Manek states that Sungazing is the key to his health, citing the Jainist Tirthankara Mahavira, ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Native Americans as his inspiration.

The literal meaning of Tirthankara is " ford-builder ".

The physical form is not worshipped, but the characteristics of the Tirthankara ( virtues, qualities ) are praised and emulated.

A famous illustration is that of Marudevi, the mother of Rishabha, the first Tirthankara of the present time cycle, who reached such emancipation by elevating sequentially her thought processes, while she was visiting her Tirthankara son.

* 599 BC — Vardhamana Mahavira, last Tirthankara of Jainism, is born.

Ashtapada, the mountain next to Mt. Kailash is the site where the first Jain Tirthankara, Rishabhadeva, attained Nirvana / moksa ( liberation ).

King Siddartha was the father of the Tirthankara Mahavira and the ruler of the kingdom of Kundagrama in what is present-day Bihar, India.

Jain orthopraxy is based on two factors: Jain siddhanta ( teachings of the Tirthankara ) and kriya ( practices prevalent at the time of the Tirthankaras ).

A massive metal statue of first Jain Tirthankara Rishabha Dev ( Adinath ), cast in five metals, is installed in the temple.

Tirthankara is also said to mean “ full moon ,” a metaphorical reference to Kevala Jnana, the spiritual state achieved by exalted and rare beings.

According to Jain traditions, it was on this day, falling at the beginning of chaturmas, the four month rainy season retreat, Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, after attaining Kaivalya, made Indrabhuti Gautam, later known as Gautam Swami, a Ganadhara, his first disciple, thus becoming a Guru himself, therefore it is observed in Jainism as Guru Purnima, and is marked special veneration to one's Gurus and teachers.

The city is also associated with the travels of Lord Buddha's contemporary Lord Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism.

Gosala is believed to have been a friend of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism.

Adipurana written in Champu style, a mixed form of prose and verse is a Kannada version of the Sanskrit work by Jinasena and details the life of Rishabha, the first Tirthankara of Jainism, in sixteen cantos.

Kizhminnal Tirthankara monuments is exist at Walajapet taluk.

* In Jain tradition, he is more than a Tirthankara.

The hill is also known as Parasnath, a name derived from Parshva, the 23rd Tirthankara who attained Nirvana there.

The Ikshvaku clan said to began from the first Tirthankara, Rishabha, who is regarded as the first King on the earth of this Avsarpini cycle.

This similarity is not accidental, since Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, preached in the same area ( Magadha ) as Gautama Buddha.

It is the birthplace of the Jain Tirthankara Dharmanath and is a temple town in Uttar Pradesh.

According to Jain texts, Ravana will be the future Tirthankara ( omniscient teacher ) of Jainism.

The special Jinas who not only rediscover dharma but also preach it for the Jain community are called Tirthankara.

* The first convert of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism was Indrabhuti ( aka Gautamswami ) the Brahmin, who headed a group of other Brahmins and converted them to Jainism.

Buddhists recorded that Mahāvīra preached the " fourfold restraint " of the Nirgrantha tradition — a clear reference to the teachings of Mahāvīra's predecessor Parshva ( 877-777 BCE ), traditionally the 23rd Tirthankara of Jainism — who propounded the four vows of Ahimsa, Satya ( truth ), Aparigraha ( non-possessiveness ), and Asteya ( non-stealing ), which may have been the template for the Five Precepts of Buddhism.

The first Tirthankara was Lord Rishabha, who lived long before Mahavira.

The 24th Tirthankara of the Jain community was Vardhamana, the last in a series of 24 who lived in East India.

Mahavira ( Vardhamana ) was the last ( 24th ) Tirthankara to attain enlightenment.

Kuśināra and Pava are very important in the history of Buddhism and Jainism since Buddha and Lord Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara took their last meals at Kushinara and Pava / Pavapuri respectively.

On the night of that day, Mahavira, the last Tirthankara, attained Nirvana or deliverance and attained liberation from the bondage of all karmas.

* Yuvacharya Mahaprajna, Need for solving the problem of Samvatsari, Tirthankara Vani, V. 1, N. 1.

Sobhanath temple is believed to be the birthplace of the Tirthankara Sambhavanath in Jainism, making Shravasti an important center for Jains.

* 599 BC – Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism ( d. 527 BC )

* Mahavira ( 599 – 527 BCE ) — heavily influenced Jainism, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism.

Parshva, the earliest Jain Tirthankara, whom modern Western historians consider to be a historical figure, lived in about the 8th century BCE.

Jainism has a distinct idea underlying Tirthankara worship.

The image illustrates a Jain text and includes a small shrine with an icon of a Jain savior, known as a Jina or Tirthankara, on the right.

Svetambaras believe women may attain liberation and that Mallinath, a Tirthankara, was female.

In the presence of a Tirthankara, another soul achieved Kevala Jnana and subsequently nirvana, without any need of intervention by the Tirthankara.

Indian discussion of reincarnation enters the historical record from about the 6th century BCE, with the development of the Advaita Vedanta tradition in the early Upanishads ( around the middle of the first millennium BCE ), Gautama Buddha ( 623-543 BCE ) as well as Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism.

Most of the austerities and ascetic practices can be traced back to Vardhaman Mahavira, the twenty-fourth " fordmaker " or Tirthankara.

Mahavira ( 599-527 BC ), the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, developed an early philosophy regarding relativism and subjectivism known as Anekantavada.

According to Jain tradition, he was the 24th and the last Tirthankara.

He followed the well established creed of his predecessor Tirthankara Parshva.

While a soul undergoes countless reincarnations in transmigratory cycle of samsara, the births of a Tirthankara are reckoned from the time he secures samyaktva or Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma.

Jain texts discuss 26 births of Mahavira prior to his incarnation as a Tirthankara.