VARDHAMAN MAHAVEER SWAMY
(599-529 B.C)

The original name of Mahaveer was Vardhamana. He was the Son of Siddhartha and Trishaladevi of the Vaishali-Kingdom. He belongs to the Kshatriya caste. He married Yashoda and a daughter was born to them. He lived the life of a house holder up to the age of 30. He become as ascetic and went in search of peace of mind and salvation. Mahaveer renounced worldly pleasures at the age 30 and wandered through the kingdoms of North India. By doing severe penance he received the highest spiritual knowledge and became a KEVAL GYAN at the age of 43. He became JINA or conqueror, the conqueror of pleasure and passion. Mahaveer was the last in the line of 24 THIRTHANKARAS. Mahaveer main teachings are the all living beings are divine. Freedom from rebirth can be attained by :-

Tri Ratnas-
1. Right Knowledge
2. Right Action
3. Right Faith
4. Self Discipline
5. Self Denial
6. Sallekhana
7. Austerity
He accepted the Hindu theory of Karma and preached strict Ahimsa. Earlier Tirthankaras had preached Truth,Ahimsa, Astheya (non stealing) and Aparigriha (non-possession). Mahaveer added one more of his own. It was Brahmacharya. The Jain sanyasis had to lead a very austere life. In the fourth century B.C. the Jain were divided into two sects called Shvetambaras and Digambaras. The Sanyasis of the former sect put white robes but the Digambara Sanyasis remain nude. The Svethambaras outnumber the Digambaras. Mahaveer and his disciple Sthulabhadra were able to spread Jainism in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kathiwad and in South India. Magadha experienced a severe drought. A great leader Bradrabahu migrated to South India with disciples and lived in Shravanabelagola. The Jains are of the opinion that Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauyra dynasty,was a follower of Jainism.
The Vedic tests were in Sanskrit which were not within the reach of the Comman man. That is why the Vedic religion had to face opposition. The Jain literature was in Ardhamagadhi, written in Prakrit, a language of the comman man. This enabled him to understand and practise the religion with ease. Apart from this reason, when the settled down in different parts of the Country, the Jains began to study the local language. This gesture of theirs helped to produce works of their religions on those languages. Jiana literature has considerably enriched those languages.
The Jain temples are known as VASATHI. In our mother tongue, it is called BASADI. The Jains have built many beautiful Basadis and installed beautiful idols of Trithankaras. These gave fillip to the development of art and architecture. One finds many Basadis built by the Jains in many parts of Karnataka. The most prominent among them are the Basadis and idols at Shravanbelagola, Halebidu and Mudabidre. The statue of Gomatesvara at Shravanbelagola is famous all over the world.
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