Though Mahavira Jaina was the founder of the historical Jainism, the jaina traditions maintained that there were 23 Tirthankars or prophets of that faith before the birth of Mahavira. Mahavira thus is regarded as the twenty-fourth Tirthankara of the Jainas. It is said that the first of those prophets was Rishabha, and the last Tirthankara before Mahavira was Parsvanath. The [...]
Buddha, the light of Asia, was one of the greatest men of all times. Great was his teaching which the mightiest religion of humanity became. The name, of Gautama Buddha has enriched the history of India more than any other name. The founder of the largest religion on earth, he was the only man in history to be regarded as [...]
The Jainas believed that their most important religious teacher Mahavira had twenty-three predecessors who were called tirthankaras. If Mahavira is taken as the last or the twenty-fourth tirthankara, the origin of Jainism would go back to the ninth century BC. Some Jainas believe that Rishabhadeve was the first tirthankara or teacher of Jainism, but he is associated with Ayodhya which [...]