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numbers difficult to comprehend in the present sense, the length and size of their physical bodies also expressed in a way incomprehensible to day and the number and names of the elemental heavenly beings who preferred to be at their service whenever needed for any purpose including physical protection are also available but only as laid down by the authors without any supportive independent evidence whatever. Till we are prepared to accept these as truths without question, we must keep them on our mental shelves for, even in facts such as whether the Tirthankara Lord Mallinath was a male or a female, Lord Mahavira was married and had children or was not married at all, whether the mothers of Tirthankaras on conception had 16 or 14 dreams, the 12 'angas and 14 'purvas'-jainas' original religious texts verbally transmitted from generation to generation were lost and destroyed or preserved intact being redacted in later centuries as late as the 4th century A.D., or even the latest highly revered text of Bhaktamar Stotra of the 7th century A.D. had originally -4 or 48 stanzas, there is no agreement at all among the Jainas to day.
So, without being dogmatic and depending upon our own sense of honest judgement, let us go. into what is available in Jaina books to have an idea about tho origin of Jainism. Plese remember. whatever this is, appears to be like wishful thinking on some fantastic statement about facts.
(1) In Jaina canonical literature, it has been stated that Tirthankaras 'descended from heaven in 'vimanas' space-ships. Kalpa Sutra by Acharya Sri Bhadrabahu as translated in 1884 in English by Professor Herman Jacobi describes lives of four Tirthankaraa viz Lord Rishabhadeva, Lord Sri Neminath, Lord Sri Parshwanath, and Lord Sri Mahavira Swami. According to it, Rishabhadeva in a 'vimana' called 'sarvarthasiddha', Nemineth in a 'vimana' called 'Aparajita' Parshwanath 'from the gods, tenth world Pranata Kalpa' without mentioning his 'vimana' by name and Mahavira Swami in a 'vimana' called 'pushpottara previous to being born here on earth 'descended from heaven where they lived' and in the
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