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INTRODUCTION MAHAVIRA
BUDDHA 3. Born at Vaisal (Kunda 1. Born at Kapilavastu about
gram) about 599 B. C. 557 B. C. 2. His parents lived to a 3. His mother died soon after good old age.
gning huis birth. 3. Assumed the ascetic life 3. Made himself a monk
with the consent of his against the wishes of his relatiscs.
father. 4 His preparalion in tuc . Obtained Illumination at
ascetic stage lasted for the end of 6 years 12 years
only. 5 Died at Pana in S Died at Kusinagar about 577 B. C.
488 B. C. Parshwanatha was born at Benares in 877 B. C, and reached nl2rvâna in 777 B. C. on a hill which is still known as Parcshnath Hills in Bengal. Mahavira or Vardhamana, the last Tirthankara of this age, only improved upon the then cxisting doctrines and customs according to the exigencies of the tinie, and it was hc who gave Jainism its final formi. The current tenets and practices of Jainism, dscmbodied in the existing Sutras or canons, are his ulterances
Mahavira was the son of Siddhartha, the chief of the Nat clan of Kundagrama near the city of Varsali, who belonged to a noble
