Preface –
The festival of Mahavir Jayanti is celebrated with great pomp and show by the people. Preparations are started well in advance for this special day. Programs are organized in many regions on the day of Mahavir Jayanti. Organizes various programs on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti in Rourkela, Odisha. Mahavir Swami appealed to society to stop killing animals and give up drugs and non-vegetarian food while raising the slogan of ‘live and let live’. Along with this, attractive tableaus of Mahavir Swami are also taken out by the people through processions across the city and villages. Along with this, an attractive tableau of Mahavir Swami was also taken out by the people through a procession across the city. Through this procession, people were given knowledge on topics related to drug addiction and morality. This festival is also celebrated with great pomp in Bijnor of Uttar Pradesh. Here devotees take out Prabhatferi from the Jain temple in the morning and flag singing is done after the flag hoisting at Sridigambar Jain Sarjayati temple.
History of Mahavir Jayanti –
Mahavir Jayanti is celebrated every year, especially by people of Jainism and other religions to mark the birth anniversary of the great saint, Mahavira (also known as Vardhamana). Mahavir Swami was the 24th and last Tirthankara of the Jains, who established the main principles of Jainism along with discovering Jainism. He was born in 540 BC on the Chaitra month of Shukla Paksha, in Kundalgram of Vaishali district of Bihar. That is why Mahavir Jayanti is celebrated every year with great enthusiasm and joy. It is a very important and traditional festival for Jains. It has been declared a gazetted holiday all over India, on this day all government offices and educational institutions have a holiday.
Birth of Mahavir Swami
Mahavir Swami was the 24th and last Tirthankara of Jainism, who died in 540 AD. The former was born in a princely family of Bihar in India. It is believed that, during his birth everyone was happy and full of prosperity, hence he is also known as Vardhaman. He was born to King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala. It is believed that from the time of his birth, his mother started having strange dreams about him that he would either become an emperor or a Tirthankara. After his birth, he was ritually bathed in the milk of heaven by Lord Indra as a Tirthankara. He left home at the age of 30 in search of religious awakening and through 12 years and 6 months of deep meditation he was successful in attaining Kaivalya i.e. Enlightenment. He started traveling all over India and traveled continuously for 30 years teaching people about truth, falsehood, non-violence, celibacy, and non-violence. At the age of 72, he attained Nirvana and became one of the great Tirthankaras of Jainism, due to which he is today considered the founder of Jainism.
Life introduction of Mahavir Swami –
There are many differences regarding the place of birth of Mahavir Swami, some say that he was born in Kundaligram, Vaishali, Lachhor, Jamui, Kundalpur, Nalanda or Basokund. However, there are still uncertainties about his place of birth. His parents were great followers of Parasav. He was named Mahavira, meaning great warrior; Because he had controlled a terrible snake in his childhood. He is also known as Sanamanti, Veera and Nataputta (meaning son of Nata). There is a lot of difference in the context of his marriage, some people believe that he was unmarried, while some people believe that he was married to Yashoda and had a daughter named Priyadarshana. After leaving home at the age of 30, he went into deep meditation and faced a lot of difficulties and troubles. After many years of meditation, he felt power, knowledge, and blessings. After attaining enlightenment, he traveled to educate people about the philosophy of real life, its virtues, and the joys of life. The five real principles of his philosophy were non-violence, truth, falsehood, celibacy, and non-violence. His body attained salvation at the age of 72 and his pure soul left the body and became free forever after attaining Nirvana i.e. salvation. After his death, his body was cremated at Pawapuri, which is now famous as the big Jain temple, Jal Mandir. Where millions of people go to visit today.
Celebration –
Mahavir Jayanti is celebrated in the name of Mahavir Janma Kalyanak. According to the calendar, It falls annually in March or April every year. It is celebrated with great enthusiasm in all the Jain temples across the country. Temples and places associated with Mahavira are decorated with flowers, flags, etc. on this special occasion. On this day, the idol of Mahavir Swami is given a traditional bath before the ceremony and worship, followed by a grand procession or procession. On this day there is a tradition of distributing clothes, food, money, and other essential items to the poor people. Such events are organized by Jain communities. Big celebrations and festivals are grandly organized in Girnar and Palitana including Gujarat, Shri Mahavir Ji, Rajasthan, Parasnath Temple, Kolkata, Pawapuri, Bihar, etc. It is celebrated locally by anointing the idol of Mahavir Swami ji to the people. On this day, people of Jainism participate in the program of the procession and people visit Jain temples to meditate and worship.