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the body. Since this Käyotsarga (way of practicing penance, as in a standing posture) is peculiar only to the Jains and the figures are of naked ascetics, it can be postulated that these figures represent the Jain Tirthankars.
Again, the figures of male deities in contemplative mood and in sitting posture engraved on the seals are believed to resemble the figures of Jain Tirthankars, because these male deities are depicted as having one face only. While, the figures of male deities of Hindu tradition are generally depicted as having three faces or three eyes and with a trident or some type of weapon. Furthermore, there are some motifs on the seals found in Mohen-Jo-Daro identical with those found in the ancient Jain art of Mathura.
As Mahävir was the last Tirthankar, most philosophers consider Mahävir-swämi as the founder of the Jain religion. Obviously, this is a misconception. Now, historians have accepted the fact that Mahävir-swämi did not found the Jain religion but he preached, revived and organized the religion, which was in existence from the past (Anädi Käl).
At present, we are in the fifth Ärä, Dusham, of the Avasarpini half cycle, of which nearly 2500 years have passed. The fifth Ärä began 3 years and 3 1⁄2 months after the Nirvana of Bhagawan Mahavir in 527 B.C. Bhagawän Rishabhadev, the first Tirthankar, lived in the later part of the third Ärä, and the remaining twenty-three Tirthankars lived during the fourth Ärä.
Historical Period - Jain Tradition and Archaeological Evidence
Neminäth as a Historical Figure
Neminäth or Aristanemi, who preceded Bhagawän Pärshvanäth, was a cousin of Krishna. He was a son of Samudravijay and grandson of Andhakavrshi of Sauryapura. Krishna had negotiated the wedding of Neminäth with Räjimati, the daughter of Ugrasen of Dvärkä. Neminäth attained emancipation on the summit of Mount Raivata (Girnar).
There is a mention of Neminäth in several Vedic canonical books. The king named Nebuchadnazzar was living in the 10th century B. C. It indicates that even in the tenth century B.C. there was the worship of the temple of Neminäth. Thus, there seems to be little doubt about Neminäth as a historical figure but there is some difficulty in fixing his date.
Historicity of Pärshvanäth
The historicity of Bhagawän Pärshvanäth has been unanimously accepted. He preceded Bhagawän Mahävir by 250 years. He was the son of King Ashvasen and Queen Vämä of Väränasi. 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. Bhagawän Pärshvanäth preached his doctrines for seventy years. At the age of one hundred, he attained liberation on the summit of Mount Samet (Pärshvanäth Hills).
The four vows preached by Bhagawän Pärshvanäth are: not to kill, not to lie, not to steal, and not to have any possession. The vow of celibacy was implicitly included in the last vow. However, in the two hundred and fifty years that elapsed between the Nirvana of Pärshvanäth and the preaching of Bhagawän Mahävir, in light of the situation of that time, Bhagawän Mahävir added the fifth vow of celibacy to the existing four vows. There were followers of Bhagawän Pärshvanäth headed by Keshi Ganadhar at the time of Bhagawän Mahävir. It is a historical fact that Keshi Ganadhar and Ganadhar Gautam, chief disciple of Bhagawän Mahävir met and discussed the differences. After a satisfactory explanation by Ganadhar Gautam, Keshi Ganadhar, monks, and nuns of the Bhagawän Pärshvanäth tradition accepted the leadership of Bhagawän Mahävir and they were reinitiated. It should be noted that the monks and nuns who followed the tradition of Bhagawän Pärshvanäth were wearing clothes. (by shvetämbar tradition).
Bhagawän Mahävir
Bhagawan Mahavir was the twenty-fourth and the last Tirthankar. According to the tradition of the Shvetämbar Jains, the Nirvana of Bhagawän Mahävir took place 470 years before the beginning of the
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