Many historians believe that Jainism and other hermit schools were simply a reaction to \nVedic ritualism. But for most Jains, their religion has no origin: it has always been \naround. \nJainism was rediscovered by Rishabh-dev, the first Tirthankar of this era. \nRishabh's eldest son, Bharat, became Chakravarti, king of kings, and gave the country \nits name. \nBahubali, Bharat's younger brother, renounced violence and followed the Jain path of \nfreedom. \nRishabh was followed by twenty-three other Tirthankars. The last of them was Mahavir, \nwho lived around 2,500 years ago. \nIn Tirthankar, Devdutt Pattanaik explores the stories, symbols, rituals and ideas \nassociated with one of India's most ancient but lesser-known faiths, and shows us why \nthe tenets of Jainism are still very relevant to all of us even today.