Mahavir Jayanti

Why it is celebrated

Mahavir Jayanti, also called Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, is one of the most important festivals in Jainism. It celebrates the birth of Bhagwan Mahavira, the twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara of the present cycle of time. According to Jain texts he was born on the thirteenth day of the bright half of Chaitra (Chaitra Sud 13), traditionally dated to 599 BCE, which in the Gregorian calendar usually falls in March or April. Born as Vardhamana to King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala at Kundagrama near Vaishali in present-day Bihar, he renounced royal life at about thirty and spent some twelve years in deep meditation and austerity before attaining kevala jnana, omniscience. For the next three decades he taught the path of liberation built on ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity) and aparigraha (non-attachment), and attained nirvana at Pawapuri, also in Bihar. On the day, Jain temples are decorated with flags and flowers. Devotees perform abhisheka, the ceremonial bathing of the Tirthankara's image, and carry it through the streets in a rath yatra accompanied by hymns and prayers. Many observe fasts, read the Agamas and other scriptures, meditate, and give food, clothes and money in charity, often including support for animal shelters in keeping with the ideal of non-violence. Bihar's Department of Tourism promotes celebrations in Patna and at the Mahavira sites of Vaishali, Pawapuri and Rajgir, and large observances also take place at Palitana and Girnar in Gujarat, Ranakpur and Dilwara in Rajasthan, Shravanabelagola in Karnataka and the Parasnath temple in Kolkata.

Stories

The prince who became the 24th Tirthankara

According to Jain tradition, Vardhamana was born to King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala in Kshatriyakunda in Bihar. Trishala is said to have seen fourteen (or sixteen) auspicious dreams before his birth.

At thirty he renounced the palace, spent twelve years in austerity, attained omniscience, and taught as Mahavira, the 'great hero'. Jains count him as the 24th and last Tirthankara of this era.

Five vows that did not change

Mahavira's teaching rests on five vows: ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity) and aparigraha (non-possession). Ahimsa is the central principle of Jainism.

Scholars place him in about the 6th–5th century BCE, as a contemporary of the Buddha, though the Jain tradition gives earlier dates.

Abhisheka, processions and compassion

Mahavir Jayanti falls on the 13th day of the bright half of Chaitra, usually in March–April. Jains bathe the idol of Mahavira in the ritual called abhisheka, hold processions with a decorated chariot, visit temples and give charity.

Many states observe a holiday and close slaughterhouses on the day, in respect of ahimsa.

Pawapuri, Palitana and Shravanabelagola

Pawapuri in Bihar, where Mahavira is said to have attained nirvana, has the Jal Mandir, a temple in the middle of a lotus pond. Palitana in Gujarat has hundreds of Jain temples on Shatrunjaya hill.

At Shravanabelagola in Karnataka, the 57-foot monolithic statue of Bahubali, carved in about 981 CE, draws pilgrims.

Spiritual learning

Mahavir Jayanti asks for a birthday kept through restraint rather than excess: abhisheka, fasting and charity turn the Tirthankara's vows of non-violence, truth and non-attachment into daily practice for every living being's sake.