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4]
[The life of Tirthankaras
tion of what has happened, what is happening and what will happen on earth in each Ara: that is, they acquaint us with the history of one Kala-chakra after another. If the present Ara is the Dukhama Ara, they will tell us what more misfortunes are to befall human beings in its remaining part, what worst is yet to come in the Dukhama-dukhama Ara which is to follow hereafter, and what good will ensue with the passage of time, at the advent of the Utsarpini Period. Etc. Etc.
Here follows a short description of the Aras for the benefit of the readers.
According to the Jain Sutras (religious Texts ), 63 Shalaka Purushas or.. Outstanding Personalities usually take their birth in the two Aras (1) Sukhama--Dukhama, (2) Dukhama--Sukhama. The traditional histories of Jain religion call these Superman Central points'. And they are still regarded as such. Out of these 63 highly-celebrated and spiritually elevated souls there are 24 Tirthankaras, 12 Chakravartins, and 27 Viras or Heroes. The Viras or Heroes include 9 Baldevas, 9 Vasudevas and 9 Prati-Vasudevas. There are at least one Tirthankara and one Chakravartin in every Sukhama--Dukhama Ara. The rest of the Tirthankaras and the Chakravartins are born in the Dukhama-Sukhamą Ära. This is the sequence of one Sarpini; the same thing can be said of the other also. ** The life of these illustrious and luminary beings to these five classes, namely, the Tirthankara, Chakravartin, Baldeva, Vasudeva and Prati-Vasu deva, corresponds in many respects with the life of other high souls of the same class. That is to say, the life of one Tirthankara is similar to the life of another Tirthankara and the life of one Chakravar
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