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On Mahavira and His Predecessors
117 about Rishabha, whether they are founded on facts, or were merely suggested by the legendary history of the Jainas, it is wholly impossible to decide.
Of the remaining Tirthankaras I have little to add. Sumati, the fifth Tirthankara, is apparently identical with Bharata's son Sumati, of whom it is said in the Bhagavata that he “will be irreligiously worshipped, by some infidels, as a divinity” (Wilson, ibid).
Arishtanemi, the 22nd Tîrthankara is connected with the Krishna-myths through his wife Ràgîmati, daughter of Ugrasena.
But we must close our researches here, content to have obtained few glimpses into the prehistorical development of Jainism. The last point which we can perceive is Pârsva; beyond him all is lost in the mist of fable and fiction.
