jain

Idol Worship

The idols of twenty-four Tirthankaras in the temple are the same because they represent the quality and virtues of Tirthankaras not the physical body. However, at the bottom of each idol a unique symbol is placed to differentiate them. Lord Mahavir's idol is recognized by the symbol of a lion.

Vardhman Mahaveer was born in 599 BC in Kundgram near Vaishali of Bihar in India. He was born to Siddharth and Trishala. Siddharth belonged to a high-ranked Warrior family of Nath Clan. Vardhman Mahaveer's mother Trishala was daughter of Chetak, the mighty and famous Lichchhavi king of Vaishali.

Prayer of Jain religion:

Every day Jains bow their heads and say their universal prayer, the Navkar-mantra. All good work and events start with this prayer of salutation and worship.

 Namo Arihantanam: - I bow to the enlightened souls
 Namo Siddhanam: - I bow to the liberated souls
 Namo Ayariyanam: - I bow to religious leaders
 Namo Uvajjayanam: - I bow to religious teachers
 Namo Loe Savva Sahunam: - I bow to all monks of the world

 After 12 years of his search for the truth, Vardhman Mahaveer became a naked monk. He took his first meal after becoming a monk from a Slave woman Chandana who was bought by a merchant from the slave market and persecuted by his wife.

 He was a Tirthankar. He propounded the Tirtha i.e., the way to the liberation of the soul. Acharya Samant Bhadra has called his teachings Sarvodaya Tirtha (religion that preaches the welfare of all living beings).

Mahavir was born in Kundgram from the womb of queen Trishala, the wife of the Lichhavi King Siddhartha, the famous leader of the Vaishali Republic. His mother was the daughter of King Chetak, the President of the Vaishali Republic. He was born in the Nath family of Kshatriya clan, 2600 years back, on the thirteenth day of the second fortnight of Chaitra month. Looking at his constant growth, his parents named him Vardhman.