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The main Jain festival of the year is
Mahavira Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Mahavira, the founder of
Jainism.
According to the Digambar school of Jainism, Lord Mahavira was born in the
year 615 BC, but the Swetambaras believe that He was born in 599 BC. Both
sects however agree that he was the son of Siddhartha and Trisala. Legend
has it, that He was conceived by Devananda, wife of a Brahmin named
Rishabhdeva. The gods, ingeniously, transferred the embryo to the womb of
Trisala. It is said that the expectant mother had sixteen auspicious
dreams before the child was born (only 14 according to the Swetambaras).
Astrologers intepreting these dreams, stated that the child would be
either an emperor or a Teerthankar.
This religious event is largely observed by the Jains, by visiting sacred
sites and worshipping the Teerthankars. The event holds special
significance in Gujarat and Rajasthan, due to the ancient shrines at
Girnar and Palitana in Gujarat. Mahavira Jayanti is also celebrated at
Parasnath temple in Calcutta and at Pawapuri in Bihar. |
