o the Ksatriya warrior caste as the younger son, Vardhamana, of a clan ruler at Kundagrama, which is near he modern Patna, India. In one tradition he too marries and has a child, a daughter Anoja.
Again, like the Buddha he eventually renounced family life and became a wandering ascetic. He wandered naked for 12 years, without possessions. He spent all his time in silence and meditation. He also fasted intensely and practiced non violence. Jain tradition holds that Mahavira adopted the practice of an ascetic group founded by Parshva. Parshva was considered to be one of the pathmakers, or tirthankaras, of Jainism. Parshva was the immediate predecessor of the 24th tirthankara, or Mahavira, who was the last of this line or jinas, or conquerors. According to Kaufmann (1976), the historicity of Parshva is accepted, but that of the preceding 22 tirthankaras is more problematic.
Finally, he attained enlightenment, which in Jainism was termed kevala. His enlightenment took place under a sala tree at Jrimbhiagrama on the River Rijupalika. After his enlightenment, he was acclaimed Tirthankara or leader of an order and founded the Jains.
His teaching period extended over 30 years, during which time he organized many groups of followers, including both nuns and monks, and laypeople. His earliest teaching involved the "Five Great Vows" of Jainism, which include the vows of no sex, no killing, rejection of all materialism, no lies, and the rejection of greed.
Interestingly enough, I.B. Horner (1930) indicated that Jainism preceded Buddhism in allowing women to enter religious orders and follow the lead of Mahavira. Although Jainism taught that women had lesser spiritual capacity and were forbidden the higher orders, they still sought to follow the spiritual path set forth by Mahvira. Horner noted that the number of nuns was actually twice that of the monks during the early formative period, even though they were taught that...