I am not jain but I grew up in a jain society in Pune in my formative years, and thereafter , I've lived in Malabar Hills in Mumbai which is a jain-dominated area. The discipline, austerity and simplicity followed by jains always intrigued me. What is it that has kept some of the richest, most modern and influential people of this country so deeply rooted and committed to their belief even now? Whom do they worship, why is it necessary to visit the temple as ritual every day, why go barefoot to the temple, why fast for a long stretch of days, and the recent renunciations which made headlines and many more? This inspired me to explore the tenets of this religion. I believe religion is the best of all arts and the story of religion is the best of all stories. It is this mesmerizing story of Jainism that I have tried to present through my work "The Tirthankars".

Jainism believes that the universe an all its substances or entities are eternal. It has no beginning or end with respect to time. There is no need for someone to create or manage the affairs of the universe. The universe is run on its own accord by its own cosmic laws. Hence, Jainism does not believe in god as creator, survivor and destroyer of the universe.

However, Jainism does believer in god. When living being destroys/overcomes/surmounts all his karmas, he possesses perfect knowledge, vision, power and bliss. He becomes omniscient and omnipotent. This living being in human form is Arihant or Tirthankar - a god of jain religion. Hence, jains do not believe in one god. Gods in jain religion are innumerable and the number is continuously increasing as more living beings attain liberation. Liberated souls are Siddhas – another revered form of godhood. Every living being has the potential to become a god of the jain religion.

Immediately after attaining Keval-Jnana, a person who establishes the four-fold religious order of monks, nuns, sravaks and sravikas is known as a Tirthankar. A Tirthankar is not an incarnation of god. He is an ordinary soul born as a human who attains the states of a Tirthankar as a result of intense practices of penance, equanimity and meditation. As such, the Tirthankar is not defined as an avatar (god-incarnate) but is the ultimate pure-developed state of the soul.