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originated. Any One does not found it. The tradition of Jain religion is propounded by such conquerors/ Tirthankaras. According to Jain philosophy, all Tirthankaras / Arihants / Siddhas/ Jinas were born as human beings but they attained a state of perfection or enlightenment through meditation and self- realization or atmadarshan.
There is no doubt that Jainism prevailed before Bhagwaan Mahavira.
Dr. Hermann Jacobi believes that "Jainism goes back to a very early period, and to primitive currents of religious and metaphysical speculation, which gave rise to the oldest Indian philosophies. Critical and comparative study has brought to light several words like 'Asrava', 'Samvara' etc., which have been used by Jains in the original sense but which have been mentioned in Buddhist Literature in figurative sense. On the basis of these words, Dr. Jacobi has concluded that Jainism is much older than the religion
