Historical Mahavira of Magadha

It is a patent fact that every man, in order to leave some substantial work after his short worldly career, should have some ideal of his own; and in accordance with this principle the Jainas regard Nirvana, or the perfection of soul, as the only ideal of human life. Nirvana, as explained in the Jaina Philosophy, is the goal of a man's life, at which every man should aim, and which is attained rarely and with difficulty. It is ' what gods and angels and men are struggling to attain in repeated births'.

What every man should aim at is the achievement of a truly noble life, and imitation of the greatest men of the world secures this to a large extent. Nothing is more important," says Blackie, "towards the achievement of a noble life than an imagination well-decorated with heroic pictures; in other words, there is no surer method of becoming good and great than an early familiarity with the lives of good and great men. No sermon is so effective as the example of a great man. Here we see the thing done before us, - actually done, a thing of which we were not even dreaming, and the voice speaks forth to us with a potency like the voice of many waters, * Go thou and do likewise.' Let us, therefore, turn our imagination into great picture galleries of the heroic souls of the glorious past, and fix our ideal upon one of them." The Holy books of the Jainas abound in examples of such heroic souls ; but there are twenty-four stars shining above all, who go by the name of the Tirthankaras or the Arhatas ; and in this book an attempt has been made to familiarise the reader with an account of the wordly career of Lord Mahavira, the last of them. The noble appellation, Arhat, is applied to a soul, who has a perfect knowledge of all things, who has conquered the wordly passions ; who is worshipped by all ; who has preached the truth ; and who is himself the Supreme Being in his perfect state.Vardhamana, or Mahavira, as he was commonly known, was the last or the twenty-fourth of these Arhatas.

For a long time Mahavira was looked upon as a sort of mythical personage, brought into sacred existence by the imagination of some and possibly from opponents of Buddhist faith. careful study of the Pali and the Prakrit works of the Jainas and the Buddhist writers has established the historicity of Mahavira as an universal truth. 

Relying on the tradition of the Jainas only, since for some particulars we have the testimony of the Buddhists also in whose writings Mahavira is mentioned under his well-known name Nataputta, as the head of the Niganthas or Jaina monks, and a rival of Buddha.

There is no difference between Nataputta and Gnatriputra by which the Shvetambara Shastras call him except that the former comes from Prakrit and the latter from Sanscrit. He was so called because he belonged to that clan of the Kshatriyas who were known as the Gnatrikas. In Buddhist works these Gnatrikas are known as the Natikas. Thus we see that he is sometimes named after his country, sometimes after his Gotra, sometimes after his birth place, and sometimes after his meritorious qualities. It was this variety of names which led to the confusion, but it has been now removed and Mahavira has been recognised as a historical religious and spiritual hero who lived and preached in the sixth century B.C.

They also assert that he had one elder sister known by the name of Sadarsana. On the other Jiand we find no mention of them in the Digambara shastras.

Mahavira's parents were both fortunate men, inasmuch as they lived to see their son a grown up man of thirty-two. The Mahavira Purana says nothing in connection with this.

It has been stated by both that Mahavira was born on the thirteenth day of the latter half of Chaitra about 72 years before the end of the fourth Kaal in the Dushama-sushama period. On this occasion great performances and rejoicings took place in the king's palace which lasted for ten days. Streets were illuminated, charitable deeds were performed, and prisoners were liberated. It is in such circumstances that our Lord Mahavira was born.

As to the birth place of Mahavira, according to the Jaina tradition, which represents Kundalpura as a large town, may be correct, inasmuch as Kundalpura is taken as equivalent to Vaishali, Bihar. 

Siddhartha, the father of Mahavira, also known as Sreyamsa and Jasamsa in the Shvetambara Granthas, was a Kshatriya ruler of a place called Kundalpura situated in that part of Northern India which was called Pavan in very ancient times and Videha or Magadha in later times. He belonged to the clan of Gnatrikas who are also known as Natikas in the Buddhist works, and who were a powerful clan in ancient times. Many of the ruling dynasties of later times are said to have sprung from this clan, and even the ruling chiefs of those times, who were also related to him through his wife, belonged to this clan. It is why Mahavira has been very often called Gnatriputra or Nataputta in the Buddhist works. The Digambaras also call him a Haribansi and even a Nathbansi. As to his gotra it is asserted on both hands that he was a Kashyapa. In Buddhist works his gotra is confounded with that of his pupil Sudharmacharya and is, therefore, said to be Agnivaishayana. The description of the magnificence of his palace, the ceremonious rejoicings with which the birth of Mahavira was celebrated and the grandeur and pomp of his court, make us believe that Siddhartha was a powerful monarch of his time.

Siddhartha is said to be a wise, virtuous, industrious, and a powerful king. Moreover, Chetaka, the powerful king of Videha, would not condescend to marry his daughter or sister, as the case may be, Trisala, to Siddhartha, a mere land-owner, as Professor Jacobi supposes him to be, this being against the popular custom among the Kshatriyas of those times. Siddhartha, too, would not give his choice to such a match. Neither it was a love-match. All these remarks go to show that, Siddhartha, if not a powerful monarch, exercised, at least, a kingly authority equal, if not more, to that of Chetaka. Anyhow this seems to be undeniable that Mahavira's father was a king and a ruler, no matter how far his rule and power extended.

Trisala or Priyakarini, the mother of Mahavira, was a beautiful, meritorious, a loving and a virtuous lady, who is said to have possessed all the good qualities of the head and the heart. In the Shvetam- bara shastras she is spoken of as sister to Ketaka (Ohetaka) the powerful ruler of Videha who belonged to the Vashistha gotra. For this also she is called Videhadatta. In the Digambara Shastras she is called as daughter of Chetaka, the king of Siddhadesha.

It is not known whether these two Chetakas are the same or different persons. She was an affectionate mother and would not allow her son to become a Sanyasi, when he was a boy.

Mahavira’s Brothers and Sisters

The Shvetambara Granthas also say that Mahavira had an elder brother, Nandivardhana, with whom Mahavira is said to have lived in his boyhood.