India: Four identical Lord Mahavira images at the centre of one of the holy Jain...

Mahavira, also known as Vardhamana, was the twenty-fourth and last Jain 'Tirthankara' (Teaching God). Mahavira was born into a royal family in what is now Bihar, India, in 599 BCE. At the age of 30, he left his home in pursuit of spiritual awakening, and abandoned worldly things, including his clothes, and became a monk. For the next twelve-and-a-half years, Mahavira practiced intense meditation and severe penance, after which he became 'kevali' (omniscient). The Jain's sacred site of Shatrunjaya contains hundreds of Palitana temples built mostly between the 11th Century and 16th Century CE. The Shatrunjaya Hills were sanctified when Rishabha, the first 'tirthankara' (omniscient Teaching God) of Jainism, gave his first sermon in the temple on the hill top. The ancient history of the hills is also traced to Pundarika Swami, a chief Ganadhara and grandson of Rishabha, who attained salvation here. His shrine located opposite to the main Adinath temple, built by his son Bharata, is also worshiped by pilgrims.