Mahavira | Wikipedia audio article
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Date: 25/11/2018

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Mahavira

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SUMMARY
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Mahavira, also known as Vardhamāna, was the twenty-fourth Tirthankara (ford-maker) of Jainism. In the Jain tradition, it is believed that Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6th century BC into a royal kshatriya family in what is now Bihar, India. At the age of 30 he abandoned all worldly possessions and left home in pursuit of spiritual awakening, eventually becoming an ascetic. For the next 12 years, Mahavira practiced intense meditation and severe austerities, after which he is believed to have attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience). He preached for 30 years and is believed by Jains to have died in the 6th century BC, though the year varies by the Jain sect. Scholars such as Karl Potter consider his biographical details as uncertain, with some suggesting he lived in the 5th century BC contemporaneously with the Buddha. Mahavira attained nirvana at the age of 72 and his remains were cremated.After he gained Kevala Jnana, Mahavira taught that observing the vows ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity), and aparigraha (non-attachment) is the basic necessity for spiritual liberation. He gave the principle of Anekantavada (many-sided reality), Syadvada and Nayavada. The teachings of Mahavira were compiled by Indrabhuti Gautama (his chief disciple) and were called Jain Agamas. These texts were transmitted through oral tradition by Jain monks, but are believed to have been largely lost by about the 1st century when they were first written down. The surviving versions of the Agamas taught by Mahavira are some of the foundational texts of Jainism.
Mahavira is usually depicted in a sitting or standing meditative posture with the symbol of a lion beneath him. The earliest iconography for Mahavira is from archaeological sites in the north Indian city of Mathura. These are variously dated from the 1st century BC to the 2nd century AD. The day he was born is celebrated as Mahavir Janma-Kalyanak (popularly known as Mahavir Jayanti) and the day of his nirvana is observed by Jains as Diwali.