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Mahavira

Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर), also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th tirthankara (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd tirthankara Parshvanatha.[8] Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6th century BCE into a royal Kshatriya Jain family in ancient India. His mother's name was Trishala and his father's name was Siddhartha. They were lay devotees of Parshvanatha. Mahavira abandoned all worldly possessions at the age of about 30 and left home in pursuit of spiritual awakening, becoming an ascetic. Mahavira practiced intense meditation and severe austerities for twelve and a half years, after which he attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience). He preached for 30 years and attained Moksha (liberation) in the 6th century BCE, although the year varies by sect.

Mahavira
Lord Mahavir giving his half garment to a brahmin as alms
Other namesVira, Ativira, Vardhamana, Sanmatinatha[1][2][3][4][5]
Venerated inJainism
PredecessorParshvanatha
SymbolLion[6]
Age72
TreeShala
ComplexionGolden
FestivalsMahavir Janma Kalyanak
Personal information
Bornc. 599 BCE[7]
Kshatriyakund, Vaishali, Vajji (present-day Vaishali district, Bihar, India)
Diedc. 527 BCE or 425 BCE (aged 71–72)[7] Pawapuri, Magadha (present-day Nalanda district, Bihar, India)
Parents
SiblingsNandivardhana

Mahavira taught that observance of the vows of ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity), and aparigraha (non-attachment) are necessary for spiritual liberation. He taught the principles of Anekantavada (many-sided reality): syadvada and nayavada. Mahavira's teachings were compiled by Indrabhuti Gautama (his chief disciple) as the Jain Agamas. The texts, transmitted orally by Jain monks, are believed to have been largely lost by about the 1st century CE (when the remaining were first written down in the Svetambara tradition). The surviving versions of the Agamas taught by Mahavira are some of Svetambara Jainism's foundation texts, but their authenticity is disputed in Digambara Jainism.

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 the North Indian city of Mathura, and is dated from between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE. His birth is celebrated as Mahavir Janma Kalyanak and his nirvana (salvation) and also his first shishya (spiritual enlightenment) of Shri Gautama Swami is observed by Jains as Diwali.

Historically, Mahavira, who revived and preached Jainism in ancient India, was an older contemporary of Gautama Buddha. Jains celebrate Mahavir Janma Kalyanak every year on the 13th day of the Indian Calendar month of Chaitra.[9]

Names and epithets

Surviving early Jain and Buddhist literature uses several names (or epithets) for Mahavira, including Nayaputta, Muni, Samana, Niggantha, Brahman, and Bhagavan.[1] In early Buddhist sutras, he is referred to as Araha ("worthy") and Veyavi (derived from "Vedas", but meaning "wise".[10] He is known as Sramana in the Kalpa Sūtra, "devoid of love and hate".[11]

According to later Jain texts, Mahavira's childhood name was Vardhamāna ("the one who grows") because of the kingdom's prosperity at the time of his birth.[12] According to the Kalpasutras, he was called Mahavira ("the great hero") by the gods in the Kalpa Sūtra because he remained steadfast in the midst of dangers, fears, hardships and calamities.[11] He is also known as a tirthankara.[13]

Historical Mahavira

 
Ancient kingdoms and cities of India at the time of Mahavira

It is universally accepted by scholars of Jainism that Mahavira lived in ancient India.[14][15] According to the Digambara Uttarapurana text, Mahavira was born in Kundalpur in the Kingdom of the Videhas;[16] the Śvētāmbara Kalpa Sūtra uses the name "Kundagrama",[1][17] 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 of Patna (the capital of Bihar),[18][19] his birthplace remains a subject of dispute.[1][14][20] Mahavira renounced his material wealth and left home when he was twenty-eight, by some accounts[21] (thirty by others),[22] 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.[21] 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 540 BCE and died in 443 BCE.[7][21] The Barli Inscription in Prakrit language which was inscribed in 443 BCE (year 84 of the Vira Nirvana Samvat), contains the line Viraya Bhagavate chaturasiti vase, which can be interpreted as "dedicated to Lord Vira in his 84th year", 84 years after the Nirvana of the Mahavira.[23][24] However, palaeographic analysis dates the inscription to the 2nd-1st century BCE.[25] According to Buddhist and Jain texts, Buddha and Mahavira are believed to have been contemporaries which is supported by much ancient Buddhist literature.[7][18]

A firmly-established part of the Jain tradition is that the Vira Nirvana Samvat era began in 527 BCE (with Mahavira's nirvana).[7] The 12th-century Jain scholar Hemachandracharya placed Mahavira in the 6th century BCE.[26][27] According to Jain tradition, the traditional date of 527 BCE is accurate; the Buddha was younger than Mahavira and "might have attained nirvana a few years later".[28] The place of his nirvana, Pavapuri in present-day Bihar, is a pilgrimage site for Jains.[21]

Jain tradition

According to Jain cosmology, 24 Tirthankaras have appeared on earth; Mahavira is the last tirthankara of Avasarpiṇī (the present time cycle).[note 1][30] A tirthankara (ford-maker, saviour or spiritual teacher) signifies the founding of a tirtha, a passage across the sea of birth-and-death cycles.[31][32][33]

Birth

 
The birth of Mahavira, from the Kalpa Sūtra (c. 1375–1400 CE)

Tirthankara Mahavira was born into a royal Kshatriya family of King Siddhartha of the Ikshvaku Dynasty and Queen Trishala of the Licchavi republic.[34][note 2] The Ikshvaku Dynasty was founded by the First tirthankara Rishabhanatha.[35][note 3]

According to Jains, Mahavira was born in 599 BCE. His birth date falls on the thirteenth day of the rising moon in the month of Chaitra in the Vira Nirvana Samvat calendar era.[21][37][38] It falls in March or April of the Gregorian calendar, and is celebrated by Jains as Mahavir Janma Kalyanak.[39]

Kshatriyakund (the place of Mahavira's birth) is traditionally believed to be near Vaishali, an ancient town on the Indo-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 6th-century birth. They included a denizen of hell, a lion, and a god (deva) in a heavenly realm just before his last birth as the 24th tirthankara.[40] 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.[41][42][note 4] The embryo-transfer legend is not believed by adherents of the Digambara tradition.[44][45][46]

Jain texts state that after Mahavira was born, the god Indra came from the heavens along with 56 digkumaries, anointed him, and performed his abhisheka (consecration) on Mount Meru.[40] These events, illustrated in a number of Jain temples, play a part in modern Jain temple rituals.[47] Although the Kalpa Sūtra accounts of Mahavira's birth legends are recited by Svetambara Jains during the annual Paryushana festival, the same festival is observed by the Digambaras without the recitation.[48]

Early life

Mahavira grew up as a prince. According to the second chapter of the Śvētāmbara Acharanga Sutra, his parents were lay devotees of Parshvanatha.[12][49] Jain traditions differ about whether Mahavira married.[45][50] The Digambara tradition believes that his parents wanted him to marry Yashoda, but he refused to marry.[51][note 5] The Śvētāmbara tradition believes that he was married to Yashoda at a young age and had one daughter, Priyadarshana,[19][40] also called Anojja.[53]

Jain texts portray Mahavira as tall; his height was given as four cubits (6 feet) in the Aupapatika Sutra.[54] According to Jain texts, he was the shortest of the twenty-four tirthankaras; earlier arihants were believed to have been taller, with Neminatha or Aristanemi —the 22nd tirthankara, who lived for 1,000 years—said to have been sixty-five cubits (98 feet) in height.[55]

Renunciation

At age thirty, Mahavira abandoned royal life and left his home and family to live an ascetic life in the pursuit of spiritual awakening.[29][56][57] He undertook severe fasts and bodily mortifications,[58] meditated under the Ashoka tree, and discarded his clothes.[29][59] The Acharanga Sutra has a graphic description of his hardships and self-mortification.[60][61] 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.[62] 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.[63]

Omniscience

According to traditional accounts, Mahavira achieved Kevala Jnana (omniscience, or infinite knowledge) under a Sāla tree on the bank of the River Rijubalika near Jrimbhikagrama at age 43 after twelve years of rigorous penance.[56][64][65] The details of the event are described in the Jain Uttar-purāņa and Harivamśa-purāņa texts.[66] The Acharanga Sutra describes Mahavira as all-seeing. The Sutrakritanga 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.[67] According to the Śvētāmbara, he traveled throughout India to teach his philosophy for thirty years after attaining omniscience.[56] However, the Digambara believe that he remained in his Samavasarana and delivered sermons to his followers.[68]

Disciples

Jain texts document eleven Brahmins as Mahavira's first disciples, traditionally known as the eleven Ganadharas.[69] Indrabhuti Gautama is believed to have been their leader,[68] 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.[70] According to Kalpa Sutra, Mahavira had 14,000 sadhus (male ascetic devotees), 36,000 sadhvis (female ascetics), 159,000 sravakas (male lay followers), and 318,000 sravikas (female lay followers).[8][71][72] Jain tradition mentions Srenika and Kunika of Haryanka dynasty (popularly known as Bimbisara and Ajatashatru) and Chetaka of Videha as his royal followers.[62][73] Mahavira initiated his mendicants with the mahavratas (Five Vows).[69] He delivered fifty-five pravachana (recitations) and a set of lectures (Uttaraadhyayana-sutra).[56] Chandana is believed to be the leader of female monastic order.[74]

Nirvana and moksha

 
Lord Mahavira's Jal Mandir (water temple) in Pawapuri, Bihar, India
 
The "Charan Paduka" or foot impression of Mahavira at Jal Mandir

According to Jain texts, Mahavira's nirvana (death)[note 6] occurred in the town of Pawapuri in present-day Bihar.[76][77][78] His life as a spiritual light and the night of his nirvana are commemorated by Jains as Diwali at the same time that Hindus celebrate it.[78][79] His chief disciple, Gautama, is said to have attained omniscience the night that Mahavira achieved nirvana from Pawapuri.[80]

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 the Jinasena's Mahapurana, heavenly beings arrived to perform his funeral rites. The Pravachanasara of Digambara tradition says that only the nails and hair of tirthankaras are left behind; the rest of the body dissolves in the air like camphor.[81] 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).[82]

The Jain Śvētāmbara tradition believes that Mahavira's nirvana occurred in 527 BCE, and the Digambara tradition holds that date of 468 BCE. In both traditions, his jiva (soul) is believed to abide in Siddhashila (the home of liberated souls).[79] Mahavira's Jal Mandir stands at the place where he is said to have attained nirvana (moksha).[83] 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.[84]

Previous births

Mahavira's previous births are recounted in Jain texts such as the Mahapurana and Tri-shashti-shalaka-purusha-charitra. Although a soul undergoes countless reincarnations in the transmigratory cycle of saṃsāra, the birth of a tirthankara is reckoned from the time he determines the causes of karma and pursues ratnatraya. Jain texts describe Mahavira's 26 births before his incarnation as a tirthankara.[62] According to the texts, he was born as Marichi (the son of Bharata Chakravartin) in a previous life.[40]

Texts

 
Folio from the Kalpa Sūtra, 15th century

Yativṛṣabha's Tiloya-paṇṇatti recounts nearly all the events of Mahavira's life in a form convenient for memorisation.[85] Jinasena's Mahapurana (which includes the Ādi purāṇa and Uttara-purāṇa) was completed by his disciple, Gunabhadra, in the 8th century. In the Uttara-purāṇa, Mahavira's life is described in three parvans, or sections, (74–76) and 1,818 verses.[86]

Vardhamacharitra is a Sanskrit kāvya poem, written by Asaga in 853, which narrates the life of Mahavira.[87][88][89] The Kalpa Sūtra is a collection of biographies of tirthankaras, notably Parshvanatha and Mahavira. Samavayanga Sutra is a collection of Mahavira's teachings, and the Acharanga Sutra recounts his asceticism.

Teachings

Colonial-era Indologists considered Jainism (and Mahavira's followers) a sect of Buddhism because of superficial similarities in iconography and meditative and ascetic practices.[90] As scholarship progressed, differences between the teachings of Mahavira and the Buddha were found so divergent that the religions were acknowledged as separate.[91] 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 ahimsa (non-violence) is greater than that in other Indian religions.[91]

Agamas

Mahavira's teachings were compiled by Gautama Swami, his Ganadhara (chief disciple).[92] The canonical scriptures are in twelve parts.[93] Mahavira's teachings were gradually lost after about 300 BCE, according to Jain tradition, when a severe famine in the Magadha kingdom dispersed the Jain monks. Attempts were made by later monks to gather, recite the canon, and re-establish it.[94] These efforts identified differences in recitations of Mahavira's teachings, and an attempt was made in the 5th century CE to reconcile the differences.[94] 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 in palm-leaf manuscripts.[70] According to the Digambaras, Āchārya Bhutabali was the last ascetic with partial knowledge of the original canon. Later, some learned achāryas restored, compiled, and wrote down the teachings of Mahavira which were the subjects of the Agamas.[95] Āchārya Dharasena, in the 1st century CE, guided the Āchāryas Pushpadant and Bhutabali as they wrote down the teachings. The two Āchāryas wrote Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama, among the oldest-known Digambara texts, on palm leaves.

Five Vows

 
The swastika and five vows

The Jain Agamas enumerate five vratas (vows) which ascetics and householders must observe.[96] These ethical principles were preached by Mahavira:[56][97]

  1. 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.[98]
  2. Satya (truthfulness): Applies to oneself and others.[98]
  3. Asteya (non-stealing): Not "taking anything that has not been given"[99]
  4. Brahmacharya (chastity): Abstinence from sex and sensual pleasures for monks, and faithfulness to one's partner for householders[98][100]
  5. Aparigraha (non-attachment): For lay people, an attitude of non-attachment to property or worldly possessions; for mendicants, not owning anything[101]

The goal of these principles is to achieve spiritual peace, a better rebirth, or (ultimately) liberation.[102][103][104] According to Chakravarthi, these teachings help improve a person's quality of life.[105] 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": a cleansing of the soul which leads to spiritual development and release.[106]

Mahavira is best remembered in the Indian traditions for his teaching that ahimsa is the supreme moral virtue.[56][107] He taught that ahimsa covers all living beings,[108] and injuring any being in any form creates bad karma (which affects one's rebirth, future well-being, and suffering).[109] According to Mahatma Gandhi, Mahavira was the greatest authority on ahimsa.[110][111][112]

Soul

Mahavira taught that the soul exists, a premise shared with Hinduism but not Buddhism. There is no soul (or self) in Buddhism, and its teachings are based on the concept of anatta (non-self).[113][114][115] Mahavira taught that the soul is dravya (substantial), eternal, and yet temporary.[116]

To Mahavira, the metaphysical nature of the universe consists of dravya, jiva, and ajiva (inanimate objects).[73] The jiva is bound to saṃsāra (transmigration) because of karma (the effects of one's actions).[73] Karma, in Jainism, includes actions and intent; it colors the soul (lesya), affecting how, where, and as what a soul is reborn after death.[117]

According to Mahavira, there is no creator deity and existence has neither beginning nor end. Gods and demons exist in Jainism, however, whose jivas a part of the same cycle of birth and death.[118] The goal of spiritual practice is to liberate the jiva from its karmic accumulation and enter the realm of the siddhas, souls who are liberated from rebirth.[119] Enlightenment, to Mahavira, is the consequence of self-cultivation and self-restraint.[106]

Anekantavada

Mahavira taught the doctrine of anekantavada (many-sided reality).[120][121][122] 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.[120] 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 are nayas ("partial expression[s] of the truth").[120] Language itself is not truth, but a means of expressing it. From truth, according to Mahavira, language returns—not the other way around.[120][123] One can experience the "truth" of a taste, but cannot fully express that taste through language. Any attempt to express the experience is syāt: valid "in some respect", but still a "perhaps, just one perspective, incomplete".[123] Spiritual truths are also complex, with multiple aspects, and language cannot express their plurality; however, they can be experienced through effort and appropriate karma.[120]

Mahavira's anekantavada doctrine is also summarized in Buddhist texts such as the Samaññaphala Sutta (in which he is called Nigantha Nātaputta),[note 7][124] and is a key difference between the teachings of Mahavira and those of the Buddha. The Buddha taught the Middle 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".[125]

The Jain Agamas suggest that Mahavira's approach to answering metaphysical, philosophical questions was a "qualified yes" (syāt). A version of this doctrine is also found in the Ajivika school of ancient Indian philosophy.[126][127]

According to Dundas, the anekantavada doctrine has been interpreted by many Jains as "promot[ing] a universal religious tolerance ... plurality ... [and a] ... benign attitude to other [ethical, religious] positions"; however, this misreads Jain historical texts and Mahavira's teachings.[128] 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".[128] The five vows for Jain monks and nuns are strict requirements, with no "perhaps".[129] 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".[130]

Gender

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 of a male mendicant (sadhu) through asceticism.[131][132]

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.[134]

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 of moksha (kaivalya, spiritual liberation).[134][132][135]

Rebirth and realms of existence

Rebirth and realms of existence are fundamental teachings of Mahavira. According to the Acaranga Sutra, Mahavira believed that life existed in myriad forms which included animals, plants, insects, bodies of water, fire, and wind.[109][136] 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.[109]

Mahavira preached that the nature of existence is cyclic, and the soul is reborn after death in one of the trilok – the heavenly, hellish, or earthly realms of existence and suffering.[137] Humans are reborn, depending on one's karma (actions) as a human, animal, element, microbe, or other form, on earth or in a heavenly (or hellish) realm.[109][138][139] 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 reached Kevala Jnana (omniscience) are not reborn;[109] they enter the siddhaloka, the "realm of the perfected ones".[138]

Legacy

Lineage

Mahavira is erroneously called the founder of Jainism, but Jains believe that the 23 previous tirthankaras also espoused it.[58] Mahavira is placed in Parshvanatha's lineage as his spiritual successor and ultimate leader of shraman sangha.[140]

Parshvanatha was born 273 years before Mahavira. Parshvanatha, a tirthankara whom modern Western historians consider a historical figure, lived in about the 8th century BCE.[141][142][143] 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 of Parshvanatha vowed to observe ahimsa; this obligation was part of their caujjama dhamma (Fourfold Restraint).[142][144]

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.[140] Of the 24 tirthankaras, Jain iconography has celebrated Mahavira and Parshvanatha the most; sculptures discovered at the Mathura archaeological site have been dated to the 1st century BCE.[140][145][146] According to Moriz Winternitz, Mahavira may be considered a reformer of an existing Jain sect known as Niganthas (fetter-less) which was mentioned in early Buddhist texts.[90] The Barli Inscription dating back to 443 BCE contains the line Viraya Bhagavate chaturasiti vase, which can be interpreted as "dedicated to Lord Vira in his 84th year".[147]

Festivals

Two major annual Jain festivals associated with Mahavira are Mahavir Janma Kalyanak and Diwali. During Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, Jains celebrate Mahavira's birth as the 24th and last tirthankara of avasarpiṇī (the current time cycle).[39] During Mahavir JanmaKalyanak, the five auspicious events of Mahavira's life are re-enacted.[148] Diwali commemorates the anniversary of Mahavira's nirvana, and is celebrated at the same time as the Hindu festival. Diwali marks the New Year for Jains.[149]

Worship

 
Mahavira worship in a manuscript c. 1825

Samantabhadra's Svayambhustotra praises the twenty-four tirthankaras, and its eight shlokas (songs) adore Mahavira.[150] One such shloka 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.[151]

Samantabhadra's Yuktyanusasana is a 64-verse poem which also praises Mahavira.[152]

Influence

Mahavira's teachings were influential. According to Rabindranath Tagore,

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.

— Rabindranath Tagore[111][112]

An event associated with the 2,500th anniversary of Mahavira's nirvana was held in 1974:[153]

Probably few people in the West are aware that during this Anniversary year for the first time in their long history, the mendicants of the Śvētāmbara, Digambara and Sthānakavāsī sects assembled on the same platform, agreed upon a common flag (Jaina dhvaja) and emblem (pratīka); and resolved to bring about the unity of the community. For the duration of the year four dharma cakras, a wheel mounted on a chariot as an ancient symbol of the samavasaraṇa (Holy Assembly) of tīrthaṅkara 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.

Iconography

 
Mahavira iconography is distinguished by a lion stamped (or carved) beneath his feet; a Shrivatsa is on his chest.

Mahavira is usually depicted in a sitting (or standing) meditative pose, with a lion symbol beneath him;[154] each tīrthankara has a distinct emblem, which allows worshippers to distinguish similar idols.[155] Mahavira's lion emblem is usually carved below his legs. Like all tirthankaras, he is depicted with a Shrivatsa 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 several srivasta found in ancient and medieval Jain art works, and these are not found on Buddhist or Hindu art works.[156][157] and downcast eyes in digamber tradition while in Shetamber tradition it is wide open.

Mahavira's earliest iconography is from archaeological sites in the north Indian city of Mathura, dated from the 1st century BCE to the 2nd century CE.[158][159] The srivatsa mark on his chest and his dhyana-mudra posture appears in Kushana Empire-era artwork. Differences in Mahavira's depiction between the Digambara and Svetambara traditions appear in the late 5th century CE.[158] According to John Cort, the earliest archaeological evidence of Jina iconography with inscriptions precedes its datable texts by over 250 years.[160]

Many images of Mahavira have been dated to the 12th century and earlier;[161] 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.[162]

Jivantasvami represents Mahavira as a princely state. The Jina is represented as standing in the kayotsarga pose wearing crown and ornaments.[163]

Temples

Along with Rishabhanath, Parshvanath, Neminath, and Shantinath; Mahavira is one of the five tirthankaras that attract the most devotional worship among the Jains.[165] 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.[166][167] 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.[168] 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

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 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."[29]
  2. ^ Trishala was the sister of King Chetaka of Vaishali in ancient India.[19]
  3. ^ The Adipurana By Acharya Jinasena mentions that Ikshvaku Dynasty was founded by Lord Rishabhadeva[36]
  4. ^ This mythology has similarities with those found in the mythical texts of the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism.[43]
  5. ^ On this Champat 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-four tirthamkaras 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 nineteen tirthankaras lived as householders, that is, all the twenty-four excepting Shri Mahavira, Parashva, Nemi, Mallinath and Vaspujya."[52]
  6. ^ Not to be confused with kevalajnana (omniscience).[75]
  7. ^ 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 a brahman 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."
  8. ^ 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."[133]
  9. ^ A special symbol that marks the chest of a tirthankara.

References

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Sources

External links

mahavira, this, article, about, 24th, tirthankar, jainism, other, topics, disambiguation, sanskrit, मह, also, known, vardhaman, 24th, tirthankara, supreme, preacher, jainism, spiritual, successor, 23rd, tirthankara, parshvanatha, born, early, part, century, in. This article is about the 24th Tirthankar of Jainism and for other topics see Mahavira disambiguation Mahavira Sanskrit मह व र also known as Vardhaman was the 24th tirthankara supreme preacher of Jainism He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd tirthankara Parshvanatha 8 Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6th century BCE into a royal Kshatriya Jain family in ancient India His mother s name was Trishala and his father s name was Siddhartha They were lay devotees of Parshvanatha Mahavira abandoned all worldly possessions at the age of about 30 and left home in pursuit of spiritual awakening becoming an ascetic Mahavira practiced intense meditation and severe austerities for twelve and a half years after which he attained Kevala Jnana omniscience He preached for 30 years and attained Moksha liberation in the 6th century BCE although the year varies by sect MahaviraJainismLord Mahavir giving his half garment to a brahmin as almsOther namesVira Ativira Vardhamana Sanmatinatha 1 2 3 4 5 Venerated inJainismPredecessorParshvanathaSymbolLion 6 Age72TreeShalaComplexionGoldenFestivalsMahavir Janma KalyanakPersonal informationBornc 599 BCE 7 Kshatriyakund Vaishali Vajji present day Vaishali district Bihar India Diedc 527 BCE or 425 BCE aged 71 72 7 Pawapuri Magadha present day Nalanda district Bihar India ParentsSiddhartha father Trishala mother SiblingsNandivardhanaMahavira taught that observance of the vows of ahimsa non violence satya truth asteya non stealing brahmacharya chastity and aparigraha non attachment are necessary for spiritual liberation He taught the principles of Anekantavada many sided reality syadvada and nayavada Mahavira s teachings were compiled by Indrabhuti Gautama his chief disciple as the Jain Agamas The texts transmitted orally by Jain monks are believed to have been largely lost by about the 1st century CE when the remaining were first written down in the Svetambara tradition The surviving versions of the Agamas taught by Mahavira are some of Svetambara Jainism s foundation texts but their authenticity is disputed in Digambara Jainism 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 the North Indian city of Mathura and is dated from between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE His birth is celebrated as Mahavir Janma Kalyanak and his nirvana salvation and also his first shishya spiritual enlightenment of Shri Gautama Swami is observed by Jains as Diwali Historically Mahavira who revived and preached Jainism in ancient India was an older contemporary of Gautama Buddha Jains celebrate Mahavir Janma Kalyanak every year on the 13th day of the Indian Calendar month of Chaitra 9 Contents 1 Names and epithets 2 Historical Mahavira 3 Jain tradition 3 1 Birth 3 2 Early life 3 3 Renunciation 3 4 Omniscience 3 5 Disciples 3 6 Nirvana and moksha 3 7 Previous births 3 8 Texts 4 Teachings 4 1 Agamas 4 2 Five Vows 4 3 Soul 4 4 Anekantavada 4 5 Gender 4 6 Rebirth and realms of existence 5 Legacy 5 1 Lineage 5 2 Festivals 5 3 Worship 5 4 Influence 5 5 Iconography 5 6 Temples 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 8 1 Citations 8 2 Sources 9 External linksNames and epithets EditSurviving early Jain and Buddhist literature uses several names or epithets for Mahavira including Nayaputta Muni Samana Niggantha Brahman and Bhagavan 1 In early Buddhist sutras he is referred to as Araha worthy and Veyavi derived from Vedas but meaning wise 10 He is known as Sramana in the Kalpa Sutra devoid of love and hate 11 According to later Jain texts Mahavira s childhood name was Vardhamana the one who grows because of the kingdom s prosperity at the time of his birth 12 According to the Kalpasutras he was called Mahavira the great hero by the gods in the Kalpa Sutra because he remained steadfast in the midst of dangers fears hardships and calamities 11 He is also known as a tirthankara 13 Historical Mahavira Edit Ancient kingdoms and cities of India at the time of Mahavira It is universally accepted by scholars of Jainism that Mahavira lived in ancient India 14 15 According to the Digambara Uttarapurana text Mahavira was born in Kundalpur in the Kingdom of the Videhas 16 the Svetambara Kalpa Sutra uses the name Kundagrama 1 17 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 of Patna the capital of Bihar 18 19 his birthplace remains a subject of dispute 1 14 20 Mahavira renounced his material wealth and left home when he was twenty eight by some accounts 21 thirty by others 22 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 21 Where he preached has been a subject of disagreement between the two major traditions of Jainism Svetambara and Digambara traditions 1 It is uncertain when Mahavira was born and when he died One view is that Mahavira was born in 540 BCE and died in 443 BCE 7 21 The Barli Inscription in Prakrit language which was inscribed in 443 BCE year 84 of the Vira Nirvana Samvat contains the line Viraya Bhagavate chaturasiti vase which can be interpreted as dedicated to Lord Vira in his 84th year 84 years after the Nirvana of the Mahavira 23 24 However palaeographic analysis dates the inscription to the 2nd 1st century BCE 25 According to Buddhist and Jain texts Buddha and Mahavira are believed to have been contemporaries which is supported by much ancient Buddhist literature 7 18 A firmly established part of the Jain tradition is that the Vira Nirvana Samvat era began in 527 BCE with Mahavira s nirvana 7 The 12th century Jain scholar Hemachandracharya placed Mahavira in the 6th century BCE 26 27 According to Jain tradition the traditional date of 527 BCE is accurate the Buddha was younger than Mahavira and might have attained nirvana a few years later 28 The place of his nirvana Pavapuri in present day Bihar is a pilgrimage site for Jains 21 Jain tradition EditSee also Panch Kalyanaka According to Jain cosmology 24 Tirthankaras have appeared on earth Mahavira is the last tirthankara of Avasarpiṇi the present time cycle note 1 30 A tirthankara ford maker saviour or spiritual teacher signifies the founding of a tirtha a passage across the sea of birth and death cycles 31 32 33 Birth Edit The birth of Mahavira from the Kalpa Sutra c 1375 1400 CE Tirthankara Mahavira was born into a royal Kshatriya family of King Siddhartha of the Ikshvaku Dynasty and Queen Trishala of the Licchavi republic 34 note 2 The Ikshvaku Dynasty was founded by the First tirthankara Rishabhanatha 35 note 3 According to Jains Mahavira was born in 599 BCE His birth date falls on the thirteenth day of the rising moon in the month of Chaitra in the Vira Nirvana Samvat calendar era 21 37 38 It falls in March or April of the Gregorian calendar and is celebrated by Jains as Mahavir Janma Kalyanak 39 Kshatriyakund the place of Mahavira s birth is traditionally believed to be near Vaishali an ancient town on the Indo 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 6th century birth They included a denizen of hell a lion and a god deva in a heavenly realm just before his last birth as the 24th tirthankara 40 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 41 42 note 4 The embryo transfer legend is not believed by adherents of the Digambara tradition 44 45 46 Jain texts state that after Mahavira was born the god Indra came from the heavens along with 56 digkumaries anointed him and performed his abhisheka consecration on Mount Meru 40 These events illustrated in a number of Jain temples play a part in modern Jain temple rituals 47 Although the Kalpa Sutra accounts of Mahavira s birth legends are recited by Svetambara Jains during the annual Paryushana festival the same festival is observed by the Digambaras without the recitation 48 Early life Edit Mahavira grew up as a prince According to the second chapter of the Svetambara Acharanga Sutra his parents were lay devotees of Parshvanatha 12 49 Jain traditions differ about whether Mahavira married 45 50 The Digambara tradition believes that his parents wanted him to marry Yashoda but he refused to marry 51 note 5 The Svetambara tradition believes that he was married to Yashoda at a young age and had one daughter Priyadarshana 19 40 also called Anojja 53 Jain texts portray Mahavira as tall his height was given as four cubits 6 feet in the Aupapatika Sutra 54 According to Jain texts he was the shortest of the twenty four tirthankaras earlier arihants were believed to have been taller with Neminatha or Aristanemi the 22nd tirthankara who lived for 1 000 years said to have been sixty five cubits 98 feet in height 55 Renunciation Edit See also Jain monasticism At age thirty Mahavira abandoned royal life and left his home and family to live an ascetic life in the pursuit of spiritual awakening 29 56 57 He undertook severe fasts and bodily mortifications 58 meditated under the Ashoka tree and discarded his clothes 29 59 The Acharanga Sutra has a graphic description of his hardships and self mortification 60 61 According to the Kalpa Sutra Mahavira spent the first forty two monsoons of his life in Astikagrama Champapuri Prstichampa Vaishali Vanijagrama Nalanda Mithila Bhadrika Alabhika Panitabhumi Shravasti and Pawapuri 62 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 63 Omniscience Edit See also Samavasarana According to traditional accounts Mahavira achieved Kevala Jnana omniscience or infinite knowledge under a Sala tree on the bank of the River Rijubalika near Jrimbhikagrama at age 43 after twelve years of rigorous penance 56 64 65 The details of the event are described in the Jain Uttar purana and Harivamsa purana texts 66 The Acharanga Sutra describes Mahavira as all seeing The Sutrakritanga expands it to all knowing and describes his other qualities 1 Jains believe that Mahavira had a most auspicious body paramaudarika sarira and was free from eighteen imperfections when he attained omniscience 67 According to the Svetambara he traveled throughout India to teach his philosophy for thirty years after attaining omniscience 56 However the Digambara believe that he remained in his Samavasarana and delivered sermons to his followers 68 Disciples Edit Jain texts document eleven Brahmins as Mahavira s first disciples traditionally known as the eleven Ganadharas 69 Indrabhuti Gautama is believed to have been their leader 68 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 70 According to Kalpa Sutra Mahavira had 14 000 sadhus male ascetic devotees 36 000 sadhvis female ascetics 159 000 sravakas male lay followers and 318 000 sravikas female lay followers 8 71 72 Jain tradition mentions Srenika and Kunika of Haryanka dynasty popularly known as Bimbisara and Ajatashatru and Chetaka of Videha as his royal followers 62 73 Mahavira initiated his mendicants with the mahavratas Five Vows 69 He delivered fifty five pravachana recitations and a set of lectures Uttaraadhyayana sutra 56 Chandana is believed to be the leader of female monastic order 74 Nirvana and moksha Edit Lord Mahavira s Jal Mandir water temple in Pawapuri Bihar India The Charan Paduka or foot impression of Mahavira at Jal Mandir According to Jain texts Mahavira s nirvana death note 6 occurred in the town of Pawapuri in present day Bihar 76 77 78 His life as a spiritual light and the night of his nirvana are commemorated by Jains as Diwali at the same time that Hindus celebrate it 78 79 His chief disciple Gautama is said to have attained omniscience the night that Mahavira achieved nirvana from Pawapuri 80 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 the Jinasena s Mahapurana heavenly beings arrived to perform his funeral rites The Pravachanasara of Digambara tradition says that only the nails and hair of tirthankaras are left behind the rest of the body dissolves in the air like camphor 81 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 82 The Jain Svetambara tradition believes that Mahavira s nirvana occurred in 527 BCE and the Digambara tradition holds that date of 468 BCE In both traditions his jiva soul is believed to abide in Siddhashila the home of liberated souls 79 Mahavira s Jal Mandir stands at the place where he is said to have attained nirvana moksha 83 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 84 Previous births Edit Mahavira s previous births are recounted in Jain texts such as the Mahapurana and Tri shashti shalaka purusha charitra Although a soul undergoes countless reincarnations in the transmigratory cycle of saṃsara the birth of a tirthankara is reckoned from the time he determines the causes of karma and pursues ratnatraya Jain texts describe Mahavira s 26 births before his incarnation as a tirthankara 62 According to the texts he was born as Marichi the son of Bharata Chakravartin in a previous life 40 Texts Edit Folio from the Kalpa Sutra 15th century Yativṛṣabha s Tiloya paṇṇatti recounts nearly all the events of Mahavira s life in a form convenient for memorisation 85 Jinasena s Mahapurana which includes the Adi puraṇa and Uttara puraṇa was completed by his disciple Gunabhadra in the 8th century In the Uttara puraṇa Mahavira s life is described in three parvans or sections 74 76 and 1 818 verses 86 Vardhamacharitra is a Sanskrit kavya poem written by Asaga in 853 which narrates the life of Mahavira 87 88 89 The Kalpa Sutra is a collection of biographies of tirthankaras notably Parshvanatha and Mahavira Samavayanga Sutra is a collection of Mahavira s teachings and the Acharanga Sutra recounts his asceticism Teachings EditMain article Jain philosophy Colonial era Indologists considered Jainism and Mahavira s followers a sect of Buddhism because of superficial similarities in iconography and meditative and ascetic practices 90 As scholarship progressed differences between the teachings of Mahavira and the Buddha were found so divergent that the religions were acknowledged as separate 91 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 ahimsa non violence is greater than that in other Indian religions 91 Agamas Edit Main article Jain Agamas See also Jain councils Mahavira s teachings were compiled by Gautama Swami his Ganadhara chief disciple 92 The canonical scriptures are in twelve parts 93 Mahavira s teachings were gradually lost after about 300 BCE according to Jain tradition when a severe famine in the Magadha kingdom dispersed the Jain monks Attempts were made by later monks to gather recite the canon and re establish it 94 These efforts identified differences in recitations of Mahavira s teachings and an attempt was made in the 5th century CE to reconcile the differences 94 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 in palm leaf manuscripts 70 According to the Digambaras Acharya Bhutabali was the last ascetic with partial knowledge of the original canon Later some learned acharyas restored compiled and wrote down the teachings of Mahavira which were the subjects of the Agamas 95 Acharya Dharasena in the 1st century CE guided the Acharyas Pushpadant and Bhutabali as they wrote down the teachings The two Acharyas wrote Ṣaṭkhaṅḍagama among the oldest known Digambara texts on palm leaves Five Vows Edit Main article Ethics of Jainism The swastika and five vows The Jain Agamas enumerate five vratas vows which ascetics and householders must observe 96 These ethical principles were preached by Mahavira 56 97 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 98 Satya truthfulness Applies to oneself and others 98 Asteya non stealing Not taking anything that has not been given 99 Brahmacharya chastity Abstinence from sex and sensual pleasures for monks and faithfulness to one s partner for householders 98 100 Aparigraha non attachment For lay people an attitude of non attachment to property or worldly possessions for mendicants not owning anything 101 The goal of these principles is to achieve spiritual peace a better rebirth or ultimately liberation 102 103 104 According to Chakravarthi these teachings help improve a person s quality of life 105 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 a cleansing of the soul which leads to spiritual development and release 106 Mahavira is best remembered in the Indian traditions for his teaching that ahimsa is the supreme moral virtue 56 107 He taught that ahimsa covers all living beings 108 and injuring any being in any form creates bad karma which affects one s rebirth future well being and suffering 109 According to Mahatma Gandhi Mahavira was the greatest authority on ahimsa 110 111 112 Soul Edit Main article Jiva Jainism Mahavira taught that the soul exists a premise shared with Hinduism but not Buddhism There is no soul or self in Buddhism and its teachings are based on the concept of anatta non self 113 114 115 Mahavira taught that the soul is dravya substantial eternal and yet temporary 116 To Mahavira the metaphysical nature of the universe consists of dravya jiva and ajiva inanimate objects 73 The jiva is bound to saṃsara transmigration because of karma the effects of one s actions 73 Karma in Jainism includes actions and intent it colors the soul lesya affecting how where and as what a soul is reborn after death 117 According to Mahavira there is no creator deity and existence has neither beginning nor end Gods and demons exist in Jainism however whose jivas a part of the same cycle of birth and death 118 The goal of spiritual practice is to liberate the jiva from its karmic accumulation and enter the realm of the siddhas souls who are liberated from rebirth 119 Enlightenment to Mahavira is the consequence of self cultivation and self restraint 106 Anekantavada Edit Main article Anekantavada Mahavira taught the doctrine of anekantavada many sided reality 120 121 122 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 120 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 are nayas partial expression s of the truth 120 Language itself is not truth but a means of expressing it From truth according to Mahavira language returns not the other way around 120 123 One can experience the truth of a taste but cannot fully express that taste through language Any attempt to express the experience is syat valid in some respect but still a perhaps just one perspective incomplete 123 Spiritual truths are also complex with multiple aspects and language cannot express their plurality however they can be experienced through effort and appropriate karma 120 Mahavira s anekantavada doctrine is also summarized in Buddhist texts such as the Samannaphala Sutta in which he is called Nigantha Nataputta note 7 124 and is a key difference between the teachings of Mahavira and those of the Buddha The Buddha taught the Middle 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 125 The Jain Agamas suggest that Mahavira s approach to answering metaphysical philosophical questions was a qualified yes syat A version of this doctrine is also found in the Ajivika school of ancient Indian philosophy 126 127 According to Dundas the anekantavada doctrine has been interpreted by many Jains as promot ing a universal religious tolerance plurality and a benign attitude to other ethical religious positions however this misreads Jain historical texts and Mahavira s teachings 128 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 128 The five vows for Jain monks and nuns are strict requirements with no perhaps 129 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 130 Gender Edit 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 of a male mendicant sadhu through asceticism 131 132 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 134 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 of moksha kaivalya spiritual liberation 134 132 135 Rebirth and realms of existence Edit Main article Saṃsara Jainism Rebirth and realms of existence are fundamental teachings of Mahavira According to the Acaranga Sutra Mahavira believed that life existed in myriad forms which included animals plants insects bodies of water fire and wind 109 136 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 109 Mahavira preached that the nature of existence is cyclic and the soul is reborn after death in one of the trilok the heavenly hellish or earthly realms of existence and suffering 137 Humans are reborn depending on one s karma actions as a human animal element microbe or other form on earth or in a heavenly or hellish realm 109 138 139 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 reached Kevala Jnana omniscience are not reborn 109 they enter the siddhaloka the realm of the perfected ones 138 Legacy EditLineage Edit Mahavira is erroneously called the founder of Jainism but Jains believe that the 23 previous tirthankaras also espoused it 58 Mahavira is placed in Parshvanatha s lineage as his spiritual successor and ultimate leader of shraman sangha 140 Parshvanatha was born 273 years before Mahavira Parshvanatha a tirthankara whom modern Western historians consider a historical figure lived in about the 8th century BCE 141 142 143 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 of Parshvanatha vowed to observe ahimsa this obligation was part of their caujjama dhamma Fourfold Restraint 142 144 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 140 Of the 24 tirthankaras Jain iconography has celebrated Mahavira and Parshvanatha the most sculptures discovered at the Mathura archaeological site have been dated to the 1st century BCE 140 145 146 According to Moriz Winternitz Mahavira may be considered a reformer of an existing Jain sect known as Niganthas fetter less which was mentioned in early Buddhist texts 90 The Barli Inscription dating back to 443 BCE contains the line Viraya Bhagavate chaturasiti vase which can be interpreted as dedicated to Lord Vira in his 84th year 147 Festivals Edit Two major annual Jain festivals associated with Mahavira are Mahavir Janma Kalyanak and Diwali During Mahavir Janma Kalyanak Jains celebrate Mahavira s birth as the 24th and last tirthankara of avasarpiṇi the current time cycle 39 During Mahavir JanmaKalyanak the five auspicious events of Mahavira s life are re enacted 148 Diwali commemorates the anniversary of Mahavira s nirvana and is celebrated at the same time as the Hindu festival Diwali marks the New Year for Jains 149 Worship Edit Mahavira worship in a manuscript c 1825 Samantabhadra s Svayambhustotra praises the twenty four tirthankaras and its eight shlokas songs adore Mahavira 150 One such shloka reads O Lord Jina Your doctrine that expounds essential attributes required of a potential aspirant to cross over the ocean of worldly existence Saṃsara 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 151 Samantabhadra s Yuktyanusasana is a 64 verse poem which also praises Mahavira 152 Influence Edit Mahavira s teachings were influential According to Rabindranath Tagore 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 Rabindranath Tagore 111 112 An event associated with the 2 500th anniversary of Mahavira s nirvana was held in 1974 153 Probably few people in the West are aware that during this Anniversary year for the first time in their long history the mendicants of the Svetambara Digambara and Sthanakavasi sects assembled on the same platform agreed upon a common flag Jaina dhvaja and emblem pratika and resolved to bring about the unity of the community For the duration of the year four dharma cakras a wheel mounted on a chariot as an ancient symbol of the samavasaraṇa Holy Assembly of tirthaṅkara 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 Padmanabh Jaini Iconography Edit Mahavira iconography is distinguished by a lion stamped or carved beneath his feet a Shrivatsa is on his chest Mahavira is usually depicted in a sitting or standing meditative pose with a lion symbol beneath him 154 each tirthankara has a distinct emblem which allows worshippers to distinguish similar idols 155 Mahavira s lion emblem is usually carved below his legs Like all tirthankaras he is depicted with a Shrivatsa 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 several srivasta found in ancient and medieval Jain art works and these are not found on Buddhist or Hindu art works 156 157 and downcast eyes in digamber tradition while in Shetamber tradition it is wide open Mahavira s earliest iconography is from archaeological sites in the north Indian city of Mathura dated from the 1st century BCE to the 2nd century CE 158 159 The srivatsa mark on his chest and his dhyana mudra posture appears in Kushana Empire era artwork Differences in Mahavira s depiction between the Digambara and Svetambara traditions appear in the late 5th century CE 158 According to John Cort the earliest archaeological evidence of Jina iconography with inscriptions precedes its datable texts by over 250 years 160 Many images of Mahavira have been dated to the 12th century and earlier 161 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 162 Jivantasvami represents Mahavira as a princely state The Jina is represented as standing in the kayotsarga pose wearing crown and ornaments 163 Rock cut sculpture of Mahavira in Samanar Hills Madurai Tamil Nadu Rock cut sculpture of Mahavira in Kalugumalai Jain Beds 8th century Tallest known image of the seated Mahavira Patnaganj Four sided sculpture of Mahavira in Kankali Tila Mathura Tirthankaras Rishabhanatha left and Mahavira 11th century British Museum Temple relief of Mahavira 14th century Seattle Asian Art Museum Relief of Mahavira in Thirakoil Tamil Nadu 16 foot 2 inch stone statue of Mahavira in Ahinsa Sthal Mehrauli New Delhi 164 Mahavira statue in Cave 32 of the Ellora Caves Mahavira inside Ambapuram cave temple 7th centuryTemples Edit Along with Rishabhanath Parshvanath Neminath and Shantinath Mahavira is one of the five tirthankaras that attract the most devotional worship among the Jains 165 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 166 167 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 168 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 Dharmachakra temple in Gajpanth Shri Mahavirji Jain Center of Greater Phoenix Jain temple Potters Bar Jain temple in Tirumalai Pawapuri Jain templeSee also Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mahavira Religion portalJivantasvami Arihant Jainism God in Jainism History of Jainism Mahavira The Hero of Nonviolence Timeline of Jainism Bardhaman city named after Mahaviraswami Notes Edit 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 29 Trishala was the sister of King Chetaka of Vaishali in ancient India 19 The Adipurana By Acharya Jinasena mentions that Ikshvaku Dynasty was founded by Lord Rishabhadeva 36 This mythology has similarities with those found in the mythical texts of the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism 43 On this Champat 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 four tirthamkaras 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 nineteen tirthankaras lived as householders that is all the twenty four excepting Shri Mahavira Parashva Nemi Mallinath and Vaspujya 52 Not to be confused with kevalajnana omniscience 75 Samannaphala Sutta D i 47 Nigantha Nataputta 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 Nataputta answered with fourfold restraint The thought occurred to me How can anyone like me think of disparaging a brahman or contemplative living in his realm Yet I Buddha neither delighted in Nigantha Nataputta 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 133 A special symbol that marks the chest of a tirthankara References EditCitations Edit a b c d e f g Dundas 2002 p 25 Davidson amp Gitlitz 2002 p 267 Kailash Chand Jain 1991 p 38 Jaini 2000 p 9 Hubbard 1807 p 310 Tandon 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9788176501651 Caillat Colette Balbir Nalini 1 January 2008 Jaina Studies in Prakrit Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House ISBN 978 81 208 3247 3 Charitrapragya Samani 2004 Sethia Tara ed Ahimsa Anekanta and Jaininsm Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House ISBN 978 81 208 2036 4 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 S2CID 143842799 Chapelle Christopher 2011 Murphy Andrew R ed The Blackwell Companion to Religion and Violence John Wiley amp Sons ISBN 978 1 4443 9573 0 Collins Steven 1994 Reynolds Frank Tracy David eds Religion and Practical Reason State University of New York Press ISBN 978 0 7914 2217 5 Cort John E ed 1998 Open Boundaries Jain Communities and Cultures in Indian History SUNY Press ISBN 978 0 7914 3785 8 Cort John E 2001 Jains in the World Religious Values and Ideology in India Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 513234 2 Cort John E 2010 Framing the Jina Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 538502 1 Dalal Roshen 2010 The Religions of India A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths Penguin Books ISBN 978 0 14 341517 6 Davidson Linda Kay Gitlitz David Martin 2002 Pilgrimage From the Ganges to Graceland an Encyclopedia vol 1 ABC CLIO ISBN 9781576070048 Doniger Wendy ed 1999 Encyclopedia of World Religions Merriam Webster ISBN 978 0 87779 044 0 Dowling Elizabeth M Scarlett W George eds 2006 Encyclopedia of Religious and Spiritual Development SAGE Publications ISBN 978 0 7619 2883 6 Dundas Paul 2002 1992 The Jains Second ed Routledge ISBN 978 0 415 26605 5 George Vensus A 2008 Paths to the Divine Ancient and Indian vol XII The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy ISBN 978 1 56518 248 6 Gorski Eugene F 2008 Theology of Religions A Sourcebook for Interreligious Study Paulist Press ISBN 978 0 8091 4533 1 Goyala Srirama 2006 Brahmi Script An Invention of the Early Maurya Period Kusumanjali Book World Gupta K R Gupta Amita 2006 Concise Encyclopaedia of India vol 3 Atlantic Publishers amp Dis ISBN 978 81 269 0639 0 Harvey Graham 2014 2009 Religions in Focus New Approaches to Tradition and Contemporary Practices Routledge ISBN 978 1 134 93690 8 Heehs Peter 2002 Indian Religions A Historical Reader of Spiritual Expression and Experience New York University Press ISBN 978 0 8147 3650 0 Hubbard Thomas 1807 Asiatick Researches Vol 9 Kolkata Hindoostanee Press 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 Jain Champat Rai 1939 The Change of Heart This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Jain Gokulchandra 2015 Samantabhadrabharati 1st ed Budhana Muzaffarnagar Acharya Shantisagar Chani Smriti Granthmala ISBN 978 81 90468879 Jain Hiralal Jain Dharmachandra 1 January 2002 Jaina Tradition in Indian Thought ISBN 9788185616841 Jain Hiralal Upadhye Adinath Neminath 2000 1974 Mahavira his times and his philosophy of life Bharatiya Jnanpith Jain Jyotindra Fischer Eberhard 1978 Jaina Iconography BRILL Academic ISBN 978 90 04 05259 8 Jain Kailash Chand 1972 Malwa Through The Ages Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House ISBN 978 81 208 0824 9 Jain Kailash Chand 1991 Lord Mahavira and His Times Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House ISBN 978 81 208 0805 8 Jain Pannalal 2015 Uttarapuraṇa of Acharya Guṇabhadra Bhartiya Jnanpith ISBN 978 81 263 1738 7 Jain Shanti Lal 1998 ABC of Jainism Bhopal M P Jnanodaya Vidyapeeth ISBN 978 81 7628 000 6 Jain Vijay K 2012 Acharya Amritchandra s Purushartha Siddhyupaya Realization of the Pure Self With Hindi and English Translation Vikalp Printers ISBN 978 81 903639 4 5 This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Jain Vijay K 2015 Acarya Samantabhadra s Svayambhustotra Adoration of The Twenty four Tirthankara Vikalp 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and Practices vol One A B Second ed ABC CLIO ISBN 978 1 59884 204 3 Mills Margaret A Claus Peter J Diamond Sarah eds 2003 Kalpa Sutra by Jerome Bauer in South Asian Folklore An Encyclopedia Routledge ISBN 978 0 415 93919 5 Nagel Bruno 2000 Perrett Roy ed Philosophy of Religion Indian Philosophy Routledge ISBN 978 0815336112 Nanda R T 1997 Contemporary Approaches to Value Education in India Regency Publications ISBN 978 81 86030 46 2 Olivelle Patrick 2006 Between the Empires Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 977507 1 Pandey Janardan 1998 Gandhi and 21st Century ISBN 9788170226727 Potter Karl H 2007 Dalsukh Malvania and Jayendra Soni ed Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies vol X Jain Philosophy Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House ISBN 978 81 208 3169 8 Pramansagar Muni 2008 Jain Tattvavidya India Bhartiya Gyanpeeth ISBN 978 81 263 1480 5 Rapson E J 1955 The Cambridge History of India Cambridge University Press Sangave Vilas Adinath 2006 1990 Aspects of Jaina religion 5 ed Bharatiya Jnanpith ISBN 978 81 263 1273 3 Sen Shailendra Nath 1999 1998 Ancient Indian History and Civilization 2nd ed New Age International ISBN 978 81 224 1198 0 Shah Natubhai 2004 First published in 1998 Jainism The World of Conquerors vol I Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House ISBN 978 81 208 1938 2 Shah Umakant Premanand 1987 Jaina rupa maṇḍana Jaina iconography Abhinav Publications ISBN 978 81 7017 208 6 Sharma Arvind 1994 Religion and Women State University of New York Press ISBN 978 0 7914 1689 1 Sharma Arvind Khanna Madhu 2013 Asian Perspectives on the World s Religions ABC CLIO ISBN 978 0 313 37897 3 Singh Upinder 2016 A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India From the Stone Age to the 12th Century Pearson Education ISBN 978 93 325 6996 6 Sunavala A J 1934 Adarsha Sadhu An Ideal Monk First paperback edition 2014 ed Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1 107 62386 6 Taliaferro Marty 2010 A dictionary of philosophy of Religion ISBN 978 1 4411 1197 5 Tandon Om Prakash 2002 1968 Jaina Shrines in India 1 ed New Delhi Publications Division Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Government of India ISBN 978 81 230 1013 7 Taylor Bron 2008 Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature Bloomsbury Academic ISBN 978 1 4411 2278 0 Titze Kurt 1998 Jainism A Pictorial Guide to the Religion of Non Violence 2 ed Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House ISBN 978 81 208 1534 6 von Glasenapp Helmuth 1925 Jainism An Indian Religion of Salvation Delhi Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House Reprinted 1999 ISBN 978 81 208 1376 2 Vyas Dr R T ed 1995 Studies in Jaina Art and Iconography and Allied Subjects The Director Oriental Institute on behalf of the Registrar M S University of Baroda Vadodara ISBN 81 7017 316 7 Wiley Kristi L 2009 The A to Z of Jainism Scarecrow Press ISBN 978 0 8108 6821 2 Winternitz Moriz 1993 History of Indian Literature Buddhist amp Jain Literature Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House ISBN 978 81 208 0265 0 Zimmer Heinrich 1953 April 1952 Campbell Joseph ed Philosophies Of India London Routledge amp Kegan Paul Ltd ISBN 978 81 208 0739 6 S R Goyal 2005 Ancient Indian Inscriptions Recent Finds and New Interpretations Kusumanjali Book World External links EditMahavira at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Resources from Wikiversity Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mahavira amp oldid 1153679843, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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