Question

Mahavira Jain rejected Vedas and Vedic rituals.
A. True
B. False

Answer 1

Hint: In this question we discuss how Mahavira assumed that everyone could achieve salvation through pure and meritorious living. The attainment of such freedom requires no ceremony. By proper awareness, right trust, and right action, it can be done. He dismissed the Vedas and condemned the rituals of the Vedas.

Complete answer:
As we know that the 24th and the last Tirthankara in Jainism was Vardhaman Mahavira. About 250 years after Parsva's death, he flourished. He was born in 599 B.C. in Kundagrama, a suburb of Vaishali (the present district of Muzaffarpur in Bihar). His father was the head of the Jantrikas, the Kshatriyan, and his mother, Trisala, was the sister of Chetaka, an eminent prince of Lichchhavi, the ruler of Vaishali. Mahavira lived a house holder's life. After the death of his father at the age of thirty, he left his worldly life to discover the facts. He went on roaming from place to place for 12 years. He did not remain in a village for more than a day or in a town for more than five days. For 12years, after discarding clothing, he exercised penance and austerity. The influence of the Vedas was denied by Mahavira. Both Vedic gods and goddesses were mythical, according to him, and they were meant to confuse humanity. He was dismissive of Vedic practises and the dominance of Brahmana. In order to achieve moksha, Mahavira recommended a very ethical code of living.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Note:The propagation of Jainism was induced by Mahavira. He travelled and preached his teachings from place to place. People were drawn to him by his simple way of life, penance and austerity. To spread his religion, Mahavira used a traditional dialect instead of Sanskrit. The Vedic Scriptures were written in Sanskrit, the intellectual tongue.