to follow. After understanding the true nature of the self or soul, the Tirthankara attains kevala jnana (omniscience). A Tirthankara provides a bridge for others to follow them from samsara to moksha (liberation).

In Jain cosmology, the wheel of time is divided into two halves, , the ascending time cycle, and avasarpini, the descending time cycle (said to be current now). In each half of the