Top 10 Facts about Mahavira

Mahavir.jpg Photo by Dayodaya – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Facts about Mahavira

Mahavira also known as Vardhamana was the 24th supreme preacher of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd supreme preacher also known as Tirthankara. He was born in the early part of the 6th century BCE into a royal Kshatriya Jain Family. Mahavira abandoned all worldly possessions at the age of 30 and he left home in pursuit of spiritual awakening.

Mahavira practiced intense meditation and became an ascetic. He practiced severe austerities for twelve and a half years and was able to attain Kevala Jnana when the years passed. He preached for 30 years and attained Moksha in the 6th century BCE. Moksha translates to Liberation. Historians note that Mahavira who revived and preached Jainism in ancient India was an older contemporary of Gautama Buddha.

Jains celebrate Mahavir Janma Kalyanak every year without fail. It is celebrated on the 13th day of the Indian Calendar month of Chaitra. Mahavira taught the observance of ahimsa, non-violence, Satya, truth, and asteya, non-stealing. He taught the principles of Anekantavada which translate to Many-sided reality.

1. The History of Mahavira

Mahavira Tirthankar.jpg Photo by Rizhwickh – Wikimedia Commons

It has been recorded that Mahavira lived in ancient India. He was born in Kundalpur in the Kingdom of the Videhas, which is said to be present-day Bihar. It was thought to be the town of Basu Kund which was about 60 kilometers north of Patna which is the capital of Bihar. According to Buddhist and Jain texts, it is believed that there have been contemporaries who are supported by ancient Buddhist literature. 

2. The Story Behind Jain Tradition

In Jain cosmology, 24 Tirthankaras have appeared on Earth. Mahavira is the last Tirthankara of Avasarpini which means the present time cycle. A Tirthankara means a ford-maker, savior, and spiritual teacher. The title signifies the founding of a tirtha which is a passage across the sea of birth-and-death cycles.

3. He Abandoned Royal Life for Spirituality

He was only 13 years old when he left his family in pursuit of spiritual awakening. He was among the royal family member. Hw went through various fasting sessions before he started on bodily mortifications,  meditated under the Ashoka tree, and discarded his clothes.The Acharanga Sutra has a graphic description of his hardships and self-mortification. According to the Kalpa Sūtra, Mahavira spent the first forty-two monsoons of his life in Astikagrama, Champapuri, Prstichampa, Vaishali, Vanijagrama, Nalanda, Mithila, Bhadrika, Alabhika, Panitabhumi, Shravasti, and Pawapuri. He is said to have lived in Rajagriha during the rainy season of the forty-first year of his ascetic life, which is traditionally dated to 491 BCE.

4. He is Believed to have Infinite Knowledge

Mahavira Seattle 01.JPG Photo by Miguel Hermoso Cuesta – Wikimedia Commons

According to traditional accounts, Mahavira achieved Kevala Jnana or omniscience,  knowledge under a Sāla tree on the bank of the River Rijubalika near Jrimbhikagrama at age the age of 43 after twelve years of rigorous penance. The details of the event are described in the Jain texts. The The Sutrakritanga expands it to all-knowing, and describes his other qualities. Jains believe that Mahavira had a most auspicious body and was free from eighteen imperfections when he attained omniscience. According to the Śvētāmbara, he traveled throughout India to teach his philosophy for thirty years after attaining omniscience. However, the Digambara believe that he remained in his Samavasarana and delivered sermons to his followers.

5. He had Eleven Disciples

Jain texts document eleven Brahmins as Mahavira’s first disciples, traditionally known as the eleven Ganadharas. Indrabhuti Gautama is believed to have been their leader, and the others included Agnibhuti, Vayubhuti, Akampita, Arya Vyakta, Sudharman, Manditaputra, Mauryaputra, Acalabhraataa, Metraya, and Prabhasa. The Ganadharas are believed to have remembered and to have verbally transmitted Mahavira’s teachings after his death. His teachings became known as Gani-Pidaga, or the Jain Agamas. According to Kalpa Sutra, Mahavira had 14,000 male ascetic devotees, 36,000 female ascetics, 159,000 male lay followers, and 318,000 female lay followers. Jain tradition mentions Srenika and Kunika of Haryanka dynasty, popularly known as Bimbisara and Ajatashatru and Chetaka of Videha as his royal follower Mahavira initiated his mendicants with the Five Vows. He delivered fifty-five recitations and a set of lectures.Chandana is believed to be the leader of female monastic order.

Read more about another spiritual leader who had eleven disciples here.

6. His Idea of Jainism was Considered a sect of Buddhism

Colonial-era Indologists saw Jainism as part of Buddhism because of superficial similarities in iconography and meditative and ascetic practices. As scholarship progressed, differences between the teachings of Mahavira and the Buddha were found so divergent that the religions were acknowledged as separate. 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 on non-violence is greater than that in other Indian religions.

7. His Five Great Vows 

He had five great vows that shaped his faith. The first was non-violence or non-injury. He 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. The first vow, which is the Jainism’s first and most important vow, applies to actions, speech, and thought. The second is truthfulness and applies to oneself and others. Third was the non-stealing Not taking anything that has not been given. The fourth is chastity which is the abstinence from sex and sensual pleasures for monks, and faithfulness to one’s partner for householders and the fifth is the non-attachment which is for lay people, an attitude of non-attachment to property or worldly possessions; for mendicants, not owning anything.

8. The Goals of Spiritual Achievement

Mahavira Hall, Baoning Temple in Changsha 2022022506.jpg Photo by Huangdan2060 – Wikimedia Commons

The spiritual principles had goals which were achieved through his advocate for peace, a better rebirth, or ultimately liberation. According to Chakravarthi, these teachings help improve a person’s quality of life. However, 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. The goals had spiritual development and cleansing of the soul. He is remembered in the Indian traditions for his teaching that is supreme moral virtue. He taught that covers all living beings, and injuring any being in any form creates bad karma which affects one’s rebirth, future well-being, and suffering. According to Mahatma Gandhi, Mahavira was the greatest authority on Jainism’s first and most important vow, applies to actions, speech, and thought.

Read more about other Spiritual Leaders here.

9. There are Many Temples in His Memories

Mahavira Hall, Da’an Temple 202111022.jpg Photo by Huangdan2060 – Wikimedia Commons

There are many temples that are in honor of Mahavira. Some of them are Rishabhanath, Parshvanath, Neminath, and Shantinath. He is one of the five tirthankaras that attract the most devotional worship among the Jains. Various Jain temple complexes across India feature him, and these are important pilgrimage sites in Jainism. Pawapuri, for example, is a hilly part of southern Bihar, which is believed to have been a place where 23 out of 24 tirthankaras preached, along with Rishabha. According to John Cort, the Mahavira temple in Osian, Jodhpur, Rajasthan is the oldest surviving Jain temple in western India; it was built in the late 8th century. Important Mahavira temple complexes include Jal Mandir in Pawapuri, Trilokyanatha Temple, Meguti Jain Temple, Kumbharia Mahavira Temple, Sankighatta, Muchhal Mahavir Temple, Bhandavapur Jain Tirth, Dimapur Jain Temple, and Jain temple, Kundalpur.

10. He has a Unique Sitting Style

He is usually depicted in a sitting or standing meditative pose, with a lion symbol beneath him; each tīrthankara has a distinct emblem, which allows worshippers to distinguish similar idols. Mahavira’s lion emblem is usually carved below his legs. Like all tirthankaras, he is depicted with a Shrivatsa in Shetamber tradition.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 several srivasta found in ancient and medieval Jain art works, and these are not found on Buddhist or Hindu art works. and downcast eyes in digamber tradition while in Shetamber tradition it is wide open.

Read more about another famous spiritual personality here.