Life of Lord Mahavir

Mahavir was a prince whose childhood name was Vardhaman. As the son of a king Siddhartha, he had many worldly pleasures, comforts and services at his command. However at the age of thirty he left his family and the royal household, gave up his worldly possessions and become a monk in search of a solution to eliminate pain, sorrow and suffering from life.

Mahavir spent the following twelve and one half years in deep silence and meditation to conquer his desires, feelings and attachments. He carefully avoided harming other living beings including animals, birds, insects and plants. He also went without food for long periods of time. He remained calm and peaceful against all unbearable hardships. During this period, his spiritual powers developed fully and he realized perfect perception, perfect knowledge, perfect power and total bliss. This realization is known as kevaljnan or the perfect enlightenment.

Mahavir spent the next thirty years travelling barefoot through India preaching the eternal truth he had realized. The ultimate objective of his teaching is how one can attain total freedom from the cycle of birth, life, pain, misery and death and achieve the permanent blissful state of one's self. This is also known as liberation, nirvana, absolute freedom or Moksha.

At the age of 72 (527 BC), on the last day of the Gujarati month Aso(Ashwin) Lord Mahavir attained nirvana (death) and his purified soul left his body and achieved complete liberation. He became a Siddha, a pure consciousness, a liberated soul, living forever in a state of complete bliss. On the night of his nirvana, people celebrated the Festival of Lights (Dipavali) in his honor. This is the last day of the Jain calendar year.

1. Lord Mahavir was born on the 13th day of the first half of the Gujarati month Chaitra of the year 599 B.C.
2. Lord Mahavir was initiated on the 10th day of the second half of the Gujarati month Kartika of the year 569 B.C. at age of thirty
3. After adopting the monkhood, during the 12 years, 6 months and 15 days only 349 days he had taken a food and water single time a day. Rest of the days he had observed the penance of fasts without food and water. At the end of this period, on the 10th day of first half of the Gujarati month Vaishakha of the year 557 B.C., he attained omniscience.

The main five events of each Tirthankar called Kalyanakas. They are as under:

1. Ascending of the soul of Tirthankar from the heaven to the womb of the worldy mother, which is called Chyavana kalyanaka
2. Birth of Tirthankar called Janma Kalyanaka.
3. Initiation of Tirthankar called Diksha Kalyanaka.
4. Attaining omniscience called Kevalajnana kalyanaka.
5. Death of Tirthankar called Nirvana kalyanaka.

Vishsthanakpad-1	Vishsthanakpad-2	Chyavankalyanak	Janmakalyanak
Janmabhishek	Pathshalagaman	Lagnamahotsav	Rajyasabha
Dikshayatra	Dikshakalyanak	Kevalgyankalyanak	Nirvankalyanak

"From the modern historical research we come to know that long before Brahmanism developed into Hindu Dharma Jainism was prevalent in this country."

- Justice Ranglekar,
Bombay High Court

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