Jain Tirthankar A Stock Image

In Jainism, a Tīrthaṅkara is a person who has conquered saṃsāra (the cycle of death and rebirth), and provide a bridge for others to follow them from saṃsāra to moksha (liberation). Tīrthankara literally means a ford-maker and refers to a jina (hero) who builds a ford across across the ocean of rebirth and transmigration for others to use. According to Jain Agamas, that which helps one to cross saṃsāra is a tīrtha (ford) and the rare individual who refounds Jainism is a tīrthaṅkara (ford-maker).