 The "tīrthaṅkaras" show the 'fordable path' across the sea of interminable births and deaths.Rishabhanatha is said to be the first "tīrthankara" of the present half-cycle ("avasarpiṇī").Mahāvīra (6th century BC) is revered as the twenty fourth "tīrthankara" of "avasarpiṇī".