Mahavir Jayanti — March / April
Born in 599 BCE in Vaishali, in present-day Bihar, Vardhamana Mahavir was a prince who renounced his royal life at the age of thirty in search of spiritual truth. After twelve years of rigorous ascetic practice and meditation, he attained Kevala Jnana, the state of omniscience, and became the twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara of Jainism.
His teachings on ahimsa, non-attachment, and truth laid the philosophical foundation of one of India’s oldest living religions. Mahavir Jayanti, falling on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra, marks his birth anniversary and is observed as a national holiday across India.
Celebrated primarily in states with significant Jain communities like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, the day begins with a rath yatra, a procession carrying the idol of Lord Mahavir through the streets as devotees chant stavans, devotional hymns. Temples are adorned and filled with worshippers offering prayers and performing abhisheka, the ceremonial anointment of Mahavir’s idol. Monks and nuns deliver discourses on the path of virtue, and many devotees observe fasts and engage in charitable acts. Ahimsa marches and rallies carry Mahavir’s message of non-violence into the streets, reminding the wider world of a philosophy that is as urgent today as it was over two millennia ago.
For visitors, Mahavir Jayanti offers a rare encounter with a tradition of extraordinary moral depth, lived quietly and with great sincerity.
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