In Jainism, Ajitnatha was the second tirthankara of the present age, avsarpini (half time cycle).[1] The soul that became Ajitanatha, in its earlier incarnation, was the great King Vimalvahan of Susima city in Mahavideh area. He led a pious life in spite of the available princely grandeur. At an appropriate time, he became an ascetic under Arindam Suri. Ajitnatha was born to King Jitashatru and Queen Vijaya at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku dynasty.[1] According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma.

Bhagavan Ajitnath, in its earlier incarnation, was the great king Vimalvahan of Susima city in Mahavideh area. He led a pious life in spite of the available princely grandeur. At an appropriate time, he became an ascetic under Arindam Suri. Meditating about the omniscient and liberated souls and indulging in harsh penance, he purified his soul to a level where he could earn the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma. Completing his age, he reincarnated as a god in the Viaya- anuttar-dimension. After completing his age in the dimension of gods, he descended into the womb of queen Vijaya Devi, wife of king Jitshaturu of Ayodhya . Queen vijaya Devi saw the sixteen dreams.

When the augers were consulted they informed that Vijaya Devi will give birth to a Tirthankara and to a Chakravarti. During the period of the queen’s pregnancy, the influence of king Jitshatru enhanced to an extant that even the enemy kingdoms sought and negotiated friendly treaties with him. ”The queen gave birth to a son on the 10th day of the bright half of the month of Magh. The king named the new born as the Ajit.

When king Jitshatru became old and wanted to devote the last part his life to spiritual pursuit, he called Ajit and asked him to take over the throne. Ajit Kumar was a naturally detached person since childhood, and so he declined. At last prince Sagar, brother of Ajit ascended the throne. Ajit Kumar became an ascetic in his youth and went into remote and dense forests for his meditation and penance. His personality and the intensity of his lofty practices cast a pacifying influence all around. Natural enemies in the animal kingdom, like lion and cow, wolf and deer, snake and mongoose used to come and sit around him peacefully. After a twelve year period of deep meditation and other spiritual practices attained omniscience on the eleventh day of the bright half of the month of Paush. The gods created the divine pavilion and Bhagawan Ajitnath gave his eloquent and magnetic discourses. Thousands of people accepted the path of renunciation.

Sambhavanath was the third tirthankar (omniscient Jain teacher) of the present age (Avasarpini).[2] Sambhavanatha was born to King Jitārī and Queen Susena at Sravasti.[1][3] in the Ikshvaku dynasty.[2] His birth date was the fourteenth day of the Margshrsha shukla month of the Indian calendar. According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma.

A long time after the Nirvana of Bhagavan Ajitnath, the city of Kshempuri in the Airavat area of Mahavideh was ruled by king Vipulvahan. He was a soft hearted and compassionate ruler who loved and cared for his subjects. Once when there was a devastating draught and the population was deprived even of a few drops of water, the king opened his grain yards for the public, his kitchen for the monks and ascetics and his treasury for the import of food grains. He instructed the caretaker of his personal kitchen that the doors of his kitchen should be open to all and sundry. All guests should be given priority over himself. Whatever little is left should be served to him. If nothing is left he would be contented with the pleasure of serving his guests. During the drought there were many occasions when the king remained unfed and thirsty.

As a result of this sublime feeling of compassion, Vipulvahan acquired unique purity of soul and earned the Trithankr-nam-and-gotra-karma. Although, after the drought normalcy returned, the torture of the living world by the nature left a mark on Vipulvahan’s psyche. One day while he was standing on the roof top he witnessed dense rain clouds being scattered by wind. A feeling of intense detachment grew in him. He handed over his kingdom to his son and took Diksha from Svayamprabh Suri. After completing his age he reincarnated in the Anat dimension of gods.

From the Anat dimension, the being that was Vipulvahan descended into the womb of queen Sena Devi, wife of king Jitari of Shravasti. While this being was still in the mother’s womb there were sufficient rains and abundant crop. One day when the king and queen were happily watching the lush green vegetation all around, from their roof top, the king said, "My dear! This time even the waste-land is filled with grain crop. It seems that all this that is impossible, has been made possible (Sambhav) due to the auspicious influence of the pious soul you carry in your womb. We shall call our son- Sambhav."

On the fourteenth day of the bright half of the month of Margshrish, the queen gave birth to a healthy son and he was ceremoniously named Sambhav Kumar. The little prince grew up in royal comfort but he hardly ever took more than cursory interest in the luxurious life style. At the appropriate age Sambhav Kumar was married and coronated. After a long and peaceful reign he became an ascetic on the fifteenth day of the bright half of the month of Margshrish. After a fourteen year period of spiritual practices, he attained omniscience. Arhat Sambhavnath gave his first discourse on the ephemeral nature of the mundane existence. For a long period he worked for the spread of religion. He got Nirvana on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra.

Abhinandannatha or Abhinandan Swami was the fourth Tirthankara of the present age (Avasarpini). Abhinandananātha is said to have lived for 50 lakh purva. Abhinandannath was born to King Sanvara Raja and Queen Sidharta Rani at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku clan. His birth date was the second day of the Magh shukla month of the Indian calendar. According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its Karma.

Abhinandannath was born in the Ikshvaku clan at Ayodhya. His father Sanvar was the king of Ayodhya and his mother was queen Shidhrtha Devi. He born on Magh shukla 12. It is said that the noble and purified soul of Mahabal the king of Ratnasanchay /Mangalavati town has descended into the womb of queen Siddharth, wife of king Samvar of Ayodhya. As a result of the simplicity of attitude inherited from the earlier birth, the soul in the womb of the queen had a soothing and pacifying influence on the outer world. The people of the kingdom were suddenly filled with the feelings of humility and fraternity. The augurs and other scholars confirmed that as the aura of a pious soul influences all the people around, the effusion of politeness was caused by the soul in the womb.

He queen gave birth to the future Tirthankar and the king named his son as Abhinandan (greeting). As time passed Abhinandan lead normal mundane life with least indulgence. He ascended the throne when his father became an ascetic. After a long and peaceful reign, he became an ascetic and indulged in rigorous penance and lofty spiritual practices. He attained omniscience on the fourteenth day of the dark half of the month of Paush. For a long period Bhagavan Abhinandan moved around to show the right path to millions of beings. He attained Nirvana at Sammedshikharji on Basiak Sukla 6.

Lord Abhinandan attained Omniscience on 'Paush Shukla Chaturdashi', while he was meditating in Sahetuk Forest under an Asan Tree. One hundred and three gandhara including Shri Vajranabhi were present at the Lord's Samavsharan. Along with them were 3 lakh munis, three lakh thirty thousand six hundred aryikas, three lakh shravaks and five lakh shravikas. Even the Demi God and Goddess - Yaksheshvar Dev, Vajrashrinkhala Devi came to listen to the divine teachings of Lord Abhinandannath.

Bhagvan Sumatinath dev was born in Koshalpur in ayodhya, on eighth day of the bright half of the month of Vaishaka. His father name was King Megh and Mother name was Mangalavati Devi. After long span of life time, he took diksha on 9th day of the bright half of the month of Vaishaka along with 1000 other men's.

Wwhen Sumatinath grew up he was married to many princesses. Once his father, King Megh, told is wife that he wished to give the responsibility of the kingdom to Sumatinath, since he is grown up, married and hoping to become a father very soon. He also said that he wished to go on the path of devotion and meditation and leave all the worldly things. This worried his queen and she started weeping. At this time his son, Sumatinath, consoled his mother and said, “Mother, it is not good to stop any holy soul to lead on the path of ‘sadhna’. He is a going on the path of salvation, so we should not stop him”.

King Sumatinath thus handled his kingdom with great wisdom, but one day while in deep thoughts, Sumatinath thought about his father and suddenly he heard somebody (probably his inner soul) say, “lord, the entire humanity is waiting for you, the world of knowledge is waiting for you, start with the real purpose of your life”.

He became detached with materialistic things. For the entire year he distributed the wealth from his both hands among the people.

On Vaishaka Shukla 9, in Ayodhya, in a jungle, he removed his hair in just five hand full, removed all the worldly things from his body and became and ascetic and disappeared in jungle.

For 20 years he was on constant meditation and ‘sadhna’. He attained omniscience under a Priyangu tree on the 12th day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra. Once when Gardhar muni ‘Devvarat’ asked him that how did he attained ‘Tirthankar-nam’ then lord replid, “I was son of King of Shankhpur, Vijyasen. I, with my strength, won over all our enemies. Once when I wandering, I heard Acharya Muni ‘Vinaynandan’, I became so impressed that I took diksha and got lost in deep meditation. There I attained this Tirthankar-nam-gotra.

Now it had been one month, Lord Sumatinath was on Sametshikhar, he was on fasting, he gave his last piece of knowledge to the people and on ninth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra he got Nivan from here.

Bhagwan Padmaprabha was the sixth Jain Tirthankar of the present age (Avsarpini). According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha – a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Padmaprabha (also known as Padhmaprabhu swami) was born to King Shridhar Raja and Queen Susimadevi at Koushambi in the Ikshvaku clan. His birth date was the twelfth day of the Kartik krishna month of the Indian calendar.

Padmaprabh in his earlier incarnation was King Aparajit who ruled over Susima town in the Purva Videha area. He was a pious and peace loving person. Once listening to a discourse on the goal of human life and its earthly bondage he became detached and taking diksha from Acharya Pihitashrava embraced ascetism. His soul through countless lifetimes had undergone rigorous spiritual penances and achieved an exalted state of enlightenment hence he was reborn as the next Tirthankar. His soul descended into the womb of Queen Sushima, wife of King Dharan of Kaushambi. During her pregnancy, the Queen had a desire to sleep on a bed made up of lotus flowers. It is said that to fulfil her wishes the Gods themselves came down to make arrangements, such was the greatness of the unborn soul. The Queen gave birth to a son on the twelfth day of the dark half of the month of Kartik. Since the new born had a soft pink glow like the lotus, he was named Padmaprabh. As years passed the prince grew up and they got him married. Soon the King handed over the kingdom to his son and retired to the forest to pursue his spiritual practices.

Padmprabhu use to perform his duties towards the kingdom very nicely, but now he started spending more time in meditation in a small place near his lotus river. And one fine day while in meditation he attained the entire knowledge of his past incarnations. He saw the reasons why he had to come on earth from heaven and he decided to take diksha and move on the path he has taken birth for. The next morning he stood under a tree, discarded all his worldly things, removed his hair in five fistfuls and recited ‘Namo Sidhanam’. He moved on the way where he could destroy all the Karmas attached with him and preach the world the importance of life, religion and right Karmas.

A spirit of detachment came over him and he embraced ascetism. Sitting under a tree he underwent rigorous penances and on the full moon day of the month of Chaitra under a banyan tree he achieved Omniscience.

He began preaching to people about the goal of human life, the spirit of renunciation and the qualities of non violence, right action, right conduct and right knowledge. After many years of preaching he attained Nirvana on the eleventh day of the dark half of the month of Margashirsh.

Bhagavan Padmaprabh preached the qualities of compassion, brotherhood and exhorted the people to realise their true potential and to break the infinite cycles of birth and death by undergoing spiritual penances and practices. He advised them to realise the true goal of human life and not get carried away by attachment and desire for sensual pleasures. Such exalted souls are born for redeeming mankind and their pure and high levels of spiritual attainment sanctify everyone and every place they go to and India owes her spiritual prowess to such highly realised souls who have been born from time to time to liberate mankind.

Bhagvan Suparshvanath dev was born in Varanasi, on twelfth day of the bright half of the month of Jaisthaya . His father name was Pratishthasen and Mother name was Prithvi Devi . After long span of life time, he took diksha on twelfth day of the bright half of the month of Jaisthaya along with 1000 other men's.

Suparshvanath in his earlier incarnation was King Nandisen of Kshetrapuri. He was highly spiritually enlightened and due to his rigorous penances and disciplines he was reborn as a Tirthankar. His soul entered the womb of Queen Prithvi Devi, wife of king Pratishthasen of Varanasi. It is said that the Kingdom was in danger of being attacked by neighbouring kingdoms but when the child was in the womb suddenly the attitude of the Kings changed and everyone wished to have friendly relations with King Nandisen. The King was very happy and realised that it was the power of divinity in the unborn child that spread good vibrations everywhere resulting in peace and brotherhood in the kingdom which would soon spread to neighbouring Kingdoms.

Soon the Queen gave birth to a son on the twelfth day of the Jyeshta Shukla paksh of Visakha month. There was love, peace and prosperity everywhere. Since the Kings or enemies (Parsh) who wanted to attack their kingdom now became friends (Suparsh), the child was named Suparshva. After some years as he grew up, they got him married. Later his father decided to hand over the Kingdom to him and went away to the forest to meditate and pursue spiritual practices. Suparshva then ruled the kingdom wisely for many years conducting the affairs of the state ably and looking after his subjects well.

One day he noticed the falling of the leaves and the wilting of the flowers and a feeling of detachment came over him. He clearly saw all his past lives and the purpose of his present birth. He then decided to embrace Ascetism. A number of his subjects too embraced ascetism along with him. After rigorous spiritual practices on the sixth day of the dark half of the month of Phalgun he achieved Omniscience.

He then began preaching to his followers the tenets of Jain philosophy, of renunciation and Right action, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct. His love and compassion engulfed all and thousands of people who came into contact with him began to follow his way of life. Finally after many years of preaching he attained Nirvana on the seventh day of the bright half of the month of Phalgun at Sammed Shikar.

Bhagavan Suparshvanath was born to exhort mankind to follow the right path of renunciation and true knowledge, to inculcate the qualities of compassion and non violence and to attain the true goal of human life namely liberation after giving up bondage and attachment and transcending the infinite cycles of birth and death that man has been undergoing for centuries. Such Divine Beings are born for the sacred purpose of raising mankind to liberation and spreading peace, love and brotherhood among people. India has been blessed to have such holy beings sanctify the land and lift millions of people to self realisation and bliss.

Bhagwan Chandra Parbha was the eighth Tirthankar of Jainism. His father was king Mahasen and mother queen Sulakshana. At the time of Chandra Prabha birth mother desired to swallow the nector of the moon. Her desire was fulfilled and she gave birth a child with a moon like coplexion. So the child was called Chandra Prabhu. The symbol of Chandra Prabha is half moon.

Chandraprabh in his previous incarnation was King Padma of Manglavati town of Dhatkikhand. His rigorous penances and austerities of a number of lifetimes had brought him to such a state of spiritual exaltation that he was reborn as the next Tirthankar. His soul descended into the womb of Queen Sulakshana who was the wife of King Mahasen of Chandrapuri town. When the child was in her womb she had sixteen auspicious dreams which confirmed that the soul in her womb was a Tirthankar. They were
1. A large and beautiful white bull entering her mouth.
2. A lion
3. A garland of flowers
4. A giant elephant having four tusks
5. Goddess Lakshmi seated on a lotus
6. The glorious Sun
7. The full moon shining in the sky
8. A sea of milk
9. A golden urn
10. A Flag which was fluttering
11. A vehicle of the Gods which moves in space
12. A pond filled with lotus flowers
13. A heap of gems
14. A fire without smoke

The whole kingdom was overjoyed there was good will and brotherhood everywhere. The atmosphere in the kingdom was very pleasant and friendly. It is said that during her pregnancy looking at the beautiful full moon, the queen had a strange desire to drink the glowing streak of moonlight. The king cleverly managed to satisfy this desire. On Paush Krishna 13 of the Hindu calendar, the queen gave birth to a handsome boy whose face was fair and glowed like the moon. So they decided to name him Chandraprabh. He was a kind, patient and courageous boy. The people loved him and later on they got him married. The King then handed over the Kingdom to him and went into the forest to perform spiritual penances.

Chandraprabh ruled wisely for a number of years. One day as he was in prayers, he felt as if the entire humanity was calling out to him to save them. Suddenly he remembered the purpose of his birth and a deep sense of detachment came over him. He decided to embrace ascetism. After severe penances he attained omniscience.

He continued to teach the people the tenets of Jain philosophy, of compassion, non violence, Right thinking, Right conduct and Right action. After a long period, he attained nirvana at Sammed Shikhar.

The Symbol for Chandraprabh is the moon. The idol of Chandraprabh is found at Tijara Jain temple in Rajasthan and it is a very famous pilgrim centre for the Jains. Bhagavan Chandraprabh exhorted mankind to realise their Divine nature and to transcend the cycles of birth and death and seek eternal liberation. His compassion and love endeared him to everyone. A number of people embraced ascetism along with him. Such Supreme souls are born to help humanity to attain greater heights and India is blessed to have such pure souls born in this sacred motherland.`

Lord Pushpadanta the Ninth Tirthankar is also known by the name Suvidhinath. Pushpadanta became a siddha, a liberated soul that has destroyed all of its karma. Pushpadanta was born to King Sugriva of Kakandi and Rama Devi in the Ikshvaku race. Pushpadanta`s birth date was the fifth day of Margashirsha Krishna month. During his earlier incarnation as emperor Mahapadma of Pushkalvati Vijay purified his soul to him extant of earning Tirthankar- nam- and- gotra-karma.

Pushpadanta took birth in the Vijayant dimension of gods. From the Vijayant dimension he descended into the womb of queen Rama Devi, wife of king Sugriva of Kakandi town. When queen Rama was pregnant then she experienced an extraordinary capability to develop processes for doing even the most difficult of tasks. Everyone got overwhelmed at her skill. When the child, Pushpadanta was born the king Sugriva named him as Suvidhi. During the teething period of the child the mother got a craving for playing with flowers. As such, he was also popularly known as Pushpadant or flower-tooth.

Pushpadant lead a normal princely life of luxury and pleasure but was always aloof. He became an ascetic at an early age and attained omniscience only after four months rigorous spiritual practices. He got Nirvana at Sammed Sikharji on the ninth day of the dark half of the month of Kartik.

The tradition of the four pronged religious ford started by Bhagavan Rishabhdev steadily became extinct after the Nirvana of Bhagavan Pushpadant. After his Nirvana, first the ascetic organization disintegrated and a time came when there was no ascetic left. The religious discourses two were given by common citizens or Shravaks.

In the tradition started by Bhagavan Rishabhdev the ninth Tirthankar re-who established the four pronged religious ford was Bhagavan Suvidhinath. During his earlier incarnation as emperor Mahapadma of Pushkalvati Vijay purified his soul to he extant of earning Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma. He took birth in the Vijayant dimension of gods and from there he descended into the womb of queen Rama Devi, wife of king Sugriva of Kakandi town.

The Symbol for Suvidhinath is crocodile. Great souls like Bhagavan Suvidhinatha were born to help mankind cross the ocean of Samsara and escape from the infinite cycles of birth and death by practising the principles established by the Tirthankars and attain liberation. It is said that after the Nirvana of Bhagavan Suvidhinath, the ascetic organisation as begun by Bhagavan Rishabha disintegrated and there were hardly any ascetics left to even give discourses. People began to be influenced by material pleasures and began forgetting the tenets of Jain philosophy.

Bhagwan Shitalanatha was the tenth tirthankara of the present age according to Jainism. According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Jains believe Shitalanatha was born to King Dradhrath and Queen Nanda at Bhaddilpur into the Ikshvaku dynasty. His birth date was the twelfth day of the Magha Krishna month of the Indian national calendar.

The being that was to be Bhagavan Sheetalnath, in his previous but one birth was the king Padmottar of Sushima town in the Pushkarvar island. When his son reached adulthood the religious king gave his kingdom to the son and took Diksha from Tristadha Muni. Vigorous spiritual practices and worship of the pious souls as mentioned in the scriptures resulted in his acquiring the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma. Completing his age he reincarnated as the king of the Pranat dimension of gods.

In Bhaddilpur town in the sub-continent of Bharat, ruled king Dridhratha. In the womb of his queen, Nanda, descended the being that was Padmottar, when he completed his age in the dimension of gods. One day when early in the morning King Dridhratha was busy in his work when a dasi (maid) of queen came and asked if queen can come and meet him now. Dridhratha, agreed and asked her to come in his study. The queen went in there and quietly stood beside the king. He was lost in a book. King asked her the purpose of coming so she added that she had seen some very auspicious dreams early in the morning. It was like a chain of fourteen (sixteen according to the Digambar Jain Sect) great things. King immediately said that these dreams were like the same as Bhagvan Suvidhinath’s mother saw. This meant that she was going to give birth to a pioused soul who would become Tirthankar. On the tweflth day of the month of Magh (according to Hindu Calendar), Nanda Devi gave birth to baby boy.

One day during the pregnancy of queen, due to some strange ailment, king Dridhratha had high fever and acute burning sensation in his body. All the medicines, mantras, ointments were applied but Dridhratha could not feel a inch better. Queen was standing by his side and crying because she could not see the pain of her husband. Out of anxiety she put her hands on the head of the king and as if a miracle had happened. The moment queen pressed his head he got relief and he asked her put her hands on his shoulders too. To his own and everybody’s surprise wherever the queen touched, Dridhratha got relief. After this incident the king decided to name the new born as Sheetal (cool/calm).

From his childhood, Sheetalnath was a very decent child and very simple one. But he was famous for his obedience towards his parents. When he grew older he married at the request of his parents. He used to spend a lot of time in meditation and in the devotional works. One day King Dridhratha coronated his son as king and went in jungles to become an ascetic. King Sheetalnath was known for his planning and administration. All the neighboring kings use to come to him for advise and in the same process use to take some religious knowledge als

One day King Sheetalnath was sitting alone and was lost in deep thoughts when he realized who he was in his past life and that he has come down to earth from the dimensions of the god. He felt upset that for how long will he keep on coming and going in the world. He decided to take diksha and achieve his ultimate target i.e. Nirvana/Moksha. He took permission from his mother, who already knew the day would come

Sheetalnath transfered the responsibilities of the kingdom to his next generation and moved on his true ways. After a year’s donation of wealth he came out of the castle and removed his hair with his fist, removed all the worldly possessions, uttered the words “Namo Sidhanam” and disappeared in the crowd. Along with him thousands of other men and women, kings and servants did the same. The whole atmosphere was fragrant, musical and magical.

He spent three months continuously under a Pipal Tree and on the fourteenth day of the dark half of the month of Paush he attained omniscience (kevala gyana). For a long time he went place to place spreading knowledge and preaching people. On reaching Sammed shikharji he announced his one month fast, on dark half of the month of Vaishakh (according to the Hindu Calendar) he completed his fast as well as the circle of his life and death, he attained Nirvana.

Bhagvan Shreyansnath dev was born in Sihanpur, on twelfth day of the dark half of the month of Phalgun . His father name was Vishnu raja and Mother name was Vishnu Devi . After long span of life time, he took diksha 13th day of the dark half of the month of Phalgun along with 1000 other men's.

In his earlier incarnation, the being that was to become Lord Shreyansnath purified his soul as king Nalingulm of Kshema town in Pushkarvar island. He performed hard and deep spiritual practices and purified his soul to high extends in his life. Due to this he acquired the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma and went to the Mahashakra dimension of gods.

From the Mahashakra dimension of gods the being of Lord Shreyansnath descended into the womb of queen Vishnu Devi wife of king Vishnuraja of Simhapur. One morning queen said to king Vishnuraja about the fourteen (sixteen according to the Digambar Jain Sect) auspicious dreams she saw early in the morning. Upon asking about the meaning of these dreams, Kulguru Kaudinya, said that the child which the queen is carrying in her womb would not be an ordinary child but a great person, a pious soul. On the twelfth day of the dark half of the month of Bhadrapad (according to the Hindu Calendar) queen Vishnu Devi gave birth to a son. Entire town filled with the atmosphere of festival, with happiness and celebrations all over. King decided to name his newly born son as Shreyans Kumar.

From his childhood, Shreyans was a very decent child and very simple one. Time went by very soon. Everybody praised the beauty, dutifulness, bravery, courage, administration, and devotion of Shreyans Kumar. Everything was unmatchable. Though he himself was not interested but because of the happiness of his parents he married several times. One day king Vishnuraja thought that his son is so young but still spends lot of time in meditation and spiritual up-liftment, and he is old and still not bothered. It is the time now that he should put responsibilities of the kingdom on the shoulders of his son and go for the upliftment of his soul. He did exactly the same as he thought. Prince Shreyansh was now King Shreyansh Kumar. His ability to rule was popular among the people and neighboring kingdoms.

After ruling the Kingdom for many years Shreyansnath began to feel restless. In his meditations he saw all his past lives and realised the purpose of his birth. Handing over the Kingdom to his son he embraced ascetism. Many of the members of the royal family and his subjects too followed him and embraced ascetism. He underwent rigorous spiritual penances and on the fifteenth day of the dark half of the month of Magh(according to the Hindu calendar) under a mango tree he achieved Omniscience.

He continued preaching and exhorting people to follow the principles of Jain philosophy. They included compassion, non violence, Right Action, Right Living and Right Conduct. After a number of years of spiritual disciplines and preaching, he attained Nirvana on the third day of the dark half of the month of Shravan at Sammed Shikhar.

The symbol of Shreyansnath is rhinoceros. Bhagavan Shreyansnath was born to liberate mankind and guide them to break worldly bondage and transcend the infinite cycles of birth and death. Divine Beings like him are born due to compassion to enable struggling mankind to rise above sensual pleasures and seek the path of self realisation and bliss. Their very presence transforms and purifies the atmosphere and makes it sublime. The great land of Bharat is fortunate that great souls like Bhagavan Sreyansnath and other Tirthankars have taken birth here.

Bhagwan Vasupujya was the twelfth tirthankara in Jainism of the present age (Avasarpini). According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Vasupujya was born to King Vasupujya and Queen Jaya Devi at Champapuri in the Ikshvaku dynasty. His birth date was the fourteenth day of the Falgun Krishna month of the Indian calendar.

In his previous incarnation Lord Vasupujya's soul was King Padmottar. King Padmottar ruled over Mangalavati town of Ardhapushkar island. He was a person devoted to spiritual pursuits. In later part of his life he took Diksha from Acharya Vajranabh. Reducing the tarnish of Karma by penance and spiritual practices he earned the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma and incarnated as a god in the Pranat dimension

Vasupujya was the king of Champa town in the Bharat sub-continent. His queen was Jaya Devi. Besides being a great warrior King Vasupujya was a compassionate and charitable person. The queen too was benevolent and she inspired the king in his charitable activities. The being that was Padmottar after completing his age in Pranant dimension descended into the womb of queen Jaya Devi.

It was morning time and sun was shining brightly over Ganga River. On the third floor of a beautiful palace near the shore of Ganga, was King Vasupujya sitting in his deep thoughts when Queen Jaya Devi came to him and expressed her anxiousness to know the meaning of fourteen (sixteen according to Digambar Jain Sect) auspicious dreams she saw early in the morning. King was very happy and explained that these dreams are seen by a women who is about to give birth to a pious soul, a Tirthankara. On the fourteenth day of the Falgun Krishna month of the Hindu calendar, queen Jaya Devi gave birth to a son.

It is said that when the queen was pregnant, the king of gods Indra came to convey his veneration to the future Tirthankar and his mother. As Indra is also known as Vasu, the new born was named Vasupujya (venerated by Vasu).

As Vasupujya grew, so grew his inherent detachment and apathy for mundane affairs. He had no attraction for the regal splendor and grandeur. When he became young his parents wanted him to marry but he declined. He even conveyed that he had no intention of ascending the throne. In spite of all persuasions from his family members, he renounced the worldly life and became a Shraman on the fifteenth day of he dark half of the month of Phalgun along with six hundred other persons.

He renounced worldly life and became an ascetic. Many members of the royal family and his subjects joined him and after intense spiritual practices on the second day of Shulka Paksh of the month of Magh under the Patal tree he achieved Omniscience. It is said that in one of his travels he came to Dwaraka. There, the King of Dwaraka was Dwiprishtha who was the brother of Vasupujya. Vasupujya explained to him his past lives. Hearing this and understanding the bondage of life and the infinite cycles of birth and death he fell at his feet and took Diksha from him.

He then continued preaching and encouraged his followers to realise the true goal of life and after a number of years on the fourteenth day of the bright half of the month of Ashad (according to the Hindu calendar) he attained Nirvana.

B hagwan Vimalnath was the thirteenth Jain Tirthankar of the present age (Avasarpini). According to Jain beliefs, he became a Siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Vimalnath was born to King Kratvarm Raja and Queen Shyama Devi at Kampilaji of the Ikshvaku dynasty. His birth date was the third day of the Magh Sukla month of the Indian calendar

In his previous incarnation Lord Vimalnath's soul was King Padmasen. King Padmasen ruled over Mahapuri town in Datakikhand. He was always engaged in spiritual practices. Later he took diksha from Acharya Yarsvargupt. As a result of his deep meditational practices he purified his soul to an extent that he acquired the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma. Because of this he reincarnated in the Mahardhik dimension of gods.

King Kritavarman and queen Shyama Devi of Kampilpur were both spiritualists and devotees of the Jina. The queen one day saw fourteen (sixteen according to Digambar Jain Sect) auspicious dreams and the augurs announced that she will give birth to a Tirthankar. The being that was Padmasen descended into the queen's womb from the Mahardhik dimension of gods. On the third day of the Magh Sukla month of the Hindu calendar, queen Shyama Devi gave birth to a son.

During her pregnancy the queen radiated a soothing glow. Her temperature also became congenial, kind, and generous. When the child was born the whole atmosphere was also filled with a soothing glow. Inspired by this spread of purity, the king named his new born son as Vimal (pure/untarnished).

In due course, prince Vimal Kumar became young. He was a boy of discipline, high thoughts, great temperament, much more mature from his age. According to his parent's desire he married many times. One day king Kritavarman thought of moving ahead on the path of devotion so he coronated Vimal Kumar as king and left for jungles to practise asceticism. King Vimalnath was an able king and very popular among all.

Slowly King Vimalnath became least interested in the kingdom and all the work were taken care by other persons. One day while, while he was deep in his thoughts he saw himself as King Padmsen of Mahapuri town in Dhatikhand who was always engaged in spiritual practices. This made him realize the true purpose of his birth. For the entire year from that time, he distributed wealth among the people. One day, along with thousand other kings, he came out of the palace, removed his hair with his fist, uttered, “Namo Siddhanam” and became an ascetic.

He began preaching and urging his followers to follow the tenets of Jain philosophy. He asked them to practice Right Conduct, Right thinking and Right Action. Leading a life of compassion and non violence he asked them to give up worldly pleasures and perceive the goal of life ie. Self realisation. On the seventh day of the dark half of the month of Ashad he attained Nirvana at Sammed Shikar. Svayambu Vasudev, Merak Prativasudev and Bhadra Baldev were his contemporaries.

Anantanatha was the fourteenth Tirthankara of the present age (Avasarpini) of Jainism. Anantanatha was born to King Raja Sinhasena and Queen Suyasha Rani at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku clan. His birth date was the 13th day of the Vaishakha Krishna month of the Indian calendar.

Anantnath in his previous incarnation was King of Arishta town in Dhatkikhand. He led a highly pious and religious life. Later he took Diksha from Acharya Chitraaksh. He had attained a very high state of spiritual enlightenment due to which he was to be reborn as the next Tirthankar. His soul reincarnated in the Pushpottar dimension of the Gods after which it descended into the womb of Queen Suyasha Devi who was the wife of King Simhasen of Ayodhya.

From Pushpotar dimensions of god, the soul of Lord Anantnath descended in the womb of Queen Suyasha Devi, wife of king Simhasen of Ayodhya. It was early in the morning and the entire Ayodhya kingdom was under the heavy showers of the rain. King Simhasena was sitting in his deep thoughts and thinking about endless questions which were coming in his mind. Queen Suyasha came behind and greeted the King. Her face also revealed as if she is also carrying lots of questions in her mind. On asking, queen told the king that early that morning she dreamt of fourteen (sixteen according to digambar jain beliefs) things and since then an endless series of questions are arising in her mind. King Simhasena told that it was a sure sort sign that she was going to give birth to a son who will be the light in dark, a savior, a ruler of hearts, a spiritual leader, a person having endless knowledge and endless qualities. On the thirteenth day of the dark half of the month of Vaishakh (according to Hindu Calendar), queen Suyasha gave birth to this great divine power

During the pregnancy the queen dreamt of a very long strands of beads whose ends were not visible – endless. The power of the king also increased manifolds during the period. Accordingly, the new born was named Anant (endless) Kumar.

Time passed by and small Anantnath became Young. One day king Simhasena thought of handling over the responsibilities of the kingdom to Anantnath and go on the path meditation and try to achieve Moksha. He did the same and disappeared in the jungles. As a king King Anantnath was famous all over. Many kings came to him for advise and help. He use to solve various problems of many nations. But most of his time was spent in a place near sea shore in meditation.

After ruling the Kingdom wisely for a number of years Anantnath began to feel restless. In his meditation he saw all his past incarnations and realised the reason for his birth and the true goal of his life. A deep sense of detachment came over him. He decided to give up his Kingdom and embrace ascetism. Along with him many members of the royal family and his subjects also embraced ascetism. After undergoing severe penances under an Ashoka tree he achieved Omniscience on the fourteenth day of the dark half of the month of Vaisakh.

He began preaching and teaching his followers the tenets of Jain philosophy, the principles of Right Conduct, Right Thinking and Right action. He taught them compassion and non violence. He underwent deep spiritual penances and on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra he attained Nirvana at Sammed Shikhar.

His symbol is porcupine. Bhagavan Anantnath exhorted his followers to rigidly follow the path of non violence and compassion and practice the principles of Right Conduct,Right Thinking and Right Action.He stressed that the goal of human life was liberation and man should rise above worldly pleasures and strive to transcend the eternal cycles of birth and death.The sacred land of India has been blessed by the birth of Divine beings like him who are born solely to redeem mankind and with their purity and compassion raise humanity to sublime and exalted heights.

Bhagwan Dharmanath was the fifteenth Jain Tirthankar of the present age (Avasarpini). According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Dharmanath was born to King Bhanu Raja and Queen Suvrata Rani at Ratnapuri in the Ikshvaku dynasty. His birth date was the third day of the Magh Sukla month of the Indian calendar.

In his previous incarnation Lord Dharmanath's soul was King Dridhrath of Bhaddilpur town in Mahavideh area. Although he had lot of wealth and large kingdom but lead the life of detachment from worldly things. He had a bend for spiritual practices and in the process earned Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra. He reincarnated as God in the Vijyanta dimension.

From Vijyant dimensions of god, the soul of Lord Dharmanath descended in the womb of Queen Suvrata Devi, wife of king Bhanuraja of Ratnapuri. Ratnpuri was a very famous kingdom of Bharat. It was famous for business of Ratna (gems). It was a beautiful city. Stars were still shining in the sky when queen got up. She was feeling very happy as she saw some very auspicious fourteen (sixteen according to digambar jain beliefs) dreams and wanted to rest for a longer time, but then decided to get ready and do some religious praying and activities. As soon as the sun shined on the top, Suvrata Devi went to the king and asked for the result of her dream. She asked his king, “Maharaj, you mentioned about the chain of auspicious dreams that Tirthankar Rishabhdev’s mother saw. Exactly like those dreams, I dreamt a chain of fourteen (sixteen according to digamabar jain beliefs) great things.” The king felt very happy and told his queen that the result is true for her also. She was about to give birth to divine soul. On the third day of the bright half of the month of Magh (according to Hindu Calendar), queen Suvrata gave birth to this great divine power.

During her pregnancy the queen devoted all her time in religious activities. Even the king and all the other members of the family were inclined to devote maximum time to various religious activities like charity, righteousness, penances, studies etc. Due to this religious influence which this child had created everywhere from the womb of his mother, he was named ‘Dharmanath’.

Time passed by and Dharmanath became young handsome prince. He was married. One day king Bhanuraj thought of handling over the responsibilities of the kingdom to Dharamnath and go on the path meditation and try to achieve Moksha. He did the same and disappeared in the jungles. King Dharamnath was an able king. His entire kingdom and neighbors all were under religious influence. But most of the time Dharamnath use to spent in meditation and deep religious activities.

Dharmanath ruled wisely for a number of years. He took great care of his subjects and the affairs of the state. He would also always be immersed in prayer and meditation. Years passed and in his prayers he glimpsed all his past life times. He realised the goal of his life and the purpose of his birth. A deep sense of detachment came over him. Embracing ascetism he left the kingdom and roaming from place to place he began deeply pursuing his spiritual practices. He reached Ratanpur and sitting under a Dadhiparan tree he achieved Omniscience.

He began preaching to his followers the ill effects of passions and the worldly bondage that leads mankind to the eternal cycles of birth and death.He encouraged them to practice Right Living, Right Action and Right Knowledge. He asked them to practice the principles of non violence and compassion. At Sammed Shikhar he attained Nirvana.

Bhagvan Shantinath dev: was born in Gajpur, on thirteenth day of the dark half of the month of Jyeshta. His father name was King Vishvasen and Mother name was Achira Devi. After long span of life time ,he took diksha on the 14th day of the dark half of the month of Jyeshta along with 1000 other men's.

Shantinath in his previous incarnation was King Meghrath son of King Dhanrath of Pundarikini town in Mahavideha area. He was a very religious and pious king. It is said that even the Gods tried to test him by disturbing his meditations. But his reverence and piety made them eventually bow to him. Later he took diksha from Arhat Dhanrath and became an ascetic. After rigorous spiritual penances of a number of lifetimes he had reached a very high state of spiritual enlightenment due to which he was reborn as a Tirthankar. He reincarnated in the Sarvarthasiddha dimension of the Gods and then later his soul descended into the womb of Queen Achira who was the wife of King Vishwasen of Ikshvaku clan.

When queen gave birth to the son, the whole universe, including even the hell, was pervaded by a soothing glow and a feeling of joy and happiness. Due to this pacifying influence during the pregnancy of the queen and after the birth of the son, the new born was named Shanti Kumar (Shanti = Peace).

He was a bright and religious child. Soon he grew up and they got him married. The King then gave the reins of the Kingdom to him and retired to the forest to pursue his spiritual disciplines. It is said that a Divine disc emerged in the armoury. This weapon was then worshipped traditionally after which on its own it began moving towards the East. Shantinath followed the weapon and most of the Kings in its way surrendered. Shantinath defeated the remaining other kings and became a Chakravarti. He then continued ruling his kingdom in a just and wise manner.

After ruling for a number of years Shantinath began to get restless. In his meditations he saw his earlier life times and realised the meaning of his life and the goal of his birth. He developed a deep sense of detachment. He decided to hand over his Kingdom to his son Chakrayudh and embrace ascetism. Many members of the royal family and his subjects too followed him. He roamed from place to place practising his spiritual practices. Finally he reached Hastinapur and sitting under a Nandi tree on the bright half of the month of Paush he achieved Omniscience.

Slowly and steadily all his Karmas to live in palace and rule as a king was over. He realized the real purpose of his life, his ultimate goal to be achieved in this very life span. He handed over the responsibilities of the kingdom to Chakrayudh. For the entire year from that time, he distributed wealth among the people. One day, along with thousand other kings, he came out of the palace, removed his hair with his fist, uttered, “Namo Siddhanam” and became an ascetic.

He went roaming place to place and meditating. Lots of problems came in his path but they all had to surrender to Shantinath ji’s feet. After one year of spiritual practices he reached Hastinapur and while sitting under Nandi Tree he attained omniscience on the bright half of the month of Paush. In his first religious discourse his son, mother, wife, all the people of Hastinapur and many people from all around came. Under the influence of the Pravachan Chakrayudh also took diksha and started his journey towards Moksha. Tirthankar Shantinath ji, went to Sammed shikharji and there while meditating there all his Ghati Karma shed away and he attained Nirvana on the dark half of the month of Jyeshtha.

Bhagvan Kunthunath dev: was born in Gajpur/Hastinapur, on 14th day of the dark half of the month of Vaishak. His father name was King Shursen and Mother name was Shri Devi

In his previous incarnation Lord Kunthunath's soul was King Simhavaha of Khadgi town in Mahavideh area. He was a powerful and illustrious king. He had a bend for spiritual practices and after handling over the responsibilities of the kingdom to his son, he took diksha from Samvaracharya and did deep spiritual practices. As a result of his vigorous penance and devotion for the Arhant, he earned Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra. Completing his age he reincarnated in the Sarvarthasiddha dimension of gods.

From the dimension of gods he descended into the womb of queen Shri Devi, wife of king Shursen of Hastinapur. At the dawn of the ninth day of Shravan Krishna, queen saw the auspicious fourteen (sixteen according to the digamabar jain beliefs) dreams. This indicated that the coming soul would be a conqueror – a chakravarti king. And these dreams also indicated that he would be a Tirthankar. On the 14th day of the Vaishakh Krishna month of the Hindu calendar, queen Shridevi gave birth to a son.

During her pregnancy the queen saw a heap of gemstones known as Kunthu in her dreams. This inspired the king to name him Kunthu Kumar.

The pious deeds of earlier birth resulted in unlimited power and grandeur for Kunthu Kumar. After Shursen became an ascetic, Kunthu Kumar ascended the throne. Soon the disc weapon "Chakra" appeared in his armory and he proceeded to conquer the world with his mighty army. Without any confrontation all the kings accepted his sovereignty and Kunthunath became a Chakravarti. There was no blood shed anywhere and after conquering almost entire world, Kunthunath returned Hastinapur. After returning to his kingdom, he announced 12 years of the victory celebrations. He excused all the taxes taken from the people and took care that no body is in trouble in his reign. Many mighty kings and princes used to be present in his court all the time.

In his prayers he witnessed his past lives and realised the reason for his birth and the goal of his life. He decided to become an ascetic and many of the Kings who were loyal to him also followed him. He continued his spiritual penances and achieved Omniscience on the third day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra under a Tilak tree in Sahasramara jungle outside Hastinapur.

He spent sixteen years as an ordinary ascetic. Indulging in penances and other spiritual practices, he attained omniscience on the third day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra under a Tilak tree in Sahasramara jungle outside Hastinapur. His first discourse was on the subject of "inner purity". As an omniscient ascetic Kunthunath wandered around and preached true religion for a very long period. He then went to Sammetshikhar and observed a month long fast before breathing his last. His followers were deeply devoted to him. As such, a large crowd was present at the moment of his Nirvana and cremation ceremony. They witnessed the ceremony with heavy hearts and tear filled eyes. The mortal remains of Bhagavan Kunthunath were taken away by the gods for worship Bhagwan Kunthunath lived for 15000 years of which he spent 23750 years as an ascetics and 16 years of Meditation and Spiritual Practices (sahdana/tap).It is believed that Kunthunath prabhu was 35 measure of bow(at that time unit of measurement was bow i.e. bow of bow & arrow) in height.

His symbol is goat. Bhagavan Kuntunath exhorted his disciples to follow the path of truth and non violence and realise the goal of their life ie liberation and give up worldly desires and pleasures. He urged them to lead a life of discipline and dedication. Great souls like him are born to redeem mankind from delusion and attachment and help them to cross the ocean of samsara and India is blessed to witness the birth of such great beings.

Bhagwan Aranath was the eighteenth Jain Tirthankar of the present half cycle of time (Avasarpini). He was also the seventh Chakravartin and thirteenth Kamadeva. According to Jain beliefs, he was born around 16,584,980 BCE.

Arahnath in his earlier incarnation was King Dhanpati of Sushima city in Mahavideha area. After ruling for a number of years he took Diksha from Samvar Muni. He had done rigorous penances for a number of lifetimes and had attained a very exalted state of enlightenment. Thus his soul was reborn as the next Tirthankar. He reincarnated in the Graiveyak dimension of the Gods and then descended into the womb of Queen Mitradevi who was the wife of King Sudarshana of Hastinapur.

The Queen gave birth to a son on the tenth day of the Krishna Paksh of the month of Margashirsh according to the Hindu calendar. The Queen had also dreamt of a gem studded wheel(Arah) and hence the child was named Arahnath. Time passed by and the boy grew up and they got him married. The King then handed over the Kingdom to his son and retired to the forest to practice spiritual disciplines. Arahnath ruled the Kingdom wisely. Soon the disc weapon ‘Chakra’ appeared in his armoury and he proceeded to conquer the kingdom with his mighty army. It is said that he conquered the six continents and in his attendance were thirty two thousand Kings, thus he became a Chakravarti.

After a long and successful reign, one day emperor Arnath was thinking about the ever changing seasons. This triggered a chain of sublime thoughts that lead to complete detachment. He renounced all the wealth, power and glory and became an ascetic. He did spiritual practices and wandered around.

After spending three years as an ascetic he arrived in the Sahasramra jungle outside Hastinapur and stood in mediation under a mango tree. With the fire of higher meditation he burnt one after another the four vitiating Karmas including illusory, knowledge obstructing, perception obstructing, and power hindering. Consequently he attained omniscience. His first discourse after attaining omniscience was on the subject of "How to win over the enemies like attachment and aversion."

He began preaching about attachment and aversion to worldly desires and methods to conquer delusion and gain release from worldly bondage. He urged his followers to practice non violence and compassion and focus on the true goal of life ie liberation. He explained the concepts of Right Action, Right Thinking and Right Conduct. Finally at Sammed Shikhar he attained Nirvana. His followers included the sixth and seventh Vasudevas and Baldevas and the eight Chakravarti(Subhum).

His symbol is fish. Bhagavan Arahnath urged his followers to practice the principles of compassion, Right Conduct and exhorted them to realise the goal of life ie self realisation and to give up worldly pleasures, attachment and free themselves from the eternal cycles of birth and death. Divine Beings like him are born to liberate mankind from the bonds of delusion and their purity and knowledge help humanity to transcend these bonds and attain liberation and bliss.

The 19th Jain Tirthankara Mallinatha image from a Jain temple 10th -11th century in sandstone. His only adornment is the srivatsa mark on his chest and characteristic whorls around the nipples. The Thrthankara holds two large disc-shaped lotus blossoms in each hand while his arms hang away from the body in a pose representing body abandonment. He stands on a cloth which bears an inscription, 'Mali', which may identify the figure as the 19th Tirthankara, Mallinatha. The Thirthankara is flanked by two attendants with fly whisks, celestial garland bearers and elephant riders. At the top of the panel is another Tirthankara seated in the pose of meditation, flanked by two saints.

On the 12th day of the bright half of the month of Phalgun, Bhagwan Mallinath, along with other 1000 saints was liberated and attained nirvana on Sammet Shikhar (mountain). Bhagwan Mallinath lived for 55000 years of which he spent 54900 years as ascetics. It is believed that Mallinath prabhu was 25 measure of bow(at that time unit of measurement was bow i.e. bow of bow & arrow) in height.

Bhagwan Munisuvrata Swami (मुनिसुव्रत स्वामी) was the twentieth Jain Tirthankar of the present age (Avasarpini). He was born around 1,184,980 BCE. He became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Munisuvrata was born to King Sumitra Raja and Queen Padmavati Rani at Mithila in the HariVansh clan. His birth date was the 15th day of the Shravan Sukla month of the Indian calendar. Bhagvan Munisurvrat was born in Rajgriha, his father's name was King Sumitra and mother's name was Padmavati Devi.

The being that was to be Lord Munisuvrat purified its soul during his birth as Surshreshta, the king of Champa city in Mahavideh. area. He had a bend for spiritual practices and in the process of his vigorous devotion for the Arhant, he earned Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra. Completing his age he reincarnated in the Pranat dimension of gods.

From the dimension of gods he descended into the womb of queen Padmavati, wife of king Sumitra raja of Rajgriha. On the third day of Shravna Krishna (according to Hindu Calendar) queen saw the auspicious fourteen (sixteen according to Digambara Jain Sect) dreams. It had been raining. Queen got up, took bath and did her religious activities and went to see the King to understand the meaning of these dreams. King told her excitedly that she was going to give birth to a very pious soul who would become a Tirthankara. On the 10th day of the Vaishakha Krishna month of the Hindu calendar, queen Padmavati gave birth to a son. During the pregnancy queen Padmavati took various vows and lead a life as disciplined as an ascetic. She became a true and strict follower of vows. Accordingly, after the birth the boy was named Munisuvrata (vow like ascetic).

When Munisuvrata became young he was married. Later king Sumitra raja gave the kingdom to Munisuvrata and became an ascetic. For some years Arnath ruled as a regional king. King Munisuvrata was an able king. His entire kingdom and neighbours all were under religious influence.

Munisuvrata ruled wisely for many years. Then thinking about the everchanging seasons and the monotony of life a deep sense of detachment came over him. He saw in his meditation all his past lives and realised the goal of his life and the purpose of his existence. He then gave up everything and embraced ascetism. He wandered about engaged in rigorous spiritual penances and under a Champa tree achieved Omniscience.

On the 9th day of the dark half of the month of Jeystha , Bhagwan Munisurvrat, along with other 1000 saints was liberated and attained nirvana on Sammet Shikhar (mountain). Bhagwan Munisurvrat lived for 30,000 years of which he spent 7500 years as an ascetics and 11 months of Meditation and Spiritual Practices (sahdana/tap). It is believed that Munisurvrat prabhu was 20 measure of bow(at that time unit of measurement was bow i.e. bow of bow & arrow) in height.

His symbol is tortoise. Divine souls like Bhagavan Munisuvrat are born to elevate mankind to achieve the goal of self realisation and rise beyond worldly bondage. His contemporaries include the ninth Chakravarti Mahapadma, the eight Prativasudev, Baldev and VasudevRam, Lakshman, Ravan. His elder brother the ascetic Vishnu Kumar was famous for his efforts in saving the Jain religion from the oppressions of Namuchi. It is said that the Jains celebrate Rakshabandhan to commemorate this event.

Bhagwan Naminatha was the twenty-first Jain Tirthankar of the current era. According to Jain beliefs, he was born around 584,979 BCE . He became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Naminatha was born to King Vijay Raja and Queen Vipra Rani of the Ikshvakudynasty, who were the rulers of Mithila at that time.His birth date is the 8th day of Shravan Krishna in the Indian calendar.

According to Jain tradition, the soul that would one day be the god Bhagavan Naminath purified itself during its incarnation as King Siddharth of the town of Kshambi in eastern Mhavideh. He reincarnated as a god in the Aparajit dimension, and later reincarnated as the child of Queen Vipra and King Vijay.

During Vipra's pregnancy, Mithila was attacked by a group of powerful kings. Peace-loving King Vijay was at a loss to find a peaceful solution, until an expert augur told the king that the pregnant queen should go to the roof of the palace and look at the attacking armies. The queen followed these instructions and threw a loving glance at the large armies stationed on the fields outside the town. The aura of the pious soul in her womb was so powerful that it cast a pacifying spell on the attackers. The kings, who had been sure of winning the battle, surrendered and bowed before king Vijay.

This incident inspired the king to name his new-born child "Naminath." Born on the eighth day of the dark (second) half of the month of Sravan, Naminath had a happy childhood. When he matured, he was married and later was given the reign of the kingdom.

Naminath ruled wisely for a number of years and in his prayers he saw his earlier lifetimes and realised the reason of his birth. He then decided to give up everything and become an ascetic on the ninth day of the dark half of the month of Ashadh according to the Hindu calendar. After rigorous spiritual practices he achieved Omniscience in a garden near Mithila under a Bakul tree.

He then began preaching on Right perception, Right Knowledge and Right Action. He urged his followers to practice compassion and non violence and to rise above worldly pleasures and realise the true goal of life. After a long time of preaching and penances he attained Nirvana at Sammed Shikhar on the tenth day of the dark half of the month of Vaisakh.

The symbol of Naminath is blue lotus(Neel kamal). Bhagavan Naminath was born to redeem mankind from the eternal cycles of birth and death and to lead them on the path of self realisation. He exhorted his follows to transcend worldly bondage and attain sublime heights. Divine Beings like him are born to purify the earth and India is blessed to have been witness to the birth of such Supreme Souls.

Lord Neminath was the 22nd Tirthankar or Ford-Maker of Jainism the present age. Neminath, who is accepted as a historical figure was connected with Sri Krishna and was Krishna’s younger cousin. The historical date of Lord Neminath was around 3100 B.C. He is also known as Arishtanemi. He along with Lord Rishabha is mentioned in the Rig Veda Samhita. Neminath was born to King Samudravijay and Queen Shiva Devi at Souripur in the Harivansh clan. His birth date is the 5th day of Shravana Shukla in the Indian calendar.

In his past life Arishtanemi was King Shankh, the eldest son of King Shrisen of Hastinapur. One day armies from all sides, smugglers, bandits, robbers, etc had covered the surroundings of Hastinapur. No body was safe from the attack of these bandits. Prince Shankh was an accomplished diplomat and strategist. King sent him to punish the bandits. He made such a plan that he won over the head of the bandit’s without any blood shed. On his way back he found a princess captured by a God of low category. He made efforts and relieved the princess. On looking at each other they felt in love and married. He was in deep love with his wife. This intensity made him feel upset sometimes and he use to think about the reason for such deep love for Yashomati. The answer he got was from a scholarly ascetic. He told him that this was their seventh birth as husband and wife and that is the reason of his and her intense love and this bond will be broken in their ninth birth where Shankh will be born as twenty second Tirthankar and Yashomati as Rajimati. And they both will choose the path of liberation.Shankh was now a king, but the feeling of detachment was there in him. He gave his throne to his son and went on the path of spiritualism. In the process of his vigorous devotion for the Arhat, Shankh earned Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra. He reincarnated as God in the Aparajit dimension. It was from here that this soul traveled all the way to the Earth to the womb of Shiva Devi wife of King Samudra Vijay of Shauripur to become twenty second Tirthankar.

King Samudra Vijay was enjoying the day with his wife and nine brothers and nine sisters. Suddenly queen felt little upset as she wanted to discuss some important matter with the King. So, she asked the king to move back to the palace as she was not feeling well. On returning back when king asked why she was not feeling well, the queen explained her desire to ask some question to the King in privacy. She said that early that morning she had seen all the fourteen dreams that are seen by a Tirthankar’s mother. She got up early and started praying and performing religious activities. And also was dying to tell the news to him.

On the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Shravan queen gave birth to a son whom they named Arishtanemi. They named him because the queen had seen a dream in which she saw a disc with Arishta gems. Also, the special mention here comes of Vasudev, younger brother of King Samudravijay. He was a charming prince. His senior queen was Rohini whose son was Balram and junior queen was Devki whose son was Vasudev ‘Shri Krishna’. Balram and Shri Krishna were the ninth Baldev and Vasudev.

Time passed by and Arishtanemi became young handsome prince. After few years the time of marriage of Arishtanemi approached. But he was completely detached person and didn't want to get married. His father went to Shri Krishna to convince Arishtanemi for marriage. Shri Krishna searched for a suitable match for Arishtanemi when one of his wife’s, Satyabhama, told him about her younger sister. Everything was finalized and marriage possession was organized. Arishtanemi was riding on a decorated elephant. Thousands of kings, prince etc were attending the marriage. While very near to the destination, Arishtanemi saw large fenced areas on the sides of the roads. Large number of wailing animals was bondage within those fences. On asking the reason of this bondage, the driver of the elephant said that these animals were to be used by the butcher, to prepare food for thousands of people who were to come in the marriage. Arishtanemi moved to his boots. He could not stand the idea of being the sole cause for the killing of thousands of innocent animals. He was filled with detachment.He asked the driver to immediately get the doors of the fences opened and release the animals and move back towards Dwarka. Rajimati was dressed in bridal dress, on hearing the news she went unconscious. When Arishtanemi was questioned about what he had done then he replied, “These animals were prisoners in the cages, we all are prisoners in the cage of Karma. Happiness lies in freedom and not in bondage. So I want to follow the path eternal bliss. So, please do not stop me.On hearing this news Rajimati also decided to become a saint and lead the rest of life as an ascetic.

After a year long charity, Arishtanemi came outside the town of Dwarka in Raivatak garden. Under an Ashoka tree he removed all his worldly possessions, with five fists full removed his hair, with thousands other people, on the sixth day of the bright half of the month of Shravan, took renunciation and became a sraman ascetic.

Shraman Neminath spent fifty four days in deep spiritual practices and then went to Girnar Hill. On the fifteenth day of the dark half of the month of Ashvin, in the afternoon, under the bamboo tree Neminath attained omniscience and became twenty second Tirthankar. After that, he delivered his first divine sermon. Rajimati also came to attend the Samosaran of Lord Neminath and along with her friends she attained renunciation and got liberated in the end.Lord Neminath preached Jain doctrine for very long time and wandered in many parts of India along with thousands of ascetics as an Omniscient saint. On the eighth day of the bright half of the month of Ashadh, Tirthankar Neminath destroyed all the Karmas attached with his soul and got liberated at the top of Mount Girnar in th present state of Gujarat, India.

A number of historians accept that Arishtanemi or Neminath, the cousin of Shri Krishna, was a historical figure who greatly contributed towards vegetarianism, compassion and Ahimsa (non-violence). This is the point where Jain prehistory fuses with history.

Bhagvan Parshvanath was born in Varanasi, on tenth day of the dark half of the month of Paush. His father name was King Ashvasen and Mother name was Vama Devi.

Thirthankara Parshvanath or Lord Parsva or Parasvanatha was the son of King Asvasena and Queen Vama of Varanasi. At the age of thirty he renounced the world and became an ascetic. He practiced austerities for eighty three days. on the eighty fourth day he obtained omniscience. Lord Parshvanath preached his doctrines for seventy years. At the age of one hundred he attained liberation on the summit of Mount Sammeta (Parsnath Hills).

Lord Parshvanath is always represented with the hood of a snake shading his head. The Yaksha Dharanendra and the Yakshi Padmavati are often shown flanking him. Once prince Parshvanath was walking into a forest. He saw an an false ascetic Mahipala surrounded by five fires for his practice of austeroty. With a special type of knowledge called Avdhignan Parsva could tell that a pair of snakes was in one of the logs in the fire. He quickly warned the Mahipala that he was burning the snakes, but instead of acting rapidly to save them, the man became angry at Parshvanath and denied the presence of the snakes. Parshavanath pulled out the right log and put it out, then gently split it, revealing two badly burned snakes. He recited the Navkar Mantra, a prayer, for them before they died. It was said that the snakes were reincarnated into the two previously mentioned Yakshas, Dharanendra and Padmavati. Mahipala after death born a Deva by name Sanbra.

Once Lord Parsa was engaged in yogic contemplation. While he was absorbed in yogic contemplation, Sambaradeva was passing along that place in his aerial vehicle. When the vehicle was just passing over the yogi, it did not move. He looked down and saw Parsva engaged in yogic contemplation. He became angry and wanted to destroy the yogi. He hurled at him various weapons. He cast thunder and rain over him. He hurled rocks over him. Thus he continued the attack for nearly a week. Learning the awful situation Dharmendra appeared there and protected the body of the Lord Parsva by spreading his thousands hoods over him. The weapons aimed at by Sambra all fell as flowers at the feet of the Lord.

The four vows preached by Lord Parshvanath are: not to kill, not to lie, not to steal, and not to own property. The vow of chastity was without a doubt, implicitly included in the last vow, but in the two hundred and fifty years that elapsed between the Nirvän of Parshvanath and the preaching of Lord Mahavira, considering the situation of that time, included the fifth vow of chastity explicitly to the existing four vows.

Thus, the number of vows preached by Lord Mahavir was five instead of four. There were followers of Lord Parshvanath headed by Keshi Kumar at the time Lord Mahavir. It is a historical fact that Kesi Kumar and Gandhar Gautam, chief disciple of Lord Mahavir met and discussed the differences. After satisfactory explanation by Gandhar Gautam, Keshi Kumar and monks and nuns of Lord Parshvanath tradition accepted the leadership of Lord Mahavira and they were reinitiated.

After realizing Arhanta sage, Lord Parswa spent 69 years 9 months in preaching the Dharma to all people and in all places, Finally, he spent one month in he summit of Sammedagiri engaged in yogic contemplation his remains four Akhati Karmas were destroyed. Thus he attained Nirvana, the state of infinite immortal bliss of spiritual sovereignty over the three worlds in the year 939 B.C.

Mahavira, ( Sanskrit: “Great Hero”) also known as Vardhamana (born c. 599 bce traditional dating, Kshatriyakundagrama, India—died 527 traditional dating, Pavapuri), Epithet of Vardhamana, the last of the 24 Tirthankaras (“Ford-makers,” i.e., saviours who promulgated Jainism), and the reformer of the Jain monastic community.

The last (twenty-fourth) Tirthankara, Mahavir, was a historical personality. He was born in 599 BC in a royal family of Kshatriyas in the democratic republic of Vaishali (Bihar). His father was King Sidhartha and his mother Queen Trishla Devi (Priyakarini). Sidhartha's gotra was Kasyapa and the paternal gotra of Trisala is mentioned as Vasistha. Trisala was the eldest daughter ( according to another tradition, sister) of King Cetaka of Vaisali).

Mahavira's original name was Vardhman. From his childhood, he was soft, kind-hearted. He was very upset by the ritual sacrifice of animals, and vowed to fight for the rights of animals. He also wished to fight for the advancement of women and untouchables. Among his sports of boyhood, there is even a traditional story that he brought under control a terrif serpent. Consequently and symbolic of this feat of bravery, he got the title Mahavira and Vira-natha.

He left his kingdom at the age of thirty to begin an ascetic life. He entered the forest to commune with all living beings, including animals, trees, and other plants. He practiced meditation, austerity, and samadhi for twelve and a half years, getting enlightenment. By self-purification and severe spiritual practices, finally, at the age of forty-two, Mahavira attained Kaivalya (perfection).

For the next thirty years, Mahavira spread the message of Ahimsa non-violence , truth, non-stealing, right conduct, and non possession. He campaigned against the barriers of caste, creed, and faith. He also advocated protecting all living creatures. Bhagavan Mahavira gave us several analytical theories of Karma, multiplicity of truth etc. All these theories helped people to reach higher levels of consciousness and to create happiness and peace in society. His doctrines of Right Knowing, Right Vision, and Right Conduct are considered the three Jewels of Jain philosophy, by which to achieve the ultimate goal in life.

His routine involved not even a trace of violence to living beings (Ahimsa), not to deprive others of even a blade of grass belonging to them (achorya), not to speak lie even remotely (Satya), not to entertain any sex appetite, even in mind (Brhamcharya), and not to have any possession of worldly goods (Aprigraha). These were his five great vows.

Mahavira responded with supreme forbearance. "I forgive all living beings. May all beings forgive me. I have forgiveness for one and all. I bear no malice towards anyone", he declared. Through his precept underscored by a practice of forgiveness and compassion, Mahavira brought about a happy transformation in a strife-torn society that was in perpetual tension and conflicts. Each living being is essentially and individual soul striving for ultimate happiness, he said. The supreme bliss, therefore, consists of liberation from the vicious circle of life and death. Freedom from the bondage of attachments is the only path that leads to salvation or ‘Nirvana’ - a state of perfection or the Life Eternal.

Gandhiji acknowledged mankind’s debt to Mahavira in these words: "No religion in the world has explained the principle of Ahimsa so deeply and systematically as discussed with its applicability in life in Jainism. Noted orientalist H.W. Beecher, said. "Mahavira was a great saviour, a benefactor of humanity and "one of the greatest of the great.

Mahavira attained Nirvana in 527 B.C. on the day of Kartik Krishna 15 at Pawapuri. But the light of knowledge he bequeathed to the world continues to enlighten the path of redemption for humanity.