ABSTRACT
According to the Universal History, the numbers of Jains in this world era will dwindle until the end of the fifth spoke of the wheel when scriptural knowledge will be restricted to the Da¬avaikålika S¨tra, the ability to engage in ascetic practices will be minimal, and the only survivors will be the shortlived last monk and nun, Duªprasabha and Satya¬r⁄, along with the last layman and laywoman, the merchant Någila and his wife Phalg¨¬r⁄, and the last Jain king, Vimalavåhana. After their death and rebirth in various heavens, the sixth spoke of the wheel will culminate in a conflagration in which human beings who have degenerated to dwarves living in caves, having forgotten the social skills, will disappear and the current world era will come to an end.93
