The
individual who has destroyed attachment and aversion;
who is absolutely free of fondness and ignorance;
who has shed the four vitiating Karmas; namely illusory
(Mohaniya), knowledge obstructing (Jnanavaraniya),
perception obstructing (Darshanavaraniya), and power
hindering (Antaraya); is known as vitarag (the detached
one), Jina (the victorious) and Sarvajna or Kewali
(the omniscient).
The lofty person, an omniscient Arihant, who defines,
elaborates, and propagates Ahimsa, Truth, Brahmacharya
etc., establishes the four pronged (Sadhu, Sadhvi,
Shravak and Shravika) religious organization, and
is endowed with unique powers is known as the Tirthankar.Through
a very high level of penance and meditation, one
can attain the status of Tirthankars.
A Tirthankars is not an incarnation of the God.
He is an ordinary soul that born as a human and
attains the states of a Tirthankars as a result
of intense practices of penance, equanimity and
meditation. As such, the Tirthankars is not defined
as an Avatar (god-incarnate) but is the ultimate
pure 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 Bhagawan Rishabhdev
to Bhagawan Mahaveer. |
