|
Mahavir
Jayanti Festival
Mahavir
Jayanti, as the term suggests, marks the birth of the revered
Jain saint, Mahavir. He was born in 540 B.C. as Vardhamana,
in a small town called Vaishali. He was destined to be either
an emperor or a teerthankara (saint). History tells us that
he was the 24th teerthankara. He is the founder of Jainism,
the religion practiced till date. Jainism surfaced (between
the 5th and the 6th century B.C) as retaliation to the Vedic
preaching of Hinduism. Unlike Buddhism, which follows the
middle path, Jainism preaches a very extreme form of ascetism
and self-control.
|
|
Mahavir
Jayanti is observed on the 13th day of the month of Chaitra as per
the Hindu calendar. This day is commemorated, not with pomp and
festivities, but with silent prayers and worship, in accordance
with Saint Mahavir's teachings of austerity and renunciation.
Jain religious leaders spend the day in solitude, while the rest
of the Jain population organises peaceful processions, with children
depicting stories from the life and times of Saint Mahavir. Mahavir
Jayanti is especially observed in places like Old Delhi, Gujarat
and Rajasthan, which consists of a sizeable Jain population. At
certain places, (like the highly revered shrines of Girnar and Palitana
in Gujarat, Pawanpuri in Bihar and the Parasnath temple in Calcutta),
the day is celebrated with a great deal of joy and enthusiasm. Mahavir
Jayanti is generally considered auspicious all over the country.
|
|
