In Jainism, a Tirthankara is a saviour and supreme preacher of the dharma. The word tirthankara signifies the founder of a tirtha, a fordable passage across saṃsāra, the sea of interminable birth and
Jain miniature painting of 24 Jain Tirthankaras, Jaipur, c. 1850
The 24 Tirthankaras forming the tantric meditative syllable Hrim, painting on cloth, Gujarat, c. 1800
Tirthankara images at Siddhachal Caves inside Gwalior Fort.
Auspicious 14 dreams seen by a tirthankara's mother during pregnancy as an ornamentation on cover of 19th-century manuscript
Mahavira, also known by his birth name Vardhamana, was an Indian religious reformer and spiritual leader, considered by Jains to be the 24th and final Tirthankara in the current time cycle of Jain cos
Tirthankara
…who is credited with formulating and organising humans to live in a society harmoniously. The 24th and last tirthankara of the present half-cycle was Mahavira (599 BCE–527 BCE). History records the existence of Mahavira and his predecessor, Parshvanatha, the 23rd tirthankara in the 9th century BCE. A tirthankara…
Idol of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, at Shri Mahavirji temple
The Gaṇasaṅghas (tribal republics) at the time of Mahavira
Painting of Mahavira among the Six Heretical Teachers in Kizil Caves, Xinjiang, China, 4th century CE
Folio from the Kalpa Sūtra, 15th century