Lord Mahavira

Summary

K. B. Jindal’s article offers a comprehensive biographical study of Lord Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara and last Arhat of Jainism. Born in 599 B.C. at Kundagrama in the kingdom of Videha, Vardhamana Mahavira belonged to a distinguished clan connected by marriage to the ruling dynasty of Magadha; his cousin Celana married King Bimbisara. A genealogical table illustrates his family ties, emphasising that he was surrounded by influential relatives. From an early age Mahavira displayed courage, perseverance and self-discipline. Legends describe him as handsome and physically adept, fond of outdoor games and martial exercises. Though little is known of his formal education, Jaina scriptures suggest he carried spiritual wisdom from previous lives and was wiser than contemporary sages. He married Princess Yasoda and enjoyed a happy family life, fathering a daughter named Anojja. Despite domestic contentment, he longed for spiritual liberation; following his parents’ deaths and with his elder brother’s consent he renounced worldly life at the age of thirty. Mahavira embarked on a twelve-year period of rigorous austerity and meditation. Living ascetically, he practised non-attachment and endured insults and hardships without retaliation. Under a sal tree on the banks of the Rijupalika river he achieved kevala-jñāna (omniscience), gaining perfect knowledge and perception. For the next thirty years he travelled through the Gangetic plain preaching the path of liberation based on right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. He reorganised the Jain monastic community into a fourfold order of monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen, and codified ethical precepts such as non-violence, truth, non-stealing, chastity and non-possession. His compassion extended to all living beings and he spoke against animal sacrifice and social inequality, drawing followers from all strata. Jindal recounts episodes that illustrate Mahavira’s influence and encounters. King Bimbisara became his patron and Queen Celana a devout lay follower. Princes like Meghakumara and Nandisena joined his order after overcoming moral lapses. The article describes Mahavira’s complicated relationship with Gosala Mankhaliputra, who initially became his disciple but later founded the Ajivika sect and opposed him; their doctrinal disagreements centred on free will versus determinism. Mahavira’s moral authority prevailed, and even after enduring severe illness he continued his mission, finally attaining nirvana at Pavapuri at the age of seventy-two. Through meticulous narration of these episodes, the article portrays Mahavira not as a mythical figure but as a historical reformer whose message of non-violence, self-discipline and equality challenged the social order of his time and laid the foundations of Jain philosophy.