Nataputta

Mahavira
24th Jain Tirthankara
Statue of Mahavira at Shri Mahavirji, Rajasthan
Other names	Vīr, Ativīr, Vardhamāna, Sanmati, Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta
Venerated in	Jainism
Predecessor	Parshvanatha
Symbol	Lion
Height	7 cubits (10.5 feet)
Age	72 years
Tree	Shala
Complexion	Golden
Personal information
Born	c. 497 BCE (historical) c. 599 BCE (traditional) Kundagram, present-day Vaishali district, Bihar, India
Died	c. 425 BCE(historical) c. 527 BCE (Svetambara) c. 510 BCE (Digambara) Pawapuri, present-day Bihar, India
Parents	Siddhartha (father) Trishala (mother)

Lord Mahavira (Bhagavān Mahāvīra), also known as Vardhamāna, was the twenty-fourth Tirthankara (ford-maker) of Jainism. In the Jain tradition, it is believed that Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6th century BC into a royal family in what is now Bihar, India. At the age of thirty, abandoning all worldly possessions, he left his home in pursuit of spiritual awakening and became an ascetic. For the next twelve and a half years, Mahavira practiced intense meditation and severe austerities, after which he is believed to have attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience). He preached for thirty years, and is believed by Jains to have died in the 6th century BC. 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. Mahavira died at the age of 72, and his remains were cremated.

After he gained Kevala Jnana, 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 (many-sided reality),Syadvada and Nayavada. The teachings of Mahavira were compiled by Gautama Swami (his chief disciple) and were called Jain Agamas. These texts were transmitted through 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 some of the foundational texts of Jainism.