Everything about Mahavira totally explained
» This article is about the Tirthankara of Jainism. For the Jain mathematician Mahavira Acharya, see Mahavira (mathematician).
Mahavira (महावीर lit.
Great Hero) (
599 –
527 BCE, though possibly
549 –
477 BCE) is the name most commonly used to refer to the Indian sage
Vardhamana (
Sanskrit: वर्धमान "increasing") who established what are today considered to be the central
tenets of
Jainism. According to Jain tradition, he was the 24
th and the last
Tirthankara. He is also known in texts as
Vira or
Viraprabhu,
Sanmati,
Ativira,and
Gnatputra. In the
Theravada Buddhist scriptures he's referred to as the
Nirgrantha Nathaputta - 'the naked ascetic of the Jñātr clan.'
Overview of Mahavira's life
Birth of Prince Vardhaman
In a place called
Kundagram in the ancient kingdom of
Vaishali (modern day
Bihar,
India), Mahavira was born to
King Siddartha and
Queen Trishala on the 13th day under the rising moon of
Chaitra (April 12 according to the
Gregorian calendar). While still in his mother's womb it's believed he brought wealth and prosperity to the entire kingdom, which is why he was also known as
Vardhaman. An increase of all good things, like the abundant bloom of beautiful flowers, was noticed in the kingdom after his conception. Queen Trishala had 14 (16 in
Digambara Sect) auspicious dreams before giving birth to Vardhaman, signs foretelling the advent of a great soul.
Jain tradition states that after his birth,
Indra bathed him in celestial milk with rituals befitting a future
Tirthankar and he was returned to his mother,
Trishala. Many Jains believe that Vardhaman was actually conceived by the
Brahmin Devananda but was transferred to the womb of Trishala by Indra because all Tirthankars had to be born into the
Kshatriya caste.
Vardhaman's birthday is celebrated as
Mahavir Jayanti, the most important religious holiday of Jains around the world. Mahavir Jayanti is celebrated with prayers, decorations, processions and festivity.
Early years
As King Siddartha's son, he lived as a prince. However, even at that tender age he exhibited a virtuous nature. He started engaging in meditation and immersed himself in self-contemplation. He was interested in the core beliefs of Jainism and started to get further away from worldly matters.
Twelve years of spiritual pursuit
At the age of thirty Mahavira renounced his kingdom and family, gave up his worldly possessions, and spent twelve years as an
ascetic. During these twelve years he spent most of his time meditating. He gave utmost regard to other living beings, including humans, animals and plants, and avoided harming them. He had given up all worldly possessions including his clothes, and lived an extremely austere life. He exhibited exemplary control over his senses while enduring the penance during these years. His courage and braveness earned him the name
Mahavira. These were the golden years of his spiritual journey, at the end of which he achieved
Keval Gyan. He was now a person of infinite harmony, knowledge and self-control.
Later years
Mahavira devoted the rest of his life to preaching the eternal truth of spiritual freedom to people around India. He traveled barefoot and without clothes, in the hardest of climates, and people from all walks of life came to listen to his message. At one point Mahavira had over 400,000 followers. Mahavira's preaching and efforts to spread Jain philosophy is considered the real catalyst to the spread of this ancient religion throughout India and into the mainstream.
At the age of 72 years and 4.5 months, he attained Nirvana (end of life cycle, and leaving the body, attaining and living in pure soul form. This isn't considered as death, since death means having re-birth again in some physical bodily form. When Nirvana is attained, the soul reaches to the highest point of the universe and stays there forever. In Jainism, this is called as Moksh) in the area known as
Pawapuri on the last day of the
Indian and Jain calendars,
Dipavali. Jains celebrate this as the day he attained liberation or
Moksha. Jains believe Mahavira lived from 599-527 BCE, though some scholars prefer 549-477 BCE.
Mahavira's philosophy
Mahavira's philosophy has eight principal cardinals - three metaphysical and five ethical. The objective is to elevate the quality of life. These independent principles reveal exceptional unity of purpose, and aim at achieving spiritual excellence by ethically sound behavior and metaphysical thought. Mahavira's metaphysics consist of three principles -
Anekantavada,
Syādvāda, and
Karma; and his Panchavrats, five codes of conduct -
Ahimsa,
Satya,
Asteya,
Brahmacharya, and
Aparigraha. He talks of Tri-ratnas - three gems, which are the means and the goal.
Mahavira preached that from eternity, every living being (
soul) is in bondage of
karmic atoms accumulated by good or bad deeds. Under
karma, the soul seeks temporary and illusory pleasure in materialistic possessions, which are the deep rooted causes of self-centered violent thoughts, deeds, anger, hatred, greed, and other vices. These result in further accumulation of
karmas.
To liberate one's self, Mahavira taught the necessity of right faith (
samyak-darshana), right knowledge (samyak-gyana), and right conduct (samyak-charitra'). At the heart of right conduct for
Jains lie the five great vows:
Jains believe these vows can't be fully implemented without accepting the philosophy of non-absolutism (
Anekantvada) and the theory of relativity (
Syādvāda, also translated "qualified prediction"). Monks and nuns follow these vows strictly, while common people follow them as far as possible.
Mahavira stated men and women are spiritually equal and that both may renounce the world in search of moksh or ultimate happiness.
Mahavira attracted people from all walks of life, rich and poor, men and women, touchable and
untouchable. He organized his followers into a fourfold order; monk (
Sadhu), nun (
Sadhvi), layman (
Shravak), and laywoman (
Shravika). This order is known as
Chaturvidh Jain Sangh.
Mahavira's sermons were orally compiled by his immediate disciples in the
Agam Sutras. These Agam Sutras were orally passed on to future generations. In the course of time many
Agam Sutras have been lost, destroyed, or modified. About one thousand years later the
Agam Sutras were recorded on
Tadpatris (leafy paper used in those days to preserve records for the future).
Swetambar Jains accept these
sutras as authentic teachings while
Digambar Jains use them as a reference.
Jainism existed before Mahavir, and his teachings were based on those of his predecessors. Thus Mahavira was a reformer and propagator of an existing religion, rather than the founder of a new faith. He followed the well established creed of his predecessor
Tirthankar Parshvanath. However, Mahavira did reorganize the philosophical tenets of Jainism to correspond to his times.
A few centuries after Mahavira's death, the Jain religious order (
Sangh) grew more and more complex. There were schisms on minor points, although they didn't affect Mahavira's original doctrines. Later generations saw the introduction of rituals and complexities that some criticize as placing Mahavira and other
Tirthankars on the throne similar to those of Hindu deities.
Mahavira in the visual arts
Images of Mahavira came to be sculpted more than six hundred years after his '
nirvana'. His images, or rather all Tirthankara images, were a votive necessity of Jain devotees. Hence, instead of aiming at discovering their real likenesses the prime thrust of such images was their spiritual and aesthetic modeling under prescribed norms.
Their images were largely the images of mind transformed into stone, metal or colors. With locks of hair falling on his shoulders and serpent hood behind his head, the images of
Rishabhadeva and
Parshvanatha respectively have a distinct iconography, but such distinction, except some regional variations and a few minor and remote features, isn't seen in other Tirthankara images.
Besides his lion emblem and a slightly different modeling of head, the images of Mahavira are largely identical to those of other
Tirthankara. In most images - at least the ancient ones which alone are in thousands - the pedestals, which contained emblems of different Tirthankaras, are not intact. Hence, the identity of a Tirthankara image is difficult to discern.
Mahavira's images are mostly either in '
kayotsarga-mudra' or in '
padmasana'. Other postures have not been preferred - not even the '
godohana-mudra', which Mahavira had when he attained 'keval gyan'. Images rendered for devotees of
Digambara sect are not only without clothes but also without every kind of ornamentation. Images rendered for
Svetambara devotees are represented as wearing garments, jewels and even a crown. They are represented as seated in a throne much like a monarch.
Episodes from his life do not, or little figure in visual arts. Both sculptors and painters have shown some interest in rendering his birth, sometimes as mother Trishala lying on a bed with a number of maids attending upon her, and sometimes as dreaming with sixteen auspicious signs around. A symbolic representation of Mahavira's 'tri-ratnas' is also found in various sculptural panels. Similarly, the diagram of his '
samavasarana' has been the theme of a number of miniatures and wall paintings.
Biographies of Mahavira
There are various Jain text describing life of Lord Mahavira. Most notable of them is
Kalpasutra by
Acharya Bhadrabahu I.
See also:
"Lord Mahavira and his times" by Kailash Chand Jain (1991) Motilal Banarsidass Publishers PVT LTD Delhi (India)
"Lord Mahavira (A study in historical perspective)" by Bool Chand (1987 ) P.V. Research Institute I.T.I Road Varanasi 5 (India)
"Lord Mahavira in the eyes of foreigners" by Akshaya Kumar Jain (1975 ) Meena Bharati New Delhi 110003 (India)
Quotes
"Once when he sat [inmeditation]…they cut his flesh…tore his hair…picked him up and…dropped him…the Venerable One bore the pain." (from the Akaranga Sutra)
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mahavira'.
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