Question

Vardhman Mahavira was the ______________ Tirthankara in Jainism.

A. First
B. Second
C. Thirteenth
D. Twenty Fourth

Answer 1

Hint:
Vardhman Mahavira is believed to be a contemporary of Buddha as per the textual pieces of evidence found in his time period. He was born in a Kshatriya family and he gave up all the pleasures of this world to go deep into spirituality and find the true meaning of life.

Complete step by step solution:
A Tirthankara is a spiritual teacher in Jainism who is considered to be an incarnation of God. According to the historical evidence and texts found related to Jainism there were a total of twenty-four Tirthankaras and Mahavira was the last or the twenty-fourth Tirthankara. He was born into a rich Kshatriya family and his mother was Trishla and his father was Siddhartha. The time period of Mahavira is found to be the same as that of Gautam Buddha thus, many people believe they were contemporaries. Before Mahavira, the twenty-third Tirthankara was Parshvanatha whom Mahavira succeeded. The teachings of Mahavira were in support of Non-violence, non-attachment, truth, and charity. His teachings were orally transmitted for several years but very few written records have been found of that time period.

Hence, the correct answer is option D.

Note:
 The depiction of Mahavira has been found in the city of Mathura where he has been depicted either in a sitting position or a standing position along with a lion beneath him. The birth of Mahavira is celebrated by the followers of Jainism as Mahavir Janma Kalyanka or Mahavir Jayanti and his death anniversary is celebrated as Diwali among the Jain community.