• Rishabhdev (Adinath) and Mahavira are both Tirthankaras of the present time-cycle (Avasarpini).
• Rishabhdev is the 1st Tirthankara; Mahavira is the 24th (last) Tirthankara of this cycle.
• There is no blood or family relation between them. Their “relation” is spiritual: both are perfect Enlightened Ones who establish/renew the same Jain Dharma.
• Rishabhdev first established the Tirtha (the fourfold sangha of sadhus, sadhvis, shravaks, shravikas) and laid the foundations of right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct. Over very long periods the discipline declines.
• Mahavira, appearing much later, restored and reorganized the same path of liberation for the current age.
• Lineage and background:

- Rishabhdev: son of King Nabhi and Queen Marudevi, of the Ikshvaku lineage, traditionally associated with Kashyapa gotra. - Mahavira: son of King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala, of the Jnatṛ (Naya) Kshatriya clan, traditionally also associated with Kashyapa gotra.

• Time perspective:

- Jain cosmology places Rishabhdev in very ancient times at the start of human civilization. - Mahavira lived in historical times and gave the final, clear re-articulation of Jain vows and conduct for this era.

• Sect notes:

- Both Digambar and Shvetambar traditions agree on their positions as 1st and 24th Tirthankaras and on their spiritual relationship. - Traditional birth-era calculations differ for Mahavira’s dates between the sects, but this does not change their spiritual linkage.

In short: Rishabhdev begins the Tirthankara tradition of our cycle; Mahavira completes it. Both teach the same eternal Jain path to liberation.