After this he lifted the Panchajanya conch, put it to his lips and blew it hard.  The piercing loud sound emanating from the great conch shocked the town.  Shrikrishna rushed to the armoury.  Seeing Arishtanemi playfully handling the giant and heavy weapons belonging to Vasudev, Shrikrishna was astonished.  He asked, "Nemi!  Did you blow the Panchajanya"?  Nemi innocently replied, "Yes brother!  It is so cute I could not contain myself".

Shrikrishna knew that his weapons were beyond the capacity and strength of any warrior in the world.  He was astonished and pleased at the same time that his young cousin was so strong and powerful.  He wanted to test Nemi's strength further; he invited Nemi to the gymnasium for a friendly trial of strength.  First Shrikrishna raised his arm and held it straight asking Nemi to bring it down.  Nemi forced Shrikrishna's arm down without any apparent effort.  After this Nemi raised his arm and Shrikrishna, in spite of all his strength could not force it down.  He even put all his weight on the outstretched arm but as if it was a beam of steel, the arm of Nemi did not move even a fraction of an inch.

Shrikrishna was very pleased knowing about this unprecedented strength of his cousin.  He thought that this great individual, much more powerful than him, is capable of becoming a Chakravarti.  But how could he become a Chakravarti if he does not change his attitude of detachment for all worldly activities.  Shrikrishna formulated a plan.  He asked Nemi to marry and start his family life.  Nemi still did not show any interest.  Shrikrishna now consulted his queens and organized a spring festival.  The ladies dragged Nemi Kumar to the pool for water games and there they used all their guile to pursue him to agree for marriage.  Shrikrishna also requested once more.  Nemi presented a smiling but thoughtful celebration that would initiate him on the path of liberation.  As such he did not oppose the proposal.  His silence was taken as a sign of affirmation and it was joyously announced that Nemi Kumar had finally agreed for marriage.

Shrikrishna started the search for a suitable match.  One of his queens, Satyabhama, informed that her beautiful and delicate younger sister, Rajul, would be an extremely suitable match for Nemi Kumar.  Shrikrishna finalized all arrangements.  On the arranged date the marriage procession started with Nemi Kumar riding the decorated king elephant.  All the kings and princes of the Yadav clan joined the procession with their royal regalia and retinue.  When the procession was approaching the destination, Nemi Kumar saw that on the side of he road there were large fenced areas and cages full of wailing animals and birds.  Filled with sympathy and compassion, he asked the elephant driver why those animals and birds were being kept in bondage.  The driver informed him that the creatures were collected to be butchered for meat for the large number of guests attending his marriage.

Nemi Kumar was filled with despair and a feeling of detachment.  He said to the elephant drive, "If I agree to be the cause of the butchering of so many living beings my life and the one to come will be filled with pain and misery.  So, i will not marry.  Immediately arrange for the release of all these creatures; turn back and head for Dwarka".  The driver looked at him in astonishment.  Nemi Kumar said, "This is an order".

The driver went and opened the gated of the fenced areas and cages.  The animals jumped and ran away into the jungle.  They were saved from the torture of death.  The driver came back and turned the elephant towards Dwarka.  On the way Nemi Kumar took out all valuables and ornaments on his body and handed them over to the elephant driver.

The news spread panic in the marriage procession.  All the seniors of the Yadav clan tried to change the mind of Nemi Kumar, but in vein.  Even Shrikrishna could not dissuade him from his determination.  Nemi Kumar said to the elders, "As these animals were prisoners in the cages, we all are prisoners in cages of karma which are much stronger than these fences.  See the feeling of joy evident in the animals released from the cages.  Know that happiness is in freedom, not in bondage.  I want to try the path of breaking this bondage of Karma and embrace eternal bliss.  Please do not stop me".

When Rajimati, dressed as bride, heard of this act of Nemi Kumar she could not tolerate the sting of sorrow.  She fainted with shock.  When she recovered she started crying and again lost consciousness.

After a yearlong charity, Nemi Kumar sat in a palanquin named Uttarkura, and, passing through the town of Dwarka, arrived in the Raivatak garden.  He got down under an Ashoka tree and pulled out five fistful of hair after taking off all ornaments and the royal dress.  He became ascetic alongwith one thousand person on the sixth day of the bright half of the month of Shravan.  Shrikrishna was deeply touched by this incident; he blessed his younger cousin and wished him success in his mission.

Arhat Neminath spent fifty-four days in deep spiritual practices and then went to Vijayant hill (Girnar).  On the fifteenth day of the dark half of the month of Ashvin, in the afternoon, he was observing a two days fast and was meditating under a bamboo tree when he became an omniscient.  Establishing the four pronged religious organizations (Tirth) he became the twenty-second Tirthankar.

When Rajimati recovered from the melancholy she decided to follow the path taken by Neminath.  Prince Rathnemi, the younger brother of Neminath, tried his best to seduce Rajimati.  But she could not be distracted from her goal.  When Rajimati came to know that Neminath had become an omniscient, she went to she Samavasaran of Neminath alongwith many of her friends and took Diksha.  She lost herself in penances and other spiritual practices and in the end got liberated.

Stories of a number of famous ascetic contemporaries of Bhagavan Arishtanemi are glittering gems in the heap of Jain scriptures.  Some more prominent names are child ascetic Gajasukumar, great ascetic Dhandhan Rishi, Thavaccha-putra Shraman etc.

Bhagavan Arishtanemi got liberated, at the age of one thousand years, on the eighth day of the bright half of the month of Ashadh.

A number of historians accept that Arishtanemi, the cousin of Shrikrishna, was a historical figure who greatly contributed towards vegetarianism, compassion and Ahimsa.  This is the point where Jain prehistory fuses with history.