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In Jainism, Mahavir Janma Kalyanak is the most important religious holiday. It celebrates the birth of Mahavira, the last Tirthankara. On Mahavir Jayanthi, Jain temples are decorated with flags. In the morning the idol of Mahavira is given a ceremonial bath called the ‚abhishek‘. Lord Mahavira is an ideal in Jainism who taught the world the essence of life. He taught all of us the right way of living the life.The day of his birth is celebrated in a massive procession around the cities. Lord Mahavir was a great teacher who taught mankind the true path of happiness. His teachings on complete nonviolence and the importance of austerity showed the path to achieving salvation and spirituality. Read More: > HERE <

In Jainism, a Tirthankar (तीर्थंकर: „Fordmaker“; also Tirthankara or Jina) is a human being who achieves enlightenment (perfect knowledge) through asceticism and who then becomes a role-model teacher for those seeking spiritual guidance. A Tirthankar is a special sort of arhat, a person who has totally conquered base sensibilities such as anger, pride, deceit, or desire.

A Tirthankar is so called because he is the founder of a „Tirth“ (literally, ‚ford‘), a Jain community which acts as a „ford“ across the „river of human misery“.

Yaksha (Sanskrit यक्ष, yakṣa , ञक्ख yakkha in PÄli ) is the name of a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, who are caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots.They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology. The feminine form of the word is yakṣÄ (यक्सि) or yakṣiṇÄ (यक्सिनि)(PÄli: yakkhÄ (यक्खि) or yakkhinÄ (ञक्खिनि)

The Jina’s are worthy of worship because they are the ultimate victor oner the phenomenal fetters, conquired over the all desire of human being.

Jinas are twenty four in number whom we call > ‘Tirthankar’ < and each of them is served by > Yaksha < and >Yakshini < , includes 64 yakshinis (yogini), fifty two viras, sixteen vidya Devis, ten dikpalakas and nine planets. Jina is subordinated by all like Yaksha, Yakshini, Ashta Dikpalakas, Planets and the Jina is above all. Jina’s are countless but four of them are especially worshipped not only in India but all over the world – They are –

  • Adinath (The first in the present time)
  • Neminath (The twenty Second)
  • Parsavanath (The twenty Third)
  • Mahavira (The twenty fourth – the last)
  • Jina’s are ‘gods above gods’, Everybody is divinities of Jina’s. Jina’s are known by its symbol by whom the shrine is made.

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The image of Jina should be nude, youthful, handsome, transquil, decorated by the Sri-vatsa embelom on the chest, arms must reach the knee, tip of the middle finger of the hand touching the knee, two armed, two eyed, no ornament on any part of the body, nor any cloth anywhere in the body, Jina must neither be represented as an old man nor as a boy, always in prime of youth, peaceful, devoid of hair and nails even no hair on the armpit or any other part of the body, not even moustache line, the height of the Jina must be equal to 108 fingers (Anguls). The plum line must pass through precisely centre of the body of the image. The Jina will be either standing or seated no bend anywhere in the body. Seated pose will be lotus posture, legs are crossed, hands are brought together, the mood will be in the complete renunciation, engaged in penance or in Yoga posture. The expression Jina to conquest over the inner enemies like passion and hatred. Wherethese Teerthankara’s are duly installed in the temple, theyare called ‘Sthapana Jinas’.


Today the 28th April is Mahavir Jayanti which is celebrated with great pomp and show in all over India& abroad..

Mahavir Jayanti which is celebrated with great pomp on Parasnath hill in Bihar, a holy land for the jains. In Rajasthan (Jaipur) after special Puja, a procession is taken out.

Annual lakhi Mela is held at Mahavir Pilgrimage in Sehstravid (on the bank of river Gambhira) railway station, Mahavirji, 140 Km from Jaipur, on 13 Chetr shukl to 2 Baisakh Ditya, for five days. Million of pilgrims visit this place to pay their reverence to Digambar Jain Sri Mahavirji, the 24th Jain Tirthankar. On the last day of the fair, rath yatra (procession on a chariot) is taken out from huge, magnificent, profusely decorated with oil paintings and architectural beautiful temple. Meena trigal men and women, in colourful dresses, form the main part of the procession and proceed in front of the chariot, singing, dancing, jumping and enjoying. The fair is attended by people from all over the country irrespective of caste or creed.

Mahavir Jayanti, a day of gazette holiday, is observed all over India in all Jain temples by Jain devotees.

NALANDA about 55 miles south east of Patna, was a Buddhist center of learning from the 5th century CE to the 12th century.IT WAS BUILT BY KING HARSHWARDHAN IN HIS TIME….

The JAIN  Tirthankara Mahavira attained Moksha at Pavapuri, which is located in Nalanda (also according to one sect of Jainism he was born in the nearby village called Kundalpur The Gautama Buddha is believed to have visited Nalanda and given sermons near „the Mango Grove of Pavarika“. SÄriputta, the right hand disciple of the Buddha, was born and died in Nalanda. Asoka is said to have built a temple there. According to Tibetan sources, Nagarjuna taught there.[citation needed] However, historical studies indicate that the university was established c. 450 CE.

NALANDA was one of the first residential universities, i.e. it had dorms. During its days it was a flourishing residential university with over 10,000 students and 1500 teachers. The university was marked by a lofty wall and one gate. The library was located in a nine storied building. The subjects taught at Nalanda University covered every field of learning. The Tang Dynasty Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang left detailed accounts of the university in the 7th century.

A vast amount of what is considered to be Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana) actually stems from the late (9th-12th century) Nalanda teachers and traditions. Other forms of Buddhism, like the Mahayana followed in Vietnam, China, Korea and Japan, found their genesis within the walls of the ancient university. Theravada, the other main school of Buddhism, followed in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and elsewhere, and later the mystic Theravada schools also developed here.

In 1193, the Nalanda University complex was sacked by Turkic Muslim invaders under Bakhtiyar Khalji; this event is seen as a milestone in the decline of Buddhism in India. It is said that Khalji asked if there was a copy of the Koran at Nalanda before he sacked it. When the Tibetan translator Chag Lotsawa visited them in 1235, he found them damaged and looted, but still functioning with a small number of monks. The destruction of the universities at Nalanda, as well as the destruction of many temples and monasteries throughout northern India which housed centers of learning, is considered by many historians to be responsible for the sudden demise of ancient Indian scientific thought in mathematics, astronomy, alchemy, and anatomy.

Fortified Sena monastaries along the main route of the invasion were destroyed, and being off the main route both Nalanda and Bodh Gaya survived. Many instituions off the main route such as the Jagaddala Monastery in northern Bengal were untouched and flourishing. More information here:-

Yakshi under a flowering asoka tree. Sunga, 2nd-1st century BC, India

Yakshi under a flowering asoka tree. Sunga, 2nd-1st century BC, India