Mahavir Jayanti - Mahavir Janma Kalyanak
Also called Birth Anniversary of Mahavira; Mahavir Janma Kalyanak
Date Decided by the Jain calendar (Vira Nirvana Samvat)
This Year 2015 date is 2 April, Thursday
Mahavir Jayanti, also known as Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, is the most important religious holiday for Jains. It celebrates the birth of Mahavira, twenty fourth and the last Tirthankara of present time cycle. On the Gregorian calendar, the holiday occurs either in March or Apri
Birth
Most modern historians considered Vasokund as Mahavira's birthplace. According to Jain texts, Mahavira was born on the thirteenth day of the bright half of the moon in the month of Chaitra in the year 599 BCE. Mahavira was born into the democratic kingdom of Vaishali, where king was chosen by voting.
Vasokund
Today, though jain families are not present at Vasokund, where Mahavira was born. Mahavira is still much revered by the locals through their culture and music. A place called Ahalya bhumi has not been ploughed, for hundreds of years by the family that owns it, as it is considered to be the birth place of Mahavira
Birth Legend
Mahavira was born into royalty as the son of King Siddartha of Kundgraam and Queen Trishala. During pregnancy, mother Trishala was believed to have had a number of auspicious dreams, all signifying the coming of a great soul. The exact number of dreams differs according to the school of Jainism; Svetambaras generally believe that the actual number is fourteen while Digambaras claim sixteen instead. Regardless, the astrologers that interpreted these dreams claimed that the child would become either an emperor or a Tirthankar. It is said that when queen Trishala finally gave birth to Mahavira, the god-king Indra bathed the newborn himself with celestial milk, a ritual essentially marking him as a Tirthankara.
Celebrations
Local statues of Mahavira are given a ceremonial bath called the abhisheka. During the day, many Jains engage in some sort of charitable act in the name of Mahavira while others travel to temples to meditate and offer prayers. Lectures are typically held in temples to preach the path of virtue as defined by Jainism. Donations are collected in order to promote charitable missions like saving cows from slaughter or helping to feed poor people. Ancient Jain temples across India typically see an extremely high volume of practitioners come to pay their respects and join in the celebrations.
Thanks to
N Jambunathan,
15, Karnan Street, A1 - Sonex Samyuktha Appartments,Rengarajapuram,Kodambakkam, Chennai 600 024
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