Discourses, live acts, car & chariot processions for Mahavir Jayanti today

MUMBAI: The Jain community will celebrate the 2,615th birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir, the 24th Tirthankar, on Wednesday. The public holiday was observed on Tuesday, although the festival spans two days. On Wednesday morning, the Jain Ekta Mahasangh will lead a colourful procession of cars, motorcycles and chariots with live acts featuring characters and stories from Jain literature. Around 32 sanghs from Lalbaug-Parel will participate in this yatra which begins at Naigaum around 8am.It will be followed by a discourse by Munishri Vinamrasagarji Maharaj at Kalachowkie.
The Jain International Organization will host a maha aarti with 50,000 oil lamps at Azad Maidan around 7pm, where an LED screen will show vignettes from Mahavir’s life. Singers Kummar Chatterjee and Narendra Vanigota will sing hymns after which devotees will rock the holy cradle to signal the lord’s birth. Lakhs of laddoos will be distributed as prasad. Shri Naypadmasagarji Maharajsaheb, the founder of Jain International Organization, has asked the community members to string floral garlands at the threshold of their homes.
Prince Vardhaman, later Mahavir, was born in Kshatriya Kund village in modern-day Bihar to King Siddharth and Queen Trishala. Legend goes that in the run-up to his birth, Trishala dreamt of auspicious elements like an elephant, bull, lion, Goddess Laxmi, garland, moon, sun, flag, lake with lotuses floating in it, celestial chariot, heap of jewels and smokeless fire that signified his greatness. Indeed, the prince abandoned his riches to show the world the path of Ahimsa.
During his wanderings in the forest, Mahavir was once so immersed in meditation that he failed to notice when a poisonous snake bit his foot. A passing band of villagers did though, and was astounded to see milk flowing from his injured toe instead of blood. These miracles are depicted as murals in temples and enacted at Mahavir Jayanti.