Bhagwan mahavira swami biography for kids

It is universally accepted by scholars of Jainism that Mahavira lived in ancient India. Although it is thought to be the town of Basu Kund, about 60 kilometres 37 miles north of Patna the capital of Bihar , his birthplace remains a subject of dispute. Mahavira renounced his material wealth and left home when he was twenty-eight, by some accounts thirty by others , lived an ascetic life for twelve and a years In which he did not even sit for a time, attained Kevalgyana and then preached Jainism for thirty years.

The Barli Inscription in Prakrit language which was inscribed in 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. However, paleographic analysis dates the inscription to the 2nd-1st century BCE.

According to Buddhist and Jain texts they are believed to have been contemporaries which is supported by much ancient Buddhist literature. According to Jain, the traditional date of BCE is accurate; the Buddha was younger than Mahavira and "might have attained nirvana a few years later". The place of his nirvana, Pavapuri in present-day Bihar, is a pilgrimage site for Jains.

A tirthankara ford-maker, saviour or spiritual teacher signifies the founding of a tirtha , a passage across the sea of birth-and-death cycles. The Ikshvaku Dynasty was founded by the First tirthankara Rishabhanatha. His birthday falls on the thirteenth day of the rising moon in the month of Chaitra in the Vira Nirvana Samvat calendar era. 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. 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.

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. These events, illustrated in a number of Jain temples, play a part in modern Jain temple rituals. Mahavira grew up as a prince.

Bhagwan mahavira swami biography for kids

Jain traditions differ about whether Mahavira married. The Digambara tradition believes that his parents wanted him to marry Yashoda, but he refused to marry. Jain texts portray Mahavira as tall; his height was given as four cubits 6 feet in the Aupapatika Sutra. 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, years—said to have been sixty-five cubits 98 feet in height.

At age thirty, Mahavira abandoned royal life and left his home and family to live an ascetic life in the pursuit of spiritual awakening. He undertook severe fasts and meditated under the Ashoka tree. The Acharanga Sutra has a graphic description of his hardships and self-mortification. 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 BCE.

The Acharanga Sutra describes Mahavira as all-seeing. The Sutrakritanga expands it to all-knowing, and describes his other qualities. However, the Digambara believe that he remained in his Samavasarana and delivered sermons to his followers. Jain texts document eleven Brahmins as Mahavira's first disciples, traditionally known as the eleven Ganadharas.

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, sadhus male ascetic devotees , 36, sadhvis female ascetics , , sravakas male lay followers , and , sravikas 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 followers. Mahavira initiated his mendicants with the mahavratas Five Vows. He delivered fifty-five pravachana recitations and a set of lectures Uttaraadhyayana-sutra. Chandana is believed to be the leader of female monastic order.

According to Jain texts, Mahavira's nirvana death occurred in the town of Pawapuri in present-day Bihar. 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. His chief disciple, Gautama, is said to have attained omniscience the night that Mahavira achieved nirvana from Pawapuri.

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.

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. Gautam Swami started thinking. Whilst deep into thought, his attention diverted from the Lord onto himself and he came back to his senses… "Oh dear! I have made a mistake! How could I have had negative thoughts for the Lord!

I have attachment for the Lord, but he is absolutely free from worldly attachments. 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.

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. Diwali marks the New Year for Jains. Samantabhadra's Svayambhustotra praises the twenty-four tirthankaras , and its eight shlokas songs adore Mahavira.

O Lord Jina! 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. Samantabhadra's Yuktyanusasana is a verse poem which also praises Mahavira. Michael H. 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. An event associated with the 2,th anniversary of Mahavira's nirvana was held in [ ]. Like all tirthankaras , he is depicted with a Shrivatsa in Shetamber tradition.

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. 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.

Differences in Mahavira's depiction between the Digambara and Svetambara traditions appear in the late 5th century CE. Many images of Mahavira have been dated to the 12th century and earlier; [ ] an ancient sculpture was found in a cave in Sundarajapuram, Theni district , Tamil Nadu. Ajithadoss, a Jain scholar in Chennai, dated it to the 9th century.

Jivantasvami represents Mahavira as a princely state. The Jina is represented as standing in the kayotsarga pose wearing crown and ornaments. Along with Rishabhanath , Parshvanath , Neminath , and Shantinath ; Mahavira is one of the five tirthankaras that attract the most devotional worship among the Jains. 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.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item. This article is about the 24th tirthankara of Jainism. For other topics, see Mahavira disambiguation. Siddhartha father Trishala mother. Jain prayers. Major figures.

Major sects. Jain literature. Names and epithets [ edit ]. Historical Mahavira [ edit ]. Jain tradition [ edit ]. See also: Panch Kalyanaka. Birth [ edit ]. Early life [ edit ]. Renunciation [ edit ]. See also: Jain monasticism. Omniscience [ edit ]. See also: Samavasarana. Disciples [ edit ]. Nirvana and moksha [ edit ]. Previous births [ edit ].

Texts [ edit ]. Teachings [ edit ]. Main article: Jain philosophy. Agamas [ edit ]. Main article: Jain Agamas. See also: Jain councils. Five Vows [ edit ]. Main article: Ethics of Jainism. Soul [ edit ]. Anekantavada [ edit ]. Main article: Anekantavada. Read to know the complete life history of Mahavir Swami. Mahavira BC was the last Jainist Tirthankara.

When it comes to the values of Jainism, Lord Mahavira deserves a special mention, as he was the one to establish the ethics that are ruling the whole Jain community today. Well, in this article, we will provide you with the Lord Mahavira's biography. His birthday is celebrated as Mahavira Jayanthi every year. He was more popularly known as "Vardhaman".

It is due to the fact that, after Mahavira was born, his family prospered and got loads of wealth. People are of the belief that, when Mahavir Swami was born, he was bathed by Lord Indra with celestial milk. Being the son of King Siddartha, he lived his life like a prince.