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TIRTHANKARS
Siddhartha and Queen Trishalä. Queen Trishala was the sister of King Chetak, the King of Vaishäli. Bhagawan Mahävir had an older brother named Nandivardhan and a sister named Sudarshanä. The family's prosperity started increasing ever since Queen Trishalä conceived Bhagawan Mahävir, so they named him Vardhamän, which means to "increase”.
Birth celebration of Bhagawan Mahävir by 56 female celestial beings
From his early childhood he was intelligent, affectionate, and compassionate. At school he hardly needed any instruction. He excelled in all his subjects. He also proved to be quite fearless. Once when he was playing with his friends, a big snake appeared in the field. His friends were scared and ran away when they saw the snake but Vardhaman was unafraid. He caught the snake and put it in the nearby trees. On another occasion a giant monster came to frighten him but Vardhaman was unmoved. He was popularly known as Mahävir (very brave) since he showed a high level of courage and fearlessness.
At an early age, he realized that worldly happiness and pleasures do not last forever and are based mostly on the inconvenience, miseries, and unhappiness of others. He therefore planned to renounce his worldly life, his possessions, and worldly pleasures in search of true spiritual happiness. However, he knew that his parents would be very sad and hurt if he did this so he decided not to renounce his current life while they were still alive. His parents passed away when he was 28 years old. He was now ready to renounce his worldly life by giving up his family, friends, and possessions, but again postponed it for two more years at the request of his older brother, Nandivardhan. During this period he donated all his wealth to the poor and the needy.
Finally, at the age of 30, he renounced his worldly life and became a monk. Mahävir spent the next twelve and a half years in deep silence and meditation to conquer his desires, feelings, and attachments. He
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