How do Tirthankaras help Jain believers seek liberation?

In Jainism, a Tirthankara is a "ford-maker" or savior who has successfully crossed the stream of rebirths and established a path for others to follow.12

Tirthankaras do not act as personal gods who grant blessings or intervene in human affairs. Instead, they serve as perfect examples of renunciation and virtue. Jain believers pay them homage to cultivate these same qualities within themselves, which encourages them along their own journey toward final liberation (moksha).1

The path to liberation is supported by the teachings of the Tirthankaras, which emphasize the Three Jewels (ratnatraya):
* Right knowledge (samyagjnana)
* Right faith (samyagdarshana)
* Right practice (samyakcharitra)3

By practicing these principles—often through ascetic discipline, nonviolence (ahimsa), and the renunciation of attachments—believers seek to purify the soul and eventually free it from the accumulation of karmas that bind it to the cycle of birth and death.243