Who is the 24th Tirthankara?

Who is the 24th Tirthankara? Mahavira is the 24th and final Tirthankara of the current Jain time cycle.

Born as Vardhamana, Mahavira is regarded in Jain tradition as the last of 24 spiritual teachers who establish a path across saṃsāra, the cycle of birth and death. He is traditionally associated with the 6th century BCE and with the region around Vaishali in present-day Bihar.

Mahavira is sometimes mistakenly described as the founder of Jainism. Jain tradition presents him instead as the reformer and supreme teacher of an older religious community. Parshvanatha, the 23rd Tirthankara, is his immediate predecessor. Mahavira’s teachings emphasized nonviolence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy and non-attachment.

Jains commemorate his birth during Mahavir Janma Kalyanak and his liberation at Pawapuri during Diwali. His historical dates remain debated, although his importance in Jain religious history is not.