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Mahavira
Mahavira also known as Vardhamana was the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd Tirthankara Parshvanatha.Mahavira was born in the early 6th century BCE into a royal Jain family of ancient India. His mother’s name was Trishala and his father’s name was Siddhartha. They were lay devotees of Parshvanatha. Mahavira abandoned all worldly possessions at the age of about 30 and left home in pursuit of spiritual awakening, becoming an ascetic. Mahavira practiced intense meditation and severe austerities for twelve and a half years, after which he attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience). He preached for 30 years and attained moksha (liberation) in the 6th century BCE, although the year varies by sect.Mahavira taught that observance of the vows of ahimsa
Mahavira taught that observance of the vows of ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity), and aparigraha (non-attachment) are necessary for spiritual liberation. He taught the principles of Anekantavada (many-sided reality): syadvada and nayavada. Mahavira’s teachings were compiled by Indrabhuti Gautama (his chief disciple) as the Jain Agamas. The texts, transmitted orally by Jain monks, are believed to have been largely lost by about the 1st century CE.
Mahavira is usually depicted in a sitting or standing meditative posture, with the symbol of a lion beneath him. His earliest iconography is from archaeological sites in the North Indian city of Mathura, and is dated from between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE. His birth is celebrated as Mahavir Janma Kalyanak and his nirvana (salvation) and also his first shishya of Gautama Swami is observed by Jains as Diwali.
Historically, Mahavira, who revived and preached Jainism in ancient India, was an older contemporary of Gautama Buddha. Jains celebrate Mahavir Janma Kalyanak every year on the 13th day of the Indian
Names and epithets
Surviving early Jain and Buddhist literature uses several names (or epithets) for Mahavira, including Nayaputta, Muni, Samana, Nigantha, Brahman, and Bhagavan. In early Buddhist sutras, he is referred to as Araha (“worthy”) and Veyavi (derived from “Vedas”, but meaning “wise”). He is known as Sramana in the Kalpa Sūtra, “devoid of love and hate”.According to later Jain texts, Mahavira’s childhood name was Vardhamāna (“the one who grows”) because of the kingdom’s prosperity at the time of his birth. According to the Kalpasutras, he was called Mahavira (“the great hero”) by the gods in the Kalpa Sūtra because he remained steadfast in the midst of dangers, fears, hardships and calamities. He is also known as a tirthankara.
Historical Mahavira
It is universally accepted by scholars of Jainism that Mahavira lived in ancient India.According to the Digambara Uttarapurana text, Mahavira was born in Kundalpur in the Kingdom of the Videhas the Śvētāmbara Kalpa Sūtra uses the name “Kundagrama” said to be located in present-day Bihar, India. Although it is thought to be the town of Basu Kund, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Patna (the capital of Bihar), his birthplace remains a subject of dispute. Mahavira renounced his material wealth and left home when he was twenty-eight, by some accounts (thirty by others), lived an ascetic life for twelve and a half years in which he did not even sit for a time, attained Kevalgyana and then preached Dharma for thirty years. Where he preached has been a subject of disagreement between the two major traditions of Jainism: Śvētāmbara and Digambara traditions.
Early life
According to Jains, Mahavira was born in 599 BCE. His birth date falls on the thirteenth day of the rising moon in the month of Chaitra in the Vira Nirvana Samvat calendar era. It falls in March or April of the Gregorian calendar, and is celebrated by Jains as Mahavir Janma Kalyanak. Kshatriyakund (the place of Mahavira’s birth) is traditionally believed to be near Vaishali, an ancient town on the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Its location in present-day Bihar is unclear, partly because of migrations from ancient Bihar for economic and political reasons. According to the “Universal History” in Jain texts, Mahavira underwent many rebirths (total 27 births) before his 6th-century birth. They included a denizen of hell, a lion, and a god (deva) in a heavenly realm just before his last birth as the 24th tirthankara. Svetambara texts state that his embryo first formed in a Brahman woman before it was transferred by Hari-Naigamesin (the divine commander of Indra’s army) to the womb of Trishala, Siddhartha’s wife. The embryo-transfer legend is not believed by adherents of the Digambara tradition. Jain texts state that after Mahavira was born, the god Indra came from the heavens along with 56 digkumaries, anointed him, and performed his abhisheka (consecration) on Mount Meru.These events, illustrated in a number of Jain temples, play a part in modern Jain temple rituals.Although the Kalpa Sūtra accounts of Mahavira’s birth legends are recited by Svetambara Jains during the annual Paryushana festival, the same festival is observed by the Digambaras without the recitation.