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an elephant, a horse, an ape, a heron, a lotus flower, a swastika, a moon, a dolphin, a tree, a rhino, a buffalo, a hog, a falcon, a thunderbolt, an antelope, a goat, a fish, a jar, a turtle, a conch-shell, a blue lotus, a cobra-three, five, seven, nine, even hundred or thousand hooded, and a lion. Why these signs and what is their meaning with reference to the individual Tirthankara whose sign it is cannot be satisfactorily explained yet from available Jaina literature. Could these be in some cases at least the shapes and designs of the 'vimanas" space-ships in which they first descended upon the earth and some time later were made visible as if in a fog, perhaps still later in the course of milleniums and centuries leaving only the faint impressions ever lingering on the human minds about them on earth?
6) Among Jainas there is a sense of conviction based on what is stated in their religious texts, that in 'Videha Kshetra' a place where formless life exists, there is no other religion prevalent except Jainism and there they have cycles of 20 Tirthankaras instead of 24. Even these names are mentioned in the texts with details about their lives. To three of these viz Sri Rishabhanan Swami, Sri Chandranan Swami and Sri Varishena Swami there are temples erected on Mount Samet Shikhara, to one viz Sri Simandhar Swami there is a temple still under construction at Mehsana in Gujarat, and to one more viz Sri Vishalkirti Swami there is a temple erected in Pataliputra i.e. Patna Bihar, North India.
7) And lastly in Jaina taxts, the length of interval between the appearance of these Tirthankaras is stated to be:
250 years between the 23rd and the 24th; 84,000 years between the 22nd and the 23rd; 500,000 years between the 21st and the 22nd; 1,100,000 years between the 20th and the 21st; 6,500.00 years between the 19th and the 20th; 10,000,000 years between the 18th and the 19th and so on untill it connot be expressed in any definite number. The size and height of their physical bodies and the lengths of their lives in these years are stated to be in proportion to the lengths of these intervals.
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