Lord Mahavir

Lord Mahavir was the twenty-fourth and the last Tirthankara of the Jain religion. Tirthankaras were human beings who have attained a state of perfection or enlightenment through meditation and self realization. They are the Gods of Jains.
Lord Mahavir was born in 599 B.C. in Bihar, India. Mahavir was a prince and at birth he was given the name of Vardhaman. Being the son of a king, he had many worldly pleasures, comforts but at the age of thirty, he left his family and royal household to become a monk in search of a solution to eliminate pain, sorrow, and suffering.
The next 12 years he spent meditating and trying to find the answer to the truth about life. During this period he remained calm against all hardships which included being without food for many days and was named Mahavir (meaning very brave and courageous) and he attained perfect enlightenment.

• I bow to the enlightened beings
• I bow to the liberated souls
• I bow to religious leaders
• I bow to religious teachers
• I bow to all ascetics of the world
• These five salutations are capable of destroying all the sins and this is the first happiness among all forms of happiness