Sachitra Tirthankar Charitra

Author(s): Amarmuni, Shreechand Surana
Publisher: Padma Prakashan

Page 28

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सिंह
गज
is only as the result of a specific pious type of Karma that one may become a Tirthankar.
The lofty person, an omniscient Arihant, who defines, elaborates, and propagates Ahimsa, Truth, Brahmacharya etc., establishes the focr pronged (Sadhu, Sadhvi, Shravak and Shravika) religious organisation, and is endowed with unique powers is known as the Tirthankar.
It is a belief, mentioned in Jain scriptures, that it is only the soul who earns the pious bond of the Tirthankar-nam-karma through a very high level of penance and meditation, can attain the status of a Tirthankar.
During one descending cycle of time there may be innumerable onniscients but only twenty four Tirthankars. Acharya Somdev Suri has given an explanation about why there can only be this specific number of Tirthankars
"If the number of things existing in nature is not a fixed figure why the numbers of things like date, day, constellations, stars, planets, oceans, mountains are believed to be fixed ? It means that although they are numerous their exact number is fixed as per the law of nature." During one descending cycle of time only these twenty four Tirthankars are the originators of religion, founders of religious order and persons with divine powers.
A Tirthankar is not an incarnation of the God. He is an ordinary soul that is born as a hurnan and attains the states of a Tirthankar as a result of intense practices of penance, equanimity and meditation. As such, the Tirthankar is not defined as an Avatar (god-incarnate) but is the ultimate pure and developed state of the soul. Thus he may be called as the God in human form.
In the current descending cycle there have been twenty four Tirthankars from Bhagavan Rishabhdev to Bhagavan Mahavir. There names are as follows
वृषभ
लक्ष्मी
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1. Rishabhdev 2. Ajitnath 3. Sambhavnath 4. Abhinandan 5. Sumatinath 6. Padmaprabh 7. Suparshvanath 8. Chandraprabh
9. Suvidhinath 10. Sheetalnath 11. Shreyansnath 12. Vasupujya 13. Vimalnath 14. Anantnath 15. Dharmnath 16. Shantinath
17. Kunthunath 18. Arnath 19. Mallinath 20. Munisuvrat 21. Naminath 22. Arishtanemi 23. Parshvanath 24. Mahavir
चन्द्र
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Illustrated Tirthankar Charitra
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