Thread by @veekay_jain

An idol of Rishabhdev, the first Tirthankar, at the Guimet Museum in Paris.

He re-established the lost Jain religion at the end of the 3rd aara (tritiya kaal) of the present Avsarpini half of Kaal-chakra (time cycle).

As per Jain scriptures, there is no creator or destroyer of this world. It's been there & will continue to be there for ever. It's only changing constantly in cycles of growth & decay.
One complete cycle of growth & decay, Kaal-Chakra, is of 2000 million million yrs, divided

into 2 equal halves of 1000 million million years each, called Utsarpini (growth phase) and Avsarpini (decline phase).

Each of these 2 halves is further divided into 6 parts each, called "Aaras", which signify different stages of growth & decay. These 6 6 parts have been named

as under:
1. Sukham-sukham (period of extreme happiness)

2. Sukham (moderate happiness, but no sorrows)

3. Sukham-Dukham (happiness, with little sorrows)

4. Dukham-Sukham (sorrows, with little happiness)

5. Dukham (only sorrows)

6. Dukham-dukham (extreme sorrows).

These 6 Aaras are also called Pratham kaal, Dwitiya kaal, Tritiya kaal etc. respectively. In Avsarpini half-cycle, it starts from Pratham & goes upto Shashtam kaal. In the following Utsarpini half-cycle, this order is reversed.

There is no religion anywhere in the

Pratham & Dwitiya kaals, when every need of people is fulfilled by the abundant gifts of nature, without their needing to exert much. In these times of happiness all around, people don't feel the need of any religion & forget it.

The abundant gifts of nature start declining

in the Trittiya Kaal due to their constant overuse. Shortages gradually start appearing, resulting in strifes and sorrows towards the end of this kaal.
That is when the first Tirthankar is born, who revives the lost religion of Jainism and teaches people all the arts they need

to survive through the upcoming more & more difficult times.

This was Rishabhdev, the 1st tirthankar of present Kaal-chakra.

The teachings of 1st tirthankar are reinforced & updated from time to time by 23 more tirthankars, who take birth in Chaturth Kaal. Lord Mahavir was

the last such tirthankar of the present kaal chakra, who was born 2617 years ago towards the end of the Chaturth Kaal.

We are presently living in the Pancham Kaal which started just 3 years, 8.5 months after the Nirvaan of Lord Mahavir. It is to last for a total of 21,000 yrs.

It has been surmised in the Jain Agams that this Pancham Kaal is going to be a period of gradually increasing shortages, strifes and sorrows, with occasional bouts of happiness here & there / now & then. The teachings of tirthakaras will be gradually forgotten in this period and

by the end of this Pancham Kaal, in 18,458 years from now, there will be no religion left anywhere.

In the Shashtam Kaal (of 21,000 yrs) that follows, there'll be no religion anywhere - only extreme sorrows all around.

The cycle will reverse thereafter (in reverse order)

* 6 parts