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Of his (Rşabhadeva's) hundred sons the eldest was Bharata. As he was the first ruler of our country it became popularly known as Bhāratavarşa. -
Infinite time has passed since Rşabhadeva commenced the tradition of śramaņa life (ascetic way of living or Jainism) and Bharata (Rşabhadeva's son) accomplished excellence in its social application. Many civilizations arose and were swept away by the tide of time. Evidences are yet to be found if these historical transformations were recorded or not. The prevailing scientific norms of validation applied by historians before accepting streams of tradition into the discipline of history have proved to be inadequate to the task. New discoveries have established that human being existed millions of years back. The capacity of human mind is unlimited and it works incessantly. History is created by these astonishing activities of the human mind.
With regard to Jain history we have to agree with the scholars who believe that where science fails to unravel the mysteries of history, we should take help of Purāņas (mythology). By including details about their earlier incarnations along with the detailed biographies of the towering personalities of its tradition, Jain mythology has provided links to important historical references. It is not proper to ignore these historical references by branding them as fables or legends.
TĪRTHANKARAS - AJITNĀTHA TO NEMINĀTHA
The historicity of Bhagavāna Ēdinātha and Emperor Bharata is now getting confirmation from many non-Jain evidences but that of the twenty Tīrthankaras from Ajita Nātha to Nami Nātha is yet to be irrefutably established. This is inspite of the fact that Jain legends and mythology contain their introduction and eulogies and no historian has been able to refute them till date. Therefore there is no apparent reason to disbelieve these references from Jain tradition. A brief introduction to these twenty Tīrthařkaras is presented here on this basis. This introduction will provide the necessary links with history. Information about the places of pilgrimage connected with these Tīrthankaras is also included. These places are pulsating references of history and evidences of the existence of these great men.
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