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Chapter 1
THEIR LONG HISTORY
To give an extensive history of the Jains, it would be necessary to cite the name of the creator of that religion. According to them, their creed is very old in India. In the beginning of human civilization of this descending present era, it was preached first time by Rşabhadeva, the first Prophet.
Some consider Mahāvīra as the founder of Jainism, but its followers regard him as the 24" and last in a succession of Prophets who appeared during the present cycle of time and who have themselves been preceded by others during many earlier cycles. In any case, it is sure that Vardhamāna, also called Mahāvīra “the Great Hero", lived in India at the Vith-th centuries before the Christian era and that he has reformed and organized the Jainism that his parents practiced.
To schematize, we will divide the history of the Jains in three periods: 1) before Mahāvīra, 2) from Mahāvīra to the end of the XIXth century (period during which the Jainism has been acknowledged in the Western world as a specific religion) and 3) from the end of the XIX h century until today.
1. Before Mahāvīra
Jains assert that their religion, like the universe in its totality, has always existed and will always exist. On that matter, some researchers, open to such a version; have considered pre and protohistorical remains as Jain symbols.'
Jains state that time is eternal and that it evolves clock-wise, from ascending cycles (utsarpiņi) to descending ones (avasarpiņi), and conversely. According to them, each of these cycles is composed of
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