Mahaveer

Mahavira
24th Jain Tirthankara
The idol of Mahavira at Shri Mahavirji, Rajasthan
Other names	Vīr, Ativīr, Vardhamāna, Sanmati, Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta
Symbol	Lion
Height	7 cubits (10.5 feet)
Age	72 years
Tree	Shala
Color	Golden
Parents	Siddhartha (father) Trishala (mother)
Preceded by	Parshvanatha
Born	6th-century BC (historical) c. 599 BC (traditional) Kundalpur
Moksha	5th-century BC (historical) c. 527 BC (traditional) Pawapuri
Dynasty	Ikshvaku dynasty

Mahavira (Mahāvīra), also known as Vardhamāna, was the twenty-fourth and last Jain Tirthankara (ford maker). In the Jain tradition, it is believed that Mahavira was born into a royal family in what is now Bihar, India, in 599 BC. At the age of 30, he left his home in pursuit of spiritual awakening, and abandoned worldly things, and became an ascetic. For the next twelve-and-a-half years, Mahavira practiced intense meditation and severe penance, after which he is believed to have attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience). In the Jain tradition, he died in the 6th-century BC. Outside the Jain tradition, scholars such as Karl Potter consider his biographical details as uncertain, with some suggesting he lived in the 5th-century BC contemporaneously with the Buddha.

After he gained Kevala Jnana, he travelled throughout the Indian subcontinent to teach Jain philosophy. Mahavira taught that the observance of the vows ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity) and aparigraha (non-attachment) is necessary to spiritual liberation. He gave the principle of Anekantavada (pluralism), Syadvada and Nayavada. The teachings of Mahavira were compiled by Gautama Swami (his chief disciple) and were called Jain Agamas. These texts were transmitted by an oral tradition by Jain monks, but are believed to have been largely lost by about the 1st-century when they were first written down. The surviving versions of the Agamas taught by Mahavira are foundational texts of Jainism. Jains believe Mahavira attained moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death) at the age of 72.