The main Jain festival of the year is
Mahavira Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Mahavira, the founder of
Jainism.
According to the Digambar school of Jainism, Lord Mahavira was born in
the year 615 BC, but the Swetambaras believe that He was born in 599 BC.
Both sects however agree that he was the son of Siddhartha and Trisala.
Legend has it, that He was conceived by Devananda, wife of a Brahmin
named Rishabhdeva. The gods, ingeniously, transferred the embryo to the
womb of Trisala. It is said that the expectant mother had sixteen
auspicious dreams before the child was born (only 14 according to the
Swetambaras). Astrologers intepreting these dreams, stated that the
child would be either an emperor or a Teerthankar.
This religious event is largely observed by the Jains, by visiting
sacred sites and worshipping the Teerthankars. The event holds
special significance in Gujarat and Rajasthan, due to the ancient
shrines at Girnar and Palitana in Gujarat. Mahavira Jayanti is also
celebrated at Parasnath temple in Calcutta and at Pawapuri in Bihar.