Answer

In Jain Dharma, Arihants are not “made” by anyone. A soul becomes an Arihant by destroying the destructive karmas through its own spiritual effort, right faith, right knowledge, right conduct, and deep purification.

So, nobody first “declared” or “created” Arihants as Bhagwan. They are worshipped as Bhagwan because they have attained Keval Jnan and have conquered inner enemies like attachment, anger, ego, deceit, and greed.

Explanation

The word Arihant means:

• Ari = enemies
• Hant = destroyer

Here, “enemies” means inner enemies such as:

• Rāga — attachment
• Dveṣa — hatred
• Krodha — anger
• Māna — ego
• Māyā — deceit
• Lobha — greed

Arihants are called Bhagwan because they are spiritually perfected beings who have:

• attained infinite knowledge,
• attained infinite perception,
• removed deluding karma,
• shown the path to liberation.

In Jain belief, this truth is beginningless. Jain Dharma teaches that time has no absolute beginning, and in every time cycle, Tirthankars and Arihants appear and teach the eternal path of liberation.

Spiritual Understanding

Jains do not worship Arihants because someone ordered people to worship them. Jains worship them because Arihants represent the highest purified state of the soul.

Worship in Jain Dharma is not asking for favors. It is an act of:

• reverence,
• gratitude,
• inspiration,
• self-purification.

When we say “Namo Arihantanam”, we bow to all Arihants, not as creators of the universe, but as perfected souls who show what every soul can ultimately become.

Takeaway

No one “made” the first Arihant Bhagwan. In Jain Dharma, Arihants become Bhagwan through their own complete spiritual victory, and devotees worship them out of reverence for their perfect purity and guidance toward moksha.