Historical Founder of Jainism

Rishabhdev is the Historical Founder of Jainism

The world has been grossly mistaken about the age of Jainism. Today from the excavated seals and images it is certain that Jainism was flourishing at the date of the Mohenjo-Daro Civilization, over 5,000 year ago.

But the last word should certainly go to the Hindus who have never disputed the fact that Rishabh Deva was the original founder of Jainism, and that its antiquity is immense and to be measured in millions.

The date of Risabha Deva’s age is simply unfixable; all that can be said about his time is that it was anterior to all forms of rational religion; for all mythologies, all allegories, of all lands and people that have a rational interpretation, yield only fragments of the Truth taught by him, when properly interpreted, and would be quite unintelligible and misleading with out the light (of his Word).

The Jaina chronology places Him at an almost immeasurable antiquity in the past; but the Hindus, who recognize the Tirthankara as one of the incarnatitons of Vishnu, hold that no less than twenty eight yugas (cycles) have elapsed since His time.

All that can be said definitely about his age, then, is that He flourished very very far back in the hoariest of hoary antiquity, and that He was prior to all systematized forms of religion.

References 

Title=Risabha Deva – The Founder of Jainism 

author-Champat Rai Jain

publisher-K. Mitra, Indian Press, Allahabad 

year-1929