The story
Transliteration of Sanskrit तीर्थंकर (tīrthaṃkara, “ford-maker”), from तीर्थम् (tīrtham, “ford”) + कर (kara, “maker”), where "ford" refers to the crossing across the material world.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
tirthankara
Today it means: A person who achieves enlightenment through asceticism and who then becomes a role-model teacher for those seeking spiritual guidance. Full definition →