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Mahavir Jayanti The main Jain festival of the year is Mahavira
Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Mahavira. According to the Digambar school of
Jainism, Lord Mahavira was born in the year 615 BC, but the Swetambaras believe
that He was born in 599 BC. Both sects however agree that he was the son of
Siddhartha and Trisala. Legend has it, that He was conceived by Devananda, wife
of a Brahmin named Rishabhdeva. The gods, ingeniously, transferred the embryo to
the womb of Trisala. It is said that the expectant mother had sixteen auspicious
dreams before the child was born (only 14 according to the Swetambaras).
Astrologers interpreting these dreams, stated that the child would be either an
emperor or a Teerthankar.
This religious event is largely observed by the Jains, by visiting sacred sites
and worshipping the Teerthankars. The event holds special significance in
Gujarat and Rajasthan, due to the ancient shrines at Girnar and Palitana in
Gujarat. Mahavira Jayanti is also celebrated at Parasnath temple in Calcutta and
at Pawapuri in Bihar. |
