The Life of Mahavira

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This essay will discuss the similarities and differences between the life of Mahavira, who was the twenty-fourth and last Tirthankar of Jainism (Lord Mahavira, 2011; D’Souza, 2007) and the life of the Buddha who was the founder of Buddhism. The path of priesthood they followed was similar. However, the way in which they sought enlightenment was different. Mahavira was born in 599 BC, in Kandalpur the sub-township of Vaishali. Vaishali is part of present day Bihar. Mahavira’s real name was Vardhaman. He was given this name because after he was conceived, his father, King Siddhartha, experienced tremendous prosperity. His mother’s name was Trishaladevi (Jain & Daljeet, 2006). Trishaladevi was said to have dreamt 14-16 dreams on the conception of Mahavira (Lord Mahavira, 2011). King Siddhartha was an astrologer; hence he interpreted Trishaladevi’s dreams. From the dreams he interpreted that his son would not be happy following his footsteps (becoming King). He knew that his true calling would be to rid the world of all its suffering (Lord Mahavira, 2011). Similarly, Buddha was also born of royal family. His father was King Shuddhodana, who ruled over the Shakya clan and his mother’s name was Queen Mayadevi. His real name was Siddhartha Gautama and he was born in 563 BC in Lumbini which used to be part of India but now present day Nepal. The Queen had dreamt of a white elephant entering her womb the night Buddha was conceived. The white elephant symbolizes power and strength. When the Queen gave birth to Buddha, she was given a divine vision where she was holding an olive branch while two gods namely Brahma and Indra remove the child from the side of her waist (Gyatso, 2007). Unfortunately, Mayadevi died a week after delivery (Crystal, 1995). There are no records of Trishaladevi (Mahavira’s mother) having a miraculous delivery. Like Mahavira, the Buddha also had
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