write in brief about the life of vardhamana Mahavira
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Answer:
Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर:), also known as Vardhamana was the 24th tirthankara of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of 23rd tirthankara Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6th century BC into a royal Kshatriya Jain family in present-day Bihar, India. ... They were lay devotees of Parshvanatha.
Explanation:
Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर:), also known as Vardhamana was the 24th tirthankara of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of 23rd tirthankara Parshvanatha.[9] Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6th century BC into a royal Kshatriya Jain family in present-day Bihar, India. His mother's name was Trishala and 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 12 and half years, after which he attained Kevala Gyan (omniscience). He preached for 30 years and attained moksha (salvation) in the 6th century BC, although the year varies by sect.
Historically, Mahavira, who preached Jainism in ancient India, was an older contemporary of Gautama Buddha. Scholars variously date him from 6th-5th century BC and his place of birth is also a point of dispute among them.
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 the 1st century BCE to the 2nd century AD. His birth is celebrated as Mahavir Janma Kalyanak and his nirvana (salvation) is observed by Jains as Diwali.
Although it is universally accepted by scholars of Jainism that Mahavira lived in ancient India, the details of his life and the year of his birth are subjects of debate.[14][15] According to the Digambara Uttarapurana text, Mahavira was born in Kundpur 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),[7][18] his birthplace remains a subject of dispute.[1][14][19] Mahavira renounced his material wealth and left home when he was twenty-eight, by some accounts[20] (thirty by others),[21] lived an ascetic life for twelve years and then preached Jainism for thirty years.[20] Where he preached has been a subject of disagreement between the two major traditions of Jainism: the Śvētāmbaras and the Digambaras.[1]
Jains believe that Mahavira was born in 599 BC and died in 527 BCE.[6][20] 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.[22][23] According to Buddhist and Jain texts they are believed to have been contemporaries which is supported by much ancient Buddhist literature has survived.[6][7] The Vira Nirvana Samvat era began in 527 BCE (with Mahavira's nirvana) and is a firmly-established part of Jain tradition.[6]
The 12th-century Jain scholar Hemachandra placed Mahavira in the 5th century BCE.[24][25] Kailash Jain writes that Hemachandra performed an incorrect analysis, which along (with attempts to establish Buddha's nirvana) has been a source of confusion and controversy about Mahavira's nirvana.[26] According to Jain, the traditional date of 527 BCE is accurate; the Buddha was younger than Mahavira and "might have attained nirvana a few years later".[27] The place of his nirvana, Pavapuri in present-day Bihar, is a pilgrimage site for Jains.[20]
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