background
Jainism arose in 7th century BC in Eastern India.It was a time and place of religious renewal, in which several groups reacted against the formalized rituals and hierarchical organization of traditional Hinduism, desiring something new and fresh.
Jainism is an independent and most ancient religion of India. Jainsim is an eternal religion. It is revealed in every cyclic period of the universe, and this constitutes the pre-historic time of Jainism. And there is a recorded history of Jainism since about 3000-3500 BC. The word Jain is derived from Jina, witch means the one victorious over the self and the external world. The jinas are regarded more respect then the gods. They include 24 tirthanaras or Ford-finders(holey men), the last tirthanaras Mahavira is the founder of jainism(599-527 BC).