Bhagavān Mahāvīra
c. 6th–5th century BCE · Vaiśālī, Bihar · Jainism
Vardhamāna Mahāvīra, the twenty-fourth Tīrthaṅkara of Jainism, was born a prince near Vaiśālī in Bihar. At about thirty he renounced his home and, after some twelve years of austerity and meditation, attained kevala jñāna, complete knowledge.
He taught ahiṃsā (non-violence to all living beings), satya, asteya, brahmacarya and aparigraha (non-possession), and anekāntavāda — that truth has many sides. He attained nirvāṇa at Pāvāpurī, remembered by Jains at Dīpāvalī. Mahāvīr Jayantī celebrates his birth.
24th Tīrthaṅkara · Ahiṃsā, anekāntavāda · Pāvāpurī