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Lord Mahavira the death of Mahâvîra, Gautama was distraught with grief both because of separation from his master and his continuing failure to achieve the goal but, on realising that the person for whom he was mourning was in reality liberated, he shook off the passions and at last became enlightened.
Gautama seems to have become an object of devotion in his own right among the Shvetambaras by the medieval period (he does not appear to be so popular amongst the Digambaras), with the earliest recorded image of him dating from 1277 CE.42 There is a great deal of ritual literature which invokes Gautama's name in asking for help in the removal of obstacles or the gaining of magic power. Part of his attractiveness lies in the human qualities which he exemplifies. Gautama's portrayal in popular representations today as being chubby and jolly stems from an episode in the Universal History in which, preaching to some gods about the emciation which fasting brings to monks, he is mocked by his audience because of his corpulence. Gautama's reply that inner .qualities are what is significant is a warning to lay people that outer, physical appearance is not necessarily a guide to sanctity.
Another episode in the Universal History in which Gautama through his magic power feeds a group of monks with a tiny amount of food exemplifies his connection with prosperity in the Jain mind, and Jain business houses on the first day of the Jain new year, which occurs in November and coincides with Gautama's enlightenment, will write the name of Mahâvîra's chief disciple on the opening page of their fresh account books to ensure continuing auspiciousness. The Expansion of The Fordmaker Lineage
The most ancient Jain texts are interested only in Mahâvîra, although there are sporadic references to ancient ascetics and teachers familiar with the continuity of the doctrine which the commentators regarded as referring to earlier fordmakers (AS 1.4.1.1 and 1.6.3.2). However, the Universal History pivots around the two cardinal figures of Mahâvîra and the first fordmaker Rishabha (also known as Adinatha, 'Lord of the Beginning'), the latter of whom in his role as progenitor of culture simultaneously. embodies the realms of ascetic and lay values. Jain scholars today claim that Rishabha's historicity is guaranteed by the fact that his
