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was a cousin of Lord Krsna and there could be little doubt about His historical veracity. He lived and preached in the Saurāstra region in the western India and attained nirvāṇa atop the Ürjayantagiri or Mt. Girnār.
Similarly, historical instances are found in the Jaina lore about the remaining twenty-one Tīrtharikaras as well and there is no reason to question Their historicity in the absence of evidence to the contrary.
Also, there is ample archaeological evidence to prove that the Jainism did not originate with the accepted historical figure - Lord Pārsvanātha, but aeons ago with Lord Rsabhadeva, who is referred to as Ādinātha (the first lord) for this very reason. The following is an account of such archaeological evidence: -
. It has been recorded that king Khāravela of Kalinga, in
his second invasion of Magadha in 161 BC, brought back an idol of Agrajina or the first Jina (Rsabhadeva), which had been carried away from Kalinga three centuries earlier by king Nanda-1. This shows that in the 5th century BC, Lord Rsabhadeva was worshipped and that His idol was
highly valued by His followers. B. In the Indus valley excavations some nude male terracotta
figures were found. It clearly shows that Jaina faith was followed by the people of the Indus valley civilisation as the worship of nude male deities is a very well-established
practice in Jainism. C. On one of the seals were found engraved nude figures of
six male deities standing in contemplative mood with their hands held very close to their bodies' (Kāyotsarga mudrā). This practice of contemplating in standing posture is peculiar only to the Jainas. This shows that the figures were of Jaina ascetics.
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