In Jainism, the “age” of Jain Dharma is understood in a very special way:

1. Jain Dharma is beginningless (anādi) and endless (anant)

- According to Jain belief, Jain Dharma is not started by any one person at one point in time. - It is eternal – always existing in the universe as the true law of the soul (jiva), karma, and liberation (moksha).

1. Tirthankars only “re‑discover” and re‑teach this eternal Dharma

- In every time‑cycle, many Tirthankars come. They do not create a new religion; they re‑establish the same eternal Jain Dharma which had disappeared from people’s practice. - In the present half‑cycle (avasarpini), 24 Tirthankars (from Bhagwan Rishabhdev to Bhagwan Mahavir) have done this work.

1. Historical view (limited human history)

- From a history‑book angle, people often connect Jainism with Bhagwan Mahavir (24th Tirthankar), who lived around 6th century BCE. - But Jain scriptures clearly say that Jain Dharma was already there long before Mahavir, at least from the time of Bhagwan Rishabhdev (Ādinath), the 1st Tirthankar, and even earlier as right faith and right conduct have always existed in the universe.

1. So how old is Jainism?

- Spiritually and scripturally: Eternal – no starting date. - Historically (as modern scholars talk): at least many thousands of years old, and Jain tradition speaks of vast cosmic ages for earlier Tirthankars, far beyond ordinary history.

In simple words: Jainism does not have a birth‑date. It is the eternal path of the soul, periodically revealed again and again by Tirthankars in different ages.