Tirthankara

In Jainism, a Tirthaṅkara (IAST: tīrthaṅkara; lit. 'ford-maker') is a saviour and supreme preacher of the dharma (righteous path). The term refers to one who establishes a tirtha, a fordable passage across saṃsāra, the sea of interminable birth and death. According to Jains, tirthaṅkaras are the supreme preachers of dharma, who have conquered saṃsāra on their own and made a path for others to follow. After understanding the true nature of the self or soul, the Tīrthaṅkara attains kevala jnana (omniscience). A Tirthaṅkara provides a bridge for others to follow them from saṃsāra to moksha (liberation). In Jain cosmology, the wheel of time is divided into two halves, Utsarpiṇī, the ascending time cycle, and Avasarpiṇī, the descending time cycle (said to be current now). In each half of the cycle, exactly 24 tirthaṅkaras are said to appear in this part of the universe. There have been infinitely many tirthaṅkaras in the past. The first tirthaṅkara in the present cycle (Hunda Avsarpinī) was Rishabhanatha, who is credited with formulating and organising humans to live in a society harmoniously. The 24th and last tirthaṅkara of the present half-cycle is traditionally identified as Mahavira (599 BCE–527 BCE). History records the existence of Mahavira and his predecessor, Parshvanatha, the 23rd tirthaṅkara in the 9th century BCE. A tirthaṅkara organises the sangha, a fourfold order of male and female monastics, śrāvakas (male followers) and śrāvikās (female followers). The tirthaṅkara's teachings form the basis for the Jain canons. The inner knowledge of tirthaṅkara is believed to be perfect and identical in every respect, and their teachings contain no contradictions. The degree of elaboration varies according to society's spiritual advancement and purity during their period of leadership. The higher the level of society's spiritual advancement and purity of mind, the lower the elaboration required. While Jains document...