શ્રી મહાવીર સ્વામી: જીવન અને કથાઓ

The tradition counts twenty-seven births from Nayasar, a village headman who, while cutting wood in the forest, found munis who had lost their way, fed them and led them to the road; there he gained samyaktva. Among the births that follow: Marichi, the grandson of Rishabhdev, who grew proud of his future; Triprishta, the first Vasudev, who had molten lead poured into a servant's ears; Priyamitra the chakravarti; and the muni Nandan, who through long tap bound the Tirthankar naam karma.

On Ashadh Sud 6 his soul came first into the womb of Devananda, a Brahmin woman of Brahmankund. On the 83rd day, by Indra's order, the dev Harinaigameshi moved the embryo to the womb of Queen Trishala, wife of King Siddhartha of Kshatriyakund, and both mothers saw the fourteen great dreams. The Shwetambar tradition counts this among the rare wonders (achhera) of the age.

From the day he came into the womb the family's wealth and fame kept growing, so he was named Vardhaman. The devs, testing his courage, called him Mahavir, the great hero. His chinh is the lion.

He was born at Kshatriyakund on Chaitra Sud 13, and the Indras celebrated the janmabhishek on Meru.

In the womb he once kept still so as not to cause his mother pain; when she grieved, fearing for the child, he resolved not to take diksha while his parents lived. He married Yashoda, and their daughter was Priyadarshana. After his parents' death, at thirty, he took diksha.

After the Lokantik devs came to request him and a year of varshidaan, he took diksha on Kartak Vad 10 alone.

He attained kevalgyan on Vaishakh Sud 10; the devs built the samavasaran and the fourfold sangh was set up.

He attained kevalgyan on the bank of the Rujuvalika river. At Apapa (Pavapuri), eleven learned Brahmins, led by Indrabhuti Gautam, came to debate him; each had a doubt, and each found the answer and took diksha with his disciples. They became his eleven ganadhars, and Gautam Swami the first.

For twelve and a half years he lived in silence and tap, eating on only about 350 days. A cowherd struck him, Sangam dev brought twenty terrible upsargs in a single night, and at the end a cowherd drove nails into his ears, repaying the karma of Triprishta. He bore all of it with perfect samata.

He walked into the forest where the cobra Chandkaushik killed every passer-by with its glance and bite. The snake bit his foot, and milk flowed instead of blood. The Prabhu said only: Chandkaushik, awake. The snake remembered its past lives, gave up anger, and spent its last days in peace.

He took a vow (abhigraha) to accept food only on many hard conditions, and went five months and twenty-five days without it. At Kaushambi he found them all fulfilled in Chandanbala, a princess sold as a slave, head shaved and feet chained, tears in her eyes, offering boiled urad from a winnowing basket. She later became the head of his sadhvis.

On Aso Vad Amas Shri Mahavir Swami attained nirvan at Pavapuri alone.

On the last night, at Pavapuri, he gave his final deshna, the Uttaradhyayan sutra, and attained nirvan alone, on Diwali night. Gautam Swami, sent away the day before so that his attachment to the Prabhu would end, wept on hearing the news, and in that moment of letting go attained kevalgyan at dawn on Kartak Sud 1, the Jain new year. The lamps of Diwali are lit in memory of this night.

We live in the tirth of Mahavir Swami, which will last to the end of the fifth ara. Every Paryushan the Kalpasutra tells his life, and on the day of the Janma Vanchan his halardu is sung.