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A Brief Introduction to Jainism
Jainism was founded by Rishabha, and attained a major status in India at the time of Mahavira , who was born in about 599 B.C. in Northern India, in the town of Vyshali, in the present day Bihar, in a royal family. When he was about 30 years old, after he had been a householder, Mahavira decided to abandon his aristocratic surroundings in favor of an ascetic life. He cast aside his fine raiment, gave away his treasures, and embarked upon a severe regimen. For twelve years he underwent castigation, enduring bodily and spiritual injury, and emerged a teacher of many monks, a renowned preacher, and a profounder of a new religion.
Chief among the tenets of Jainism is the deification of Mahavira. The Agamas ("Precepts") and Siddhantas ("Treatises"), declare him to be incarnate and preeminent, a venerable savior of men, the last of twenty-four tirthankaras (perfect souls). Jainism also preaches that karma is knowable and ineffable and that it is a cosmic power which directs retribution in the hereafter; this represents a marked break with the speculative Brahma of Hinduism.