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Early History of Jainism and Migrations.... :3
consisted of four vows, or the four-fold path (cāturyāma dharma): nonviolence (ahiņsā), truthfulness (satya), non-stealing (asteya) and non-accumulation of possessions (aparigraha). 16
Mahāvīra, which means 'great hero', was born under the name Vardhamāna in 599 BCE in a place called Kundagrāma, which may be near Vaisali in the Ganga basin. Accounts of Mahāvīra's life are provided in the Kalpasūtra, as well as the Acārānga, Sūtrakrtānga and Bhagavati-sūtras. According to the Svetāmbaras, Mahāvīra left this world in 527 BCE, while the Digambaras hold that it was 510 BCE.18
Although Mahāvīra is often discussed as the founder of Jainism, his role in the religion cannot be understood outside of the context of the 23 tīrtharkaras who preceded him. In this way, rather than a founder, one may consider him a reformer. He continued to preach the Jain dharma of the earlier 23 tirtharkaras with only slight modifications. The Uttarādhyayana Sūtra contains a discussion between Kesi, a follower of Pārsvanātha and Indrabhēti Gautama, the chief-disciple of Mahāvīra, regarding the differences between the four-fold path of Pārsvanātha and the fivefold path of Mahāvīra. This five-fold path, or the five mahāvratas, includes: ahiṁsā (nonviolence), satya (truth), asteya or acaurya (non-stealing), aparigraha (non-possession), and brahmacarya (celibacy).
The biography of Mahāvīra is some what distinct from that of the previous 23 tīrtharkaras. The general pattern for the other 23 tīrtharkaras consists of being born into a family of the warrior class (kşatriya), a realization of their destiny as a great spiritual teacher, renouncing the world of the household to become a wandering ascetic and after a series of physical and mental austerities, the fulfillment of omniscience. Lastly, after a period of preaching and converting others to the Jaina dharma, they die in meditation and their souls become liberated (mokşa). Like the previous tīrthankaras, Mahāvīra was born into a kșatriya family. Specifically, he belonged to the Nāya clan (Nāta in Pali and Jñātr in Sanskrit). Thus, he is often referred to as Nāyaputta (“son of the Nāyas'). His father was a wealthy ksatriya nobleman and his mother was the sister of an eminent Licchavi prince.20 However, according to the Trişaștiśalākāpuruşacarita, Mahāvīra was actually conceived in the womb of a brāhmaṇa lady and his embryo was later transferred to his ksatriya mother.21 In addition, unlike the previous tīrtharkaras who publicly renounced their fortunes to join ascetic groups, Mahāvīra renounced the world alone, with only the gods in attendance and did not join any pre-existing ascetic group.22 According to Dundas, these distinctions suggest, "early Jainism coalesced out of an interaction between the cosmological ideas of Pārśva and a more rigorous form of orthopraxy advocated by Mahāvīra, with the relationship between the two teachers eventually being formalised within the gradually evolving fordmaker lineage."23
Mahāvīra renounced the life of a householder at the age of 30. Soon after, he began a wandering mode of existence that lasted for twelve years. At age 42 he obtained omniscience, meaning a state of perfect knowledge. He continued to wander and preach the doctrines of Jaina dharma. He would wander for eight months of the year and then remain stationary in some town for four
