Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर,Mahāvīra), also known asVardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान,Vardhamāna), was the 24thTirthankara (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) ofJainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his life are uncertain and varies bysect, historians generally consider that he lived during the 6th or 5th century BCE,[14][15] reviving and reforming a proto-Jain community (which had possibly been founded byParshvanatha),[16][17] and he was an older contemporary ofGautama Buddha.
Jains regard him as the spiritual successor of the 23rdTirthankaraParshvanatha.[18] According to traditional legends andhagiographies, Mahavira was born in the early 6th century BCE to a royal Kshatriya Jain family ofancient India. His mother's name wasTrishala and his father's name wasSiddhartha. According to the second chapter of theŚvētāmbaraĀcārāṅga Sūtra, Siddhartha and his family were devotees ofParshvanatha.[19][20] Mahavira abandoned all worldly possessions at the age of about 30 and left home in pursuit of spiritual awakening, becoming anascetic. Mahavira practiced intense meditation and severe austerities for twelve and a half years, after which he attainedKevala Jnana (omniscience). He preached for 30 years and attainedmoksha (liberation) in the 6th century BCE, although the year varies bysect. (Many historians[8][15][21] now believe his lifetime was later, by as much as one century, than was stated in tradition.)
Mahavira taught attainment ofsamyak darshan orself realization (atma-anubhuti) through the practice ofbhedvijnāna, which involves positioning oneself as a pure soul, separate from body, mind and emotions, and being aware of the soul's true nature; and to remain grounded and steadfast in soul's unchanging essence during varying auspicious or inauspicious external circumstances. He also preached that the observance of the vows ofahimsa (non-violence),satya (truth),asteya (non-stealing),brahmacharya (chastity), andaparigraha (non-attachment) are necessary for spiritual liberation. He taught the principles ofAnekantavada (many-sided reality):syadvada andnayavada. Mahavira's teachings were compiled byIndrabhuti Gautama (his chief disciple) as theJain Agamas. The texts, transmittedorally 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 theNorth Indian city ofMathura, and is dated from between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE. His birth is celebrated asMahavir Janma Kalyanak and hisnirvana (liberation) and also his firstshishya ofGautama Swami is observed by Jains asDiwali.
Jains celebrateMahavir Janma Kalyanak every year on the 13th day of theIndian Calendar month ofChaitra.[22]
Lord Mahavira inlotus posture depicted in Svetambar iconography.
Surviving early Jain and Buddhist literature uses several names (orepithets) for Mahavira, includingNayaputta,Muni,Samana,Nigantha,Brahman, andBhagavan.[1] In early Buddhistsutras, he is referred to asAraha ("worthy") andVeyavi (derived from "Vedas", but meaning "wise").[23] He is known asSramana in theKalpa Sūtra, "devoid of love and hate".[24]
According to later Jain texts, Mahavira's childhood name wasVardhamāna ("the one who grows") because of the kingdom's prosperity at the time of his birth.[19] According to theKalpasutras, he was called Mahavira ("the great hero") by the gods in theKalpa Sūtra because he remained steadfast in the midst of dangers, fears, hardships and calamities.[24] He is also known as atirthankara.[25]
Ancient kingdoms and cities of India at the time of Mahavira
Although it is universally accepted by scholars of Jainism that Mahavira lived in ancient India, the details of his life and the year of his birth are subjects of debate.[26][14] According to theDigambaraUttarapurana text, Mahavira was born inKundagrama in theKingdom of the Videhas;[27] theŚvētāmbaraKalpa Sūtra uses the name "Kundagrama",[1][9] 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 ofPatna (the capital of Bihar),[28][29] his birthplace remains a subject of dispute.[1][26][30] Mahavira renounced his material wealth and left home when he was twenty-eight, by some accounts[31] (thirty by others),[32] 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.[31] Where he preached has been a subject of disagreement between the two major traditions of Jainism: Śvētāmbara and Digambara traditions.[1]
It is uncertain when Mahavira was born and when he died. One view is that Mahavira was born in 540BCE and died in 443BCE.[8][31] According to Buddhist and Jain texts, Buddha and Mahavira are believed to have been contemporaries which is supported by much ancient Buddhist literature.[8][28]
TheBarli Inscription inPrakrit language which was claimed to have been inscribed in 443 BCE (year 84 of theVira Nirvana Samvat), contains the lineViraya Bhagavate chaturasiti vase, which can be interpreted as "dedicated to Lord Vira in his 84th year", 84 years after theNirvana of the Mahavira.[33] However,palaeographic analysis dates the inscription to the 2nd-1st century BCE, and its interpretation has been disputed.[34][35] Historians such asD. C. Sircar and S. R. Goyal have disputed that theory that the inscription is dated in the Vira Nirvana Samvat, arguing that this era was first used in the early medieval period, and most probably did not exist in the century following the death of Mahavira.[36][37]
A firmly-established part of the Jain tradition is that theVira Nirvana Samvat era began in 527BCE (with Mahavira's nirvana).[8] However, some of the historians argue, "it seems quite clear that, at the time when these lists [Jain chronological records] were put into their present form, the real date of Mahāvīra had already either been forgotten or was at least doubtful," and is connected with "a list of kings and dynasties" which "is absolutely valueless, as it confuses rulers [...] and some of these may perhaps have been contemporary, and not successive as they are represented."[38]
The 12th-century Jain scholarHemachandracharya placed Mahavira in the 6th-5thcentury BCE.[38][39] According to Jain tradition, the traditional date of 527BCE is accurate; the Buddha was younger than Mahavira and "might have attained nirvana a few years later".[40] The place of his nirvana,Pavapuri in present-day Bihar, is a pilgrimage site for Jains.[31]
On the basis of chronologies inHemachandra'sPariśiṣṭaparvan, some historians have dated Mahavira's death to ca. 468-467 BCE or 477 BCE.[41][42] Other historians, who now favor the "Short Chronology" for Gautama Buddha's lifetime (ca. 480-400 BCE), believe that the traditional dates for Mahavira also are too early, by as much as one century, since Mahavira and Buddha were contemporaries.[8][15][21] Dundas suggests that Mahavira may have died "around 425 BCE, or a few years after".[8]
Kshatriyakund (the place of Mahavira's birth) is traditionally believed to be near Vaishali, an ancient town on theIndo-Gangetic Plain. Its location in present-day Bihar is unclear, partly because of migrations from ancient Bihar for economic and political reasons.[1] According to the "Universal History" in Jain texts, Mahavira underwent many rebirths (total 27 births) before his birth in the 6th-century BCE. They included a denizen of hell, a lion, and a god (deva) in a heavenly realm just before his last birth as the 24thtirthankara.[54] 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.[55][56][note 4] The embryo-transfer legend is not believed by adherents of the Digambara tradition.[58][59][60]
Jain texts state that after Mahavira was born, the godIndra came from the heavens along with 56digkumaries, anointed him, and performed hisabhisheka (consecration) onMount Meru.[54] These events, illustrated in a number of Jain temples, play a part in modern Jain temple rituals.[61] Although theKalpa Sūtra accounts of Mahavira's birth legends are recited by Svetambara Jains during the annualParyushana festival, the same festival is observed by the Digambaras without the recitation.[62]
Mahavira grew up as a prince. According to the second chapter of the Śvētāmbara textĀcārāṅga Sūtra, his parents were lay devotees ofParshvanatha.[19][20] Jain traditions differ about whether Mahavira married.[59][63] The Digambara tradition believes that his parents wanted him to marry Yashoda, but he refused to marry.[64][note 5] The Śvētāmbara tradition believes that he was married to Yashoda at a young age and had one daughter, Priyadarshana,[29][54] also called Anojja.[66]
Jain texts portray Mahavira as tall; his height was given as fourcubits (6feet) in theAupapatika Sutra.[67] According to Jain texts, he was the shortest of the twenty-fourtirthankaras; earlierarihants were believed to have been taller, withNeminatha or Aristanemi —the 22ndtirthankara, who lived for 1,000 years—said to have been sixty-five cubits (98feet) in height.[68]
Tirthankar Mahavir giving his half garment to a brahmin as alms
At age thirty, Mahavira abandoned royal life and left his home and family to live an ascetic life in the pursuit of spiritual awakening.[43][69][70] He undertook severe fasts and bodily mortifications,[71] meditated under theAshoka tree, and discarded his clothes.[43][72] TheĀcārāṅga Sūtra has a graphic description of his hardships and self-mortification.[73][74] According to theKalpa Sūtra, Mahavira spent the first forty-two monsoons of his life in Astikagrama,Champapuri, Prstichampa, Vaishali, Vanijagrama,Nalanda,Mithila, Bhadrika, Alabhika, Panitabhumi,Shravasti, andPawapuri.[75] He is said to have lived inRajagriha during the rainy season of the forty-first year of his ascetic life, which is traditionally dated to 491BCE.[76]
LordMahavir attaining omniscience inshukla dhyana, the highest level of meditation
According to traditional accounts, Mahavira achievedKevala Jnana (omniscience, or infinite knowledge) under aSāla tree on the bank of the River Rijubalika near Jrimbhikagrama at age 43 after twelve years of rigorous penance.[69][77][78] The details of the event are described in the JainUttar-purāņa andHarivamśa-purāņa texts.[79] TheĀcārāṅga Sūtra describes Mahavira as all-seeing. TheSutrakritanga expands it to all-knowing, and describes his other qualities.[1] Jains believe that Mahavira had a most auspicious body (paramaudārika śarīra) and was free from eighteen imperfections when he attained omniscience.[80] According to the Śvētāmbara, he traveled throughout India to teach his philosophy for thirty years after attaining omniscience.[69] However, the Digambara believe that he remained in hisSamavasarana and delivered sermons to his followers.[81]
Jain texts document eleven Brahmanas as Mahavira's first disciples, traditionally known as the elevenGanadharas.[82]Indrabhuti Gautama is believed to have been their leader,[81] and the others included Agnibhuti, Vayubhuti, Akampita, Arya Vyakta,Sudharman, Manditaputra, Mauryaputra, Acalabhraataa, Metraya, and Prabhasa. TheGanadharas are believed to have remembered and to have verbally transmitted Mahavira's teachings after his death. His teachings became known asGani-Pidaga, or the JainAgamas.[83] According toKalpa Sutra, Mahavira had 14,000sadhus (male ascetic devotees), 36,000sadhvis (female ascetics), 159,000sravakas (male lay followers), and 318,000sravikas (female lay followers).[18][84][85] Jain tradition mentions Srenika and Kunika ofHaryanka dynasty (popularly known asBimbisara andAjatashatru) andChetaka ofVideha as his royal followers.[75][86] Mahavira initiated hismendicants with themahavratas (Five Vows).[82] He delivered fifty-fivepravachana (recitations) and a set of lectures (Uttaraadhyayana-sutra).[69] Chandana is believed to be the leader of female monastic order.[87]
According to Jain texts, Mahavira'snirvana (death)[note 6] occurred in the town ofPawapuri in present-dayBihar.[89][90][91] His life as a spiritual light and the night of his nirvana are commemorated by Jains asDiwali at the same time that Hindus celebrate it.[91][92] His chief disciple, Gautama, is said to have attained omniscience the night that Mahavira achieved nirvana from Pawapuri.[93]
Accounts of Mahavira's nirvana vary among Jain texts, with some describing a simple nirvana and others recounting grandiose celebrations attended by gods and kings. According to theJinasena'sMahapurana,heavenly beings arrived to perform his funeral rites. ThePravachanasara of Digambara tradition says that only the nails and hair oftirthankaras are left behind; the rest of the body dissolves in the air likecamphor.[94] In some texts Mahavira is described, at age 72, as delivering his final preaching over a six-day period to a large group of people. The crowd falls asleep, awakening to find that he has disappeared (leaving only his nails and hair, which his followers cremate).[95]
The Jain Śvētāmbara tradition believes that Mahavira's nirvana occurred in 527 BCE, and the Digambara tradition holds that date of 510 BCE.[8] In both traditions, hisjiva (soul) is believed to abide inSiddhashila (the home of liberated souls).[92] Mahavira'sJal Mandir stands at the place where he is said to have attained nirvana (moksha).[96] Artworks in Jain temples and texts depict his final liberation and cremation, sometimes shown symbolically as a small pyre of sandalwood and a piece of burning camphor.[97]
Mahavira's previous births are recounted in Jain texts such as theMahapurana andTri-shashti-shalaka-purusha-charitra. Although a soul undergoes countless reincarnations in the transmigratory cycle ofsaṃsāra, the birth of atirthankara is reckoned from the time he determines thecauses of karma and pursuesratnatraya. Jain texts describe Mahavira's 26 births before his incarnation as atirthankara.[75] According to the texts, he was born asMarichi (the son ofBharata Chakravartin) in a previous life.[54]
Yativṛṣabha'sTiloya-paṇṇatti recounts nearly all the events of Mahavira's life in a form convenient for memorisation.[98] Jinasena'sMahapurana (which includes theĀdi purāṇa andUttara-purāṇa) was completed by his disciple, Gunabhadra, in the 8thcentury. In theUttara-purāṇa, Mahavira's life is described in threeparvans, or sections, (74–76) and 1,818 verses.[99]
Vardhamacharitra is aSanskritkāvya poem, written byAsaga in 853 CE , which narrates the life of Mahavira.[100][101][102]TheKalpa Sūtra is a collection of biographies oftirthankaras, notably Parshvanatha and Mahavira.Samavayanga Sutra is a collection of Mahavira's teachings, and theĀcārāṅga Sūtra recounts his asceticism.
Colonial-era Indologists considered Jainism (and Mahavira's followers) a sect ofBuddhism because of superficial similarities in iconography and meditative and ascetic practices.[103] As scholarship progressed, differences between the teachings of Mahavira and the Buddha were found so divergent that the religions were acknowledged as separate.[104] Mahavira, says Moriz Winternitz, taught a "very elaborate belief in the soul" (unlike the Buddhists, who denied such elaboration). His ascetic teachings have a higher order of magnitude than those of Buddhism or Hinduism, and his emphasis onahimsa (non-violence) is greater than that in other Indian religions.[104]
Mahavira's teachings were compiled byGautama Swami, hisGanadhara (chief disciple).[105] The canonical scriptures are in twelve parts.[106] Mahavira's teachings were gradually lost after about 300BCE, according to Jain tradition, when a severe famine in theMagadha kingdom dispersed the Jain monks. Attempts were made by later monks to gather, recite the canon, and re-establish it.[107] These efforts identified differences in recitations of Mahavira's teachings, and an attempt was made in the 5thcentury CE to reconcile the differences.[107] The reconciliation efforts failed, with Svetambara and Digambara Jain traditions holding their own incomplete, somewhat-different versions of Mahavira's teachings. In the early centuries of the common era, Jain texts containing Mahavira's teachings were written inpalm-leaf manuscripts.[83] According to the Digambaras,Āchārya Bhutabali was the last ascetic with partial knowledge of the original canon. Later, some learnedachāryas restored, compiled, and wrote down the teachings of Mahavira which were the subjects of theAgamas.[108]Āchārya Dharasena, in the 1stcentury CE, guided theĀchāryas Pushpadant and Bhutabali as they wrote down the teachings. The twoĀchāryas wroteṢaṭkhaṅḍāgama, among the oldest-known Digambara texts, on palm leaves.
The Jain Agamas enumerate fivevratas (vows) which ascetics and householders must observe.[109] These ethical principles were preached by Mahavira:[69][110]
Ahimsa (Non-violence or non-injury): Mahavira taught that every living being has sanctity and dignity which should be respected as one expects one's own sanctity and dignity to be respected.Ahimsa, Jainism's first and most important vow, applies to actions, speech, and thought.[111]
Satya (truthfulness): Applies to oneself and others.[111]
Asteya (non-stealing): Not "taking anything that has not been given"[112]
Brahmacharya (chastity): Abstinence from sex and sensual pleasures for monks, and faithfulness to one's partner for householders[111][113]
Aparigraha (non-attachment): For lay people, an attitude of non-attachment to property or worldly possessions; for mendicants, not owning anything[114]
The goal of these principles is to achieve spiritual peace, a better rebirth, or (ultimately) liberation.[115][116][117] According to Chakravarthi, these teachings help improve a person's quality of life.[118] However,Paul Dundas writes that Mahavira's emphasis on non-violence and restraint has been interpreted by some Jain scholars to "not be driven by merit from giving or compassion to other creatures, nor a duty to rescue all creatures" but by "continual self discipline": a cleansing of the soul which leads to spiritual development and release.[119]
Mahavira is best remembered in the Indian traditions for his teaching thatahimsa is the supreme moral virtue.[69][120] He taught thatahimsa covers all living beings,[121] and injuring any being in any form creates badkarma (which affects one's rebirth, future well-being, and suffering).[122] According toMahatma Gandhi, Mahavira was the greatest authority onahimsa.[123][124][125]
Mahavira taught that the soul exists. There is no soul (or self) in Buddhism, and its teachings are based on the concept ofanatta (non-self).[126][127][128] Mahavira taught that the soul isdravya (substantial), eternal, and yet temporary.[129]
To Mahavira, the metaphysical nature of the universe consists ofdravya,jiva, andajiva (inanimate objects).[86] Thejiva is bound tosaṃsāra (transmigration) because ofkarma (the effects of one's actions).[86] Karma, in Jainism, includes actions and intent; it colors the soul (lesya), affecting how, where, and as what a soul is reborn after death.[130]
According to Mahavira, there is nocreator deity and existence has neither beginning nor end. Deities and demons however exist in Jainism , whosejivas are a part of the same cycle of birth and death.[131] The goal of spiritual practice is to liberate thejiva from its karmic accumulation and enter the realm of thesiddhas, souls who are liberated from rebirth.[132] Enlightenment, to Mahavira, is the consequence of self awareness, self-cultivation and restraint from materialism.[119]
Mahavira also taught the concept of Bhedvijnān, or the science of distinguishing between the soul (jiva) and the non-soul (ajiva). Central to his teachings, bhedvijnān is the practice of realizing the distinction between the pure soul, which is eternal, formless, and independent, and the temporary, external aspects of existence such as body, thoughts, emotions, and karmic influences.
According to Mahavira, this understanding is crucial for attainment of nischay Samyak darshan (experiential self realization). He emphasized that human suffering arises from the false identification of the soul with material objects, including the body and mind. The teachings of bhedvijnān guide an individual to recognize what is truly the self (soul) and what is not, and remain aware of this separation. By distinguishing between the pure soul and the transient elements of life, one can cultivate detachment (vairagya) and move toward liberation (moksha). This was expounded in detail in works ofAcharya Kundkund,Acharya Haribhadra, Yashovijaya andShrimad Rajchandra.[133]
Bhedvigyan plays a key role in the progression towards self-realization. It serves as a stepping stone in the process of spiritual awakening, where the aspirant first becomes aware of their mistaken identity with the non-soul as their witness (bhed-nasti), and later become aware of the existence and true nature of the soul itself (asti). This process ultimately leads to the direct experience of the soul in a state of pure awareness, destroying karmic attachments.[134]
In Jainism, this knowledge is considered the foundation for developing right belief (samyak darshan) and attainingsamyak gyan (omniscience).
Mahavira taught the doctrine ofanekantavada (many-sided reality).[135][136][137] Although the word does not appear in the earliest Jain literature or the Agamas, the doctrine is illustrated in Mahavira's answers to questions posed by his followers.[135] Truth and reality are complex, and have a number of aspects. Reality can be experienced, but it is impossible to express it fully with language alone; human attempts to communicate arenayas ("partial expression[s] of the truth").[135] Language itself is not truth, but a means of expressing it. From truth, according to Mahavira, language returns—not the other way around.[135][138] One can experience the "truth" of a taste, but cannot fully express that taste through language. Any attempt to express the experience issyāt: valid "in some respect", but still a "perhaps, just one perspective, incomplete".[138] Spiritual truths are also complex, with multiple aspects, and language cannot express their plurality; however, they can be experienced through effort and appropriate karma.[135]
Mahavira'sanekantavada doctrine is also summarized in Buddhist texts such as theSamaññaphala Sutta (in which he is called Nigantha Nātaputta),[note 7][139] and is a key difference between the teachings of Mahavira and those of the Buddha. The Buddha taught theMiddle Way, rejecting the extremes of "it is" or "it is not"; Mahavira accepted both "it is" and "it is not", with reconciliation and the qualification of "perhaps".[140]
The Jain Agamas suggest that Mahavira's approach to answeringmetaphysical, philosophical questions was a "qualified yes" (syāt). A version of this doctrine is also found in theAjivika school of ancient Indian philosophy.[141][142]
According to Dundas, theanekantavada doctrine has been interpreted by many Jains as "promot[ing] a universalreligious tolerance ... plurality ... [and a] ... benign attitude to other [ethical, religious] positions"; however, this misreads Jain historical texts and Mahavira's teachings.[143] Mahavira's "many pointedness, multiple perspective" teachings are a doctrine about the nature of reality and human existence, not about tolerating religious positions such as sacrificing animals (or killing them for food) or violence against nonbelievers (or any other living being) as "perhaps right".[143] The five vows for Jain monks and nuns are strict requirements, with no "perhaps".[144] Mahavira's Jainism co-existed with Buddhism and Hinduism beyond the renunciant Jain communities, but each religion was "highly critical of the knowledge systems and ideologies of their rivals".[145]
A historically contentious view in Jainism is partially attributed to Mahavira and his ascetic life; he did not wear clothing, as a sign of renunciation (the fifth vow,aparigraha). It was disputed whether a female mendicant (sadhvi) could achieve the spiritual liberation like a male mendicant (sadhu) through asceticism.[146][147]
The digambar sect (the sky-clad, naked mendicant order) believed that a woman is unable to fully practice asceticism and cannot achieve spiritual liberation because of her gender; she can, at best, live an ethical life so she is reborn as a man.[note 8] According to this view, women are seen as a threat to a monk's chastity.[149]
Mahavira had preached about men and women equality. The Svetambaras have interpreted Mahavira's teaching as encouraging both sexes to pursue a mendicant, ascetic life with the possibility ofmoksha (kaivalya, spiritual liberation).[149][147][150]
Rebirth and realms of existence are fundamental teachings of Mahavira. According to theAcaranga Sutra, Mahavira believed that life existed in myriad forms which included animals, plants, insects, bodies of water, fire, and wind.[122][151] He taught that a monk should avoid touching or disturbing any of them (including plants) and never swim, light (or extinguish) a fire, or wave their arms in the air; such actions might injure other beings living in those states of matter.[122]
Mahavira preached that the nature of existence is cyclic, and the soul is reborn after death in one of thetrilok – the heavenly, hellish, or earthly realms of existence and suffering.[152] Humans are reborn, depending on one'skarma (actions) as a human, animal, element, microbe, or other form, on earth or in a heavenly (or hellish) realm.[122][153][154] Nothing is permanent; everyone (including gods, demons and earthly beings) dies and is reborn, based on their actions in their previous life.Jinas who have reachedKevala Jnana (omniscience) are not reborn;[122] they enter thesiddhaloka, the "realm of the perfected ones".[153]
Mahavira is sometimes called the founder of Jainism by non-Jains, but Jains believe that the 23 previoustirthankaras also espoused it.[71] Mahavira is placed in Parshvanatha's lineage as his spiritual successor and ultimate leader of shraman sangha.[155]
According to Jain tradition,Parshvanatha was atirthankara born 273 years before Mahavira, which would mean he lived in about the 9th or 8th century BCE.[156][157][158] However, "some scholars have suggested that Pārśvanātha and Mahāvīra were actually closer in time than the tradition claims",[159] and that "Pārśva could not have started his ascetic career before the beginning of the sixth century BC" and "may have passed away only a few decades before Vardhamāna [i.e., Mahāvīra] had started his preaching career".[160]
Jain texts suggest that Mahavira's parents were lay devotees of Parshvanatha. When Mahavira revived the Jain community in the 6th century BCE,ahimsa was already an established, strictly observed rule. The followers ofParshvanatha vowed to observeahimsa; this obligation was part of theircaujjama dhamma (Fourfold Restraint).[157][161]
According to Dundas, Jains believe that the lineage of Parshvanatha influenced Mahavira. Parshvanatha, as the one who "removes obstacles and has the capacity to save", is a popular icon; his image is the focus of Jain temple devotion.[155] Of the 24tirthankaras, Jain iconography has celebrated Mahavira and Parshvanatha the most; sculptures discovered at theMathura archaeological site have been dated to the 1stcentury BCE.[155][162][163] According toMoriz Winternitz, Mahavira may be considered a reformer of an existing Jain sect known asNiganthas (fetter-less) which was mentioned in early Buddhist texts.[103] TheBarli Inscription claimed as dating back to 443 BCE contains the lineViraya Bhagavate chaturasiti vase, which can be interpreted as "dedicated to Lord Vira in his 84th year", but the dating of the inscription is more likely 1st century BCE onpalaeographic grounds, and its interpretation has been disputed.[34] Historians such asD. C. Sircar and S. R. Goyal have disputed that theory that the inscription is dated in the Vira Nirvana Samvat, arguing that this era was first used in the early medieval period, and most probably did not exist in the century following the death of Mahavira.[36][37]
Two major annual Jain festivals associated with Mahavira areMahavir Janma Kalyanak andDiwali. DuringMahavir Janma Kalyanak, Jains celebrate Mahavira's birth as the 24th and lasttirthankara ofavasarpiṇī (the current time cycle).[53] During Mahavir JanmaKalyanak, the five auspicious events of Mahavira's life are re-enacted.[164] Diwali commemorates the anniversary of Mahavira'snirvana, and is celebrated at the same time as theHindu festival. Diwali marks the New Year for Jains.[165]
Samantabhadra'sSvayambhustotra praises the twenty-fourtirthankaras, and its eightshlokas (songs) adore Mahavira.[166] One suchshloka reads:
O Lord Jina! Your doctrine that expounds essential attributes required of a potential aspirant to cross over the ocean of worldly existence (Saṃsāra) reigns supreme even in this strife-ridden spoke of time (Pancham Kaal). Accomplished sages who have invalidated the so-called deities that are famous in the world, and have made ineffective the whip of all blemishes, adore your doctrine.[167]
Samantabhadra'sYuktyanusasana is a 64-verse poem which also praises Mahavira.[168]
Mahavira proclaimed in India that religion is a reality and not a mere social convention. It is really true that salvation can not be had by merely observing external ceremonies. Religion cannot make any difference between man and man.
An event associated with the 2,500th anniversary of Mahavira'snirvana was held in 1974:[171]
Probably few people in the West are aware that during this Anniversary year for the first time in their long history, themendicants of theŚvētāmbara,Digambara andSthānakavāsī sects assembled on the same platform, agreed upon a common flag (Jainadhvaja) and emblem (pratīka); and resolved to bring about the unity of the community. For the duration of the year fourdharma cakras, a wheel mounted on a chariot as an ancient symbol of thesamavasaraṇa (Holy Assembly) oftīrthaṅkara Mahavira traversed to all the major cities of India, winning legal sanctions from various state governments against the slaughter of animals for sacrifice or other religious purposes, a campaign which has been a major preoccupation of the Jainas throughout their history.
Mahavira iconography is distinguished by a lion stamped (or carved) beneath his feet; aShrivatsa is on his chest.
Mahavira is usually depicted in a sitting (or standing) meditative pose, with a lion symbol beneath him;[172] eachtīrthankara has a distinct emblem, which allows worshippers to distinguish similar idols.[173] Mahavira's lion emblem is usually carved below his legs. Like alltirthankaras, he is depicted with aShrivatsa in Shetamber tradition.[note 9] The yoga pose is very common in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. Each tradition has had a distinctive auspicious chest mark that allows devotees to identify a meditating statue to symbolic icon for their theology. There are severalsrivasta found in ancient and medieval Jain art works, and these are not found on Buddhist or Hindu art works.[174][175] and downcast eyes in digamber tradition while in Shetamber tradition it is wide open.
Mahavira's earliest iconography is from archaeological sites in thenorth Indian city ofMathura, dated from the 1stcentury BCE to the 2ndcentury CE.[176][177] Thesrivatsa mark on his chest and hisdhyana-mudra posture appears inKushana Empire-era artwork. Differences in Mahavira's depiction between the Digambara and Svetambara traditions appear in the late 5thcentury CE.[176] According to John Cort, the earliest archaeological evidence of Jina iconography with inscriptions precedes its datable texts by over 250 years.[178]
Many images of Mahavira have been dated to the 12th century and earlier;[179] an ancient sculpture was found in a cave in Sundarajapuram,Theni district,Tamil Nadu. K. Ajithadoss, a Jain scholar in Chennai, dated it to the 9th century.[180]
Jivantasvami represents Mahavira as a princely state. The Jina is represented as standing in thekayotsarga pose wearing crown and ornaments.[181]
^Heinrich Zimmer: "The cycle of time continually revolves, according to the Jainas. The present "descending" (avasarpini) period was preceded and will be followed by an "ascending" (utsarpini). Sarpini suggests the creeping movement of a "serpent" (sarpin); ava- means "down" and ut- means up."[43]
^This mythology has similarities with those found in the mythical texts of theVaishnavism tradition of Hinduism.[57]
^On thisChampat Rai Jain wrote: ""Of the two versions of Mahavira's life — the Swetambara and the Digambara— it is obvious that only one can be true: either Mahavira married, or he did not marry. If Mahavira married, why should the Digambaras deny it? There is absolutely no reason for such a denial. The Digambaras acknowledge that nineteen out of the twenty-fourtirthamkaras married and had children. If Mahavira also married it would make no difference. There is thus no reason whatsoever for the Digambaras to deny a simple incident like this. But there may be a reason for the Swetambaras making the assertion; the desire to ante-date their own origin. As a matter of fact their own books contain clear refutation of the statement that Mahavira had married. In the Samavayanga Sutra (Hyderabad edition) it is definitely stated that nineteentirthankaras lived as householders, that is, all the twenty-four excepting Shri Mahavira, Parashva, Nemi, Mallinath and Vaspujya."[65]
^Not to be confused withkevalajnana (omniscience).[88]
^Samaññaphala Sutta, D i.47: "Nigantha Nātaputta answered with fourfold restraint. Just as if a person, when asked about a mango, were to answer with a breadfruit; or, when asked about a breadfruit, were to answer with a mango: In the same way, when asked about a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, Nigantha Nātaputta answered with fourfold restraint. The thought occurred to me: 'How can anyone like me think of disparaging abrahman or contemplative living in his realm?' Yet I [Buddha] neither delighted in Nigantha Nātaputta's words nor did I protest against them. Neither delighting nor protesting, I was dissatisfied. Without expressing dissatisfaction, without accepting his teaching, without adopting it, I got up from my seat and left."
^According to Melton and Baumann, the Digambaras state that "women's physical and emotional character makes it impossible for them to genuinely engage in the intense [ascetic] path necessary for spiritual purification. (...) Only by being reborn as a man can a woman engage in the ascetic path. Later Digambara secondary arguments appealed to human physiology in order to exclude women from the path: by their very biological basis, women constantly generate and destroy (and therefore harm) life forms within their sexual organs. Svetambara oppose this view by appealing to scriptures."[148]
^A special symbol that marks the chest of atirthankara.
^abSwarajya Prakash Gupta & K. S. Ramachandran 1979, p. 106:"The Barli inscription, which was placed by Ojha in fifth century B.C., can really be assigned to the first century B.C., on paleographic grounds."
^abS. R. Goyal 2005, p. 3:"The belief that the Barli inscription is dated in the 84th year of the Mahavlra Era and thus belongs to the fifth century B.C. is rightly regarded as baseless, for no such era was in existence in that period."
^von Glasenapp 1925, pp. 29–31, 205–206: "At the end of almost thirty years of preaching, he died in the chancellory of King Hastipala of Pavapuri and attained Nirvana.".
^"Anatta | Buddhism".Encyclopædia Britannica.Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved10 December 2015.Anatta .. in Buddhism, the doctrine that there is in humans no permanent, underlying .. soul. The concept of anatta, or anatman, is a departure from the Hindu belief in atman ("the self").
^Chatterjee, Asim Kumar (2000).A comprehensive history of Jainism, 1 (2nd rev. ed.). New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. p. 15.ISBN81-215-0931-9.
^abTähtinen, Unto (1976).Ahimsa. Non-Violence in Indian Tradition. London. p. 132.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Dundas, Paul (2002) [1992].The Jains (Second ed.). London and New York City:Routledge. pp. 14, 19, 30.ISBN0-415-26605-X.
Chakravarthi, Ram-Prasad (2003), "Non-violence and the other A composite theory of multiplism, heterology and heteronomy drawn from Jainism and Gandhi",Angelaki,8 (3):3–22,doi:10.1080/0969725032000154359,S2CID143842799
Jacobi, Hermann (1964), Max Muller (ed.),Jaina Sutras (Translation), The Sacred Books of the East, vol. XXII, Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House (original: Oxford University Press)
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