Mahavira
Mahavira South and Central AsiaThe last Jaina saviour, he was a contemporary of the Buddha, and died about 500 BC. His childhood was distinguished by miracles. One day he overcame a serpent that threatened his friends, thus earning the title Mahavira, ‘great hero’. During the lifetime of his parents Mahavira was an ordinary householder, married with a daughter, but as soon as his mother and father who were devotees of Parsva committed the rite of sallekhana, fasting unto death, he decided that there was no longer any hindrance to his own ascetic inclinations. At the age of thirty-two he distributed his personal possessions to the needy and commenced his inner quest, a terrestrial event that brought an immediate response from the heavens; the firmament glowed like a lake covered in lotus flowers, the air was filled with the sounds of celestial music, and gods descended to pay their respects to Mahavira.
For a time the names of Mahavira and...
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