Who was Mahavira?
Mahavira (वर्धमान महावीर Great Hero) (599-527 BC, though possibly 549-477 BCE) was the 24th, and last, Jainist Tirthankara. He is also known in texts as Vira or Viraprabhu, Vardhamana (increasing), Sanmati, Ativira, and Gnatputra. In the Theravada Buddhist scriptures he is referred to as the Niggantha Nathaputta – ‘the naked ascetic of the Jñātr clan.’ Mahavira established what are today considered to be the central tenets of Jainism and was a contemporary of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.
