Mahavir Jayanti was celebrated in Coimbatore with rituals and special prayers at the Jain temples in the district. The Jain community gathered this morning to celebrate the birthday of Lord Mahavir. The celebrations were organized by the Suparswanath Jain Sewa Mandal.

“The day started with a holy procession. Lord Mahavir was placed in a decorated chariot. It was a spiritual experience participating in the holy procession,” Kishore Jain, one of the organizers of today’s celebrations, said. Several hundreds of Jains participated in the procession. The young and the old were dressed in their best outfits and they walked through the procession that was flagged off from the Sree Suparswanath Jain Temple on R.G. Street. The procession, carrying Lord Mahavir on the chariot, coursed through important streets of old Coimbatore. At the end of the procession, Annadanam was offered at the temple.

This year the Jain community celebrated the 2615th birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir. Mahavira was the 24th and the last Tirthankara (enlightened being). He was born in 599 BCE to King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala. Mythology has it that the Lord, after His birth, was bathed by God Indra with celestial milk. This ritual marked his birth as the arrival of a Tirthankara. He preached the philosophy of non violence (Ahimsa), truthfulness (Satya), chastity (Bramacharya), non-stealing (Asatya), and simple living (Aparigraha). Lord Mahavira died in 527 BC, at the age of 72.