His life journey
From a palace in Kundagrama to the lake at Pavapuri: seventy-two years, traced through the traditional account.
- 599 BCE
Birth of Vardhamana
Born on the thirteenth day of the bright half of Chaitra to King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala. The day is celebrated today as Mahavir Jayanti.
Kundagrama, near Vaishali - Childhood
A fearless prince
Tradition tells of a boy who stayed calm when others fled, including a story of quietly setting aside a serpent. Such stories gave him the name Mahavira, “great hero”.
Royal household of the Jnatri clan - Youth
Life in the world
Svetambara accounts describe his marriage to Yashoda and the birth of a daughter, Priyadarshana. Digambara accounts hold that he remained unmarried.
Kundagrama - Age 30
The great renunciation
He distributed his wealth, plucked out his hair in the ascetic manner and set out alone, owning nothing.
Leaving the palace - Ages 30 – 42
Twelve and a half years of practice
Long fasts, silence and meditation in all seasons. When people mocked or hurt him, he answered with patience rather than retaliation.
Wandering through eastern India - Around age 42
Kevala Jnana
He attained complete, unobstructed knowledge and became a Tirthankara, one who builds a crossing for others.
Under a sal tree by the Rijupalika river - Thirty years
Teaching all who came
He taught in Ardhamagadhi, the language of ordinary people. Eleven learned scholars, led by Indrabhuti Gautama, became his chief disciples, and Chandana led the order of nuns.
Magadha, Videha and beyond - 527 BCE
Nirvana
At seventy-two he attained final liberation on the new-moon night of Kartika. The lamps of Diwali recall the light of his knowledge.
Pavapuri
Dates follow the traditional Jain chronology (599–527 BCE). Many historians place his life somewhat later, in the 6th or 5th century BCE.
The journey to peace begins within.
Mahavir did not ask anyone to follow him blindly. He asked them to look inward, as he had. Take one quiet minute now: breathe slowly, and let one thought from this page settle.