How did Jainism start

Jainism is understood to be an eternal spiritual path that existed in some form long before recorded history. According to Jain tradition:

• It is said to be revealed by a lineage of enlightened teachers called Tirthankaras, who have shown the path to liberation to all beings.
• The 24th and most well-known Tirthankara in recent history is Mahavira, who is traditionally dated to around 599–527 BCE. He is seen as a reformer and a public propagator of the Jain path, not its first origin.
• The earliest Tirthankaras (like Rishabhanatha) are regarded as foundational figures in Jain lore. Over countless ages, the teachings were preserved and practiced, and Mahavira helped present them in a form that many people could follow.

Two main Jain communities (Digambara and Śvetāmbara) share the core ideas—ahimsa (non-violence), anekāntavāda (many-sided truth), and the aim of kevala jñāna (omniscience)—but they have slight differences in texts, practices, and how they interpret certain events and lineages.

In short: Jainism is presented in the tradition as an ancient, eternal dharma that has periodically been revived and taught by Tirthankaras, with Mahavira as the most recent and prominent teacher who clarified and spread the path in the current era.