Mahavira, also known as Vardhamana, was the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd Tirthankara Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early 6th century BCE into a royal Jain family of 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.
Mahavir Janma Kalyanak is one of the most important religious festivals in Jainism. It celebrates the birth of Mahavira, the twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara of present Avasarpiṇī. On the Gregorian calendar, the holiday occurs either in March or April.
The Śvetāmbara is one of the two main branches of Jainism, the other being the Digambara. Śvetāmbara in Sanskrit means "white-clad", and refers to its ascetics' practice of wearing white clothes, which sets it apart from the Digambara or "sky-clad" Jains whose ascetic practitioners go nude. Śvetāmbaras do not believe that ascetics must practice nudity.
Bimbisāra or རྒྱལ་པོ་གཟུགས་ཅན་སྙིང་པོ་ (Tibetan) or Shrenika and Seniya in the Jain histories was the King of Magadha and belonged to the Haryanka dynasty. He was the son of Bhattiya. His expansion of the kingdom, especially his annexation of the kingdom of Anga to the east, is considered to have laid the foundations for the later expansion of the Mauryan Empire.
The Kalpa Sūtra is a Jain text containing the biographies of the Jain Tirthankaras, notably Parshvanatha and Mahavira. Traditionally ascribed to Bhadrabahu, which would place it in the 4th century BCE, it was probably put in writing 980 or 993 years after the Nirvana (Moksha) of Mahavira.
Chetaka or Chedaga was the consul of the Licchavi tribe during the 5th century BCE.
Parshvanatha, or Pārśva and Pārasanātha, was the 23rd of 24 Tirthankaras of Jainism. He gained the title of Kalīkālkalpataru.
Rishabhanatha, also Rishabhadeva, Rishabha or Ikshvaku, is the first tirthankara of Jainism. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain cosmology, and called a "ford maker" because his teachings helped one cross the sea of interminable rebirths and deaths. The legends depict him as having lived millions of years ago. He was the spiritual successor of Sampratti Bhagwan, the last Tirthankar of previous time cycle. He is also known as Ādinātha, as well as Adishvara, Yugadideva, Prathamarajeshwara and Nabheya. He is also known as Ikshvaku, establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. Along with Mahavira, Parshvanath, Neminath, and Shantinath, Rishabhanatha is one of the five Tirthankaras that attract the most devotional worship among the Jains.
Acharya Shri Shantisagar Ji (1872–1955) was an Indian monk of the Digambar Jain faith. He was the first Acharya (preceptor) and a leader of his sect in the 20th century. Shanti Sagar ji revived the teaching and practice of traditional Digambara practices in North India. He was lustrated as a kshullaka into the Sangha by Devappa (Devakirti) Swami Ji. He took his ailaka deeksha before an image of the Tirthankara Neminatha. In about 1920, Shantisagar Ji became a full muni (monk) of the Digambara sect of Jainism. In 1922, at Yarnal village, Belgaum district, Karnataka, he was given the name "Shanti Sagar Ji".
Trishala, also known as Videhadatta, Priyakarini, or Trishala Mata, was the mother of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, and wife of the Jain monarch, Siddhartha of Kundagrama, of present-day Bihar. She finds mention in the Jain texts.
Jain cosmology is the description of the shape and functioning of the Universe (loka) and its constituents according to Jainism. Jain cosmology considers the universe as an uncreated entity that has existed since infinity with neither beginning nor end. Jain texts describe the shape of the universe as similar to a man standing with legs apart and arms resting on his waist. This Universe, according to Jainism, is broad at the top, narrow at the middle and once again becomes broad at the bottom.
Śāntinātha or Śānti is the sixteenth Tīrthaṅkara of Jainism in the present age. According to traditional accounts, he was born to King Vishvasena and Queen Aćira of the Ikshvaku dynasty in the north Indian city of Hastinapur. His birth date is the thirteenth day of the Jyest Krishna month of the Indian calendar. He was also a Chakravarti and a Kamadeva. He ascended to the throne when he was 25 years old. After over 25,000 years on the throne, he became a Jain monk and started his penance.
Neminātha, also known as Nemi and Ariṣṭanemi, is the twenty-second Tīrthaṅkara of Jainism in the present age. Neminatha lived 81,000 years before the 23rd Tirthankara Parshvanatha. According to traditional accounts, he was born to King Samudravijaya and Queen Shivadevi of the Yadu dynasty in the north Indian city of Sauripura. His birth date was the fifth day of Shravana Shukla of the Jain calendar. Krishna, who was the 9th and last Jain Vasudev, was his first cousin.
Vaishali, Vesali or Vaiśālī was a city in present-day Bihar, India, and is now an archaeological site. It is a part of the Tirhut Division.
Jainism is a religion founded in ancient India. Jains trace their history through twenty-four tirthankara and revere Rishabhanatha as the first tirthankara. The last two tirthankara, the 23rd tirthankara Parshvanatha and the 24th tirthankara Mahavira are considered historical figures. According to Jain texts, the 22nd tirthankara Neminatha lived about 5,000 years ago and was the cousin of Krishna.
Ratnakaranda śrāvakācāra is a Jain text composed by Aacharya Samantbhadra Swamy, an acharya of the Digambara sect of Jainism. Aacharya Samantbhadra Swamy was originally from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. Ratnakaranda śrāvakācāra is the earliest and one of the best-known śrāvakācāra.
Digambara is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being Śvetāmbara (white-clad). The Sanskrit word Digambara means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing nor wearing any clothes.
Jainism is an Indian religion which is traditionally believed to be propagated by twenty-four spiritual teachers known as tirthankara. Broadly, Jainism is divided into two major schools of thought, Digambara and Śvetāmbara. These are further divided into different sub-sects and traditions. While there are differences in practices, the core philosophy and main principles of each sect is the same.
Jainism in Bihar trace a long history since the times of twenty-fourth Tirthankara Mahavira, who was born in Vaishali. The state of Bihar is considered to have played an important role in the development of Jainism.
Nandivardhana was a Kshatriya King from the Ikshvaku dynasty and the ruler of the Nata, Ainwar(Light), Gyat or Jnatri clan in Kshatriya Kundagrama, a suburb of Vaishali. He was the elder brother of Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankara. His father was Siddhartha.
