Jainism was not invented by a single person. It is taught as an eternal dharma that has been revealed through a succession of 24 Tirthankaras (enlightened teachers) who revived and preached it in each cosmic era. The last and most well-known of them is Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, who systematized and spread the Jain path in its current form. Different Jain traditions (Digambara and Śvetāmbara) may describe certain details of earlier Tirthankaras differently, but both traditions honor 24 Tirthankaras and Mahavira as the final revival of this timeless doctrine.