Mahavir Jayanti 2026: From Prince Vardhaman to becoming Lord Mahavir, know the amazing story of penance, sacrifice and only knowledge.

Every year, Trayodashi date of Chaitra Shukla Paksha is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir Swami, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism. He changed the direction of his life through spirituality. His story of transformation from Rajkumar Vardhaman to Mahavir Swami is quite interesting.

This year Mahavir Janmotsav will be celebrated on 31 March 2026. This is a day for which the Jain community waits throughout the year. Let us tell you today how Mahavir Jayanti is celebrated and also let us know how Vardhaman became Lord Mahavir.

How is Mahavir Jayanti celebrated?

The day of Mahavir Jayanti is like a festival for the Jain community. On this day, temples are decorated and Lord Mahavir is consecrated. Charity is done along with the Rath Yatra. On this day, Lord Mahavira’s Panchmahavrata teachings of truth, non-violence, celibacy, astya, aparigraha are remembered, which are the cornerstone of religion.

How a prince became Lord Mahavir

About 2500 years ago, Lord Mahavir was born in a Kshatriya royal family living in a village named Kshatriya Kund of Vaishali Republic. His father was Siddhartha and mother Trishala. Born in a Rajshri family, Vardhaman gave up the throne at the age of 30 and set out to do penance in search of knowledge. He performed rigorous penance for 12 years and attained Kevaljnana under the Sal tree situated on the banks of river Rijubalika. After attaining divine knowledge, he traveled to areas like Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and spread the religion. At the age of 72, Lord Mahavir attained salvation on the day of Diwali on Kartik Amavasya.