24 Tirthankar

In the theist world the loftiest entity is The God I It has thousands of names like-Paramatma (the ultimate soul), Bhagavan (the most glorious one), Siddha (the liberated), Buddha (the enlightened). The God, etc. In the Jain tradition there are two forms of this entity- 1. The formless God or Siddha (the liberated) 2. The God with a form or Tirthankar/Arihant The Tirthankar is a detached individual who is the ultimate altruist and benefactor of not only mankind but every living being. He propagates the religious path and preaches about it for their benefit. His benevolent voice promotes happiness, peace, and infinite bliss for every being. In the Jain tradition their have been twenty four Tirthankars during the current descending cycle of time, Bhagavan Rishabhdev being the first and Bhagavan Mahavir the last. For every Jain these Tirthankars are the entities to be worshipped and revered. The ultimate goal of Jainism is to tred the path shown by them and acquire infinite powers and virtues. The biographical sketches have been compiled after a study o relevant literature from Digambar and Shvetambar traditions. Care has been taken to select only the incidents that are useful and inspiring and without any sectarian controversy.