Short answers, pulled from the story.
Jainism, also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion that teaches a path toward spiritual purity and enlightenment through disciplined nonviolence, called ahimsa, to all living creatures. Its philosophy rests on three ethical pillars: ahimsa, anekantavada or many-sided reality, and aparigraha or non-possession. Its ultimate goal is moksha, liberation from karma.
The tirthankaras are 24 supreme teachers, called ford-makers, who conquered the cycle of rebirth and attained omniscience known as kevala jnana. The first in the present cycle was Rishabhanatha, the 23rd was Parshvanatha, dated by historians to the 8th or 7th century BCE, and the 24th was Mahavira, a contemporary of the Buddha.
The Digambara, or sky-clad, tradition holds that male monks must renounce all possessions including clothes, while the Shvetambara, or white-clad, tradition allows monastics to wear simple seamless white robes. They differ on monastic discipline, canonical scriptures, and whether women can attain liberation, with Shvetambaras holding the 19th tirthankara Mallinatha was female and Digambaras rejecting this.
Jainism is the only tradition that conceives of karma as a physical, material substance made of subtle, invisible particles of matter called pudgala. These particles are drawn to the soul by a person's actions, thoughts, and words, sticking to it and obscuring its pure consciousness and bliss. This bondage traps the soul in the cycle of rebirth.
Jainism has between four and five million followers worldwide, with the vast majority living in India. The 2011 Census of India counted 4.45 million Jains, and significant diaspora communities exist in North America, Europe, and East Asia, including an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 in the United States.
The rigorous observance of ahimsa, or nonviolence, historically discouraged professions like agriculture and warfare that involve harming insects and other creatures. This steered the Jain community toward mercantile pursuits such as commerce, banking, jewelry, and trade, where they became a dominant force in ancient and medieval India.