Mahābhārata – English translation

The Internet Archive offers Romesh Dutt's 1898 translation of the Sanskrit epic poem Mahābhārata into English verse. One of the Hindu accounts of the poem, it can be read online or downloaded in various formats.

http://archive.org/details/mahabharata00duttuoft

Mahābhārata – English translation

The Sacred Texts website presents Kisari Mohan Ganguli's translation into English prose of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahābhārata. Initially published between 1883 to 1896, this is one of the Hindu versions of the poem.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01000.htm

Mahābhārata – English translation

Project Gutenberg provides Kisari Mohan Ganguli's translation of the Sanskrit epic, the Mahābhārata, first published in 1883 to 1896. This is a Hindu telling of the poem. Website visitors can read the text online or download it in various formats.

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15474

Mahāratī to Nākoḍā Bhairava

A recording of a Śvetāmbara 'great lamp ceremony' – mahāratī – to Nākoḍā Bhairava, sung by a group of male and female singers, is available to listen to or download from Soundcloud.

http://soundcloud.com/nakodabhairav/nakoda-bhairav-aarti

Mahavir Aradhana Kendra – museum

The museum at the Mahavir Aradhana Kendra displays the equipment used by Gacchādhipati Ācārya Śrī Kailāsaāgara-sūrīśvara Mahārāj, among other exhibits. Information about opening hours, holdings and directions to the institute in Koba, near Ahmedabad in Gujarat, is on the website.

http://www.kobatirth.org/jainmuseum.aspx

Mahavir Aradhana Kendra – institute

Based around the pilgrimage site of Mahaviralaya – a temple dedicated to Mahāvīra, the last Jina – Mahavir Aradhana Kendra is a manuscript library and research institute, which publishes academic books, chiefly on Śvetāmbara Jainism. There is also a museum that includes the monastic equipment used by Gacchādhipati Ācārya Śrī Kailāsaāgara-sūrīśvara Mahārāj.

http://kobatirth.org/default.aspx

Mahāvīr Janam Divas celebration

This YouTube slideshow of the celebrations of Paryuṣaṇ in Melbourne, Australia in 2010 illustrates some of the features of the eight-day long festival. Sculptures of the 14 auspicious dreams experienced by Mahāvīra’s mother are suspended from the ceiling on the fifth day of Paryuṣaṇ – Mahāvīr Janam Divas, which celebrates the birth of Mahāvīra, the 24th Jina. The sculptures are venerated in turn by all the festival participants, sometimes by being held to the crown of the head, seat of spirituality in Indian culture. Then auctions – bolī – are held to decide who should perform various ceremonies. The most important and expensive auction is over the right to take home the image of the infant Mahāvīra for the last three days of the festival. Everyone can rock the cradle holding the idol of the baby Jina, which takes pride of place in the display.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36qDitIqS00

Mahāvīr Jayantī ban is broken

The Hindu newspaper reports on violations of the bans on animal slaughter and the sale of meat during the 2013 Jain festival of Mahāvīr Jayantī in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. One of the major Jain festivals, Mahāvīr Jayantī celebrates the birth of Mahāvīra, the 24th Jina.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/meat-shops-violating-mahavir-jayanthi-closure-penalised/article4651383.ece

Mahāvīr Jayanti procession

This YouTube video from 2010 shows part of a large procession – yātrā – during the festival of Mahāvīr Jayanti. This procession is held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, with the noise, colour and singing, dancing crowds in the video indicating the lively atmosphere of the event. Marking the birth of the last Jina, this festival is one of the principal Jain festivals and is celebrated by all Jain sects.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb4Zcw8Qj1k

Mahāvīr Jayantī procession – part one

The festival of Mahāvīr Jayantī is often marked with a procession in which images of the 24th Jina Mahāvīra are carried through the streets. This large procession is made up of animals, singers and musicians, dancers and local Jains celebrating the birth of the last Jina. This procession took place in March 2010 in Jaipur, Rajasthan and also featured the message of environmental conservation.

Captured in two parts on YouTube, this is the first part. You can also watch the second part.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb4Zcw8Qj1k

Mahāvīr Jayantī procession – part two

The festival of Mahāvīr Jayantī is often marked with a procession in which images of the 24th Jina Mahāvīra are carried through the streets. This large procession is made up of animals, musicians and singers, dancers and local Jains celebrating the birth of the last Jina. People perform worship in front of the image. Children dressed in white represent monks and nuns while others re-enact scenes associated with Mahāvīra’s birth. Nude Digambara monks stand out in the crowd. This procession took place in March 2010 in Jaipur, Rajasthan and also featured the message of environmental conservation.

Captured in two parts on YouTube, this is the second part. You can also watch the first part.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MT4j0qLOe4&NR=1

Mahāvīr Jayanti slideshow

The Indian Express newspaper website provides a brief slideshow of the colourful celebrations across India during the 2013 festival of Mahāvīr Jayanti. Celebrating the birth of the 24th Jina, Mahāvīra, this is the only Jain festival with a place in the official calendar of India.

http://www.indianexpress.com/picture-gallery/india-celebrates-mahavir-jayanti/2575-1.html

Mahāvīra renounces

This illustration is from a page of the Śvetāmbara scripture of the Kalpa-sūtra in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It shows the last Jina, Mahāvīra, performing the rite of keśa-loca – ‘pulling out of the hair’ – which indicates indifference to the body. It is part of the initiation ceremony of dīkṣā, in which an initiate renounces the world and becomes a mendicant. He is watched by Śakra, king of the gods, who takes an active role in the lives of the 24 Jinas.

http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/105108.html?mulR=656|9

Mahavira: Prophet of Non-Violence

Bal Patil writes about the doctrine of non-violence – ahiṃsā – in Jainism and the revolutionary teachings of the 24th Jina Māhavīra, who stressed non-violence and individual responsibility for salvation.

This chapter from the 1974 book Jainism, by Colette Caillat, Bal Patil and A. N. Upadhye, is available on the HereNow4U website.

http://www.herenow4u.net/?id=77281

Main Jain festivals

The Jain Heritage Centres website provides information about the major Jain festivals. 

https://www.jainheritagecentres.com/jainism/jain-festivals/

Major Jain festivals

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London provides information about some of the major Jain festivals.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/j/jain-festivals/

Mallinatha temple

This YouTube video from IndiaVideoDotOrg shows the journey up to the temple dedicated to the 19th Jina Mallinātha or Lord Malli on Mount Girnar. Constructed in 1230, the triple temple is one of the first shrines pilgrims encounter on the mountain. A holy place for Jains and Hindus in Gujarat, Girnar is a popular pilgrimage destination for followers of both religions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulwcn6MALww

Mānatuṅga and the Bhaktāmara-stotra

HereNow4U provides a version of the tale of Mānatuṅga, composer of the very popular Bhaktāmara-stotra hymn. The Digambara story found here recounts how the power of the hymn frees Mānatuṅga from his chains.

http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=75359

Maṇḍala featuring hrīṃ

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA, presents a zoomable photograph of a Jain maṇḍala painted on cloth. This colourful diagram is intended to aid meditation and bring good luck and features the mantra of hrīṃ, a sacred formula, and many other auspicious symbols and figures.

http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/jain-mandala-22432

Maṇḍala of Mahāvīra

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA, provides a zoomable photograph of a 16th-century meditation diagram. This colourful maṇḍala depicts the samavasaraṇa – universal assembly – of an omniscient Jina, in which he preaches to all sentient beings. In the centre is the 24th Jina Mahāvīra, preaching to:

  • members of the fourfold community in the corners
  • pairs of natural enemies who are at peace during the sermon, such as the lion and antelope.

Numerous auspicious symbols and mantras enhance the powerful spiritual qualities of the maṇḍala.

http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/jain-mandala-with-varddhamana-in-the-center-22429

Maṇḍala with Pārśva

This bright red maṇḍala features the 23rd Jina Pārśvanātha or Lord Pārśva, surrounded by auspicious symbols, figures and mantras. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA, provides a zoomable photograph of this maṇḍala, which dates back to the 16th century.

http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/jain-mandala-with-parshvanatha-at-the-center-22413

Māṇibhadra Vīra

This Śvetāmbara deity can be identified from his boar head and mount of an elephant, which often has three trunks, as this one does. Māṇibhadra Vīra is the presiding deity of the Tapā-gaccha sect and is worshipped only by Tapā-gaccha followers. This photograph is provided on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ssjst/3423188072

Māṇibhadra Vīra worship in Toronto, 2011

This 2011 YouTube video shows scenes from the worship ceremony to the protective deity Māṇibhadra Vīra in Toronto, Canada. This warrior deity sits on an elephant, often shown with three trunks, in Śvetāmbara Tapā-gaccha temples. Māṇibhadra Vīra has the head of a boar and four or more hands. He is worshipped only among Tapā-gaccha followers, as the presiding deity of this monastic lineage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f12gDSdg9U

Mantram samsāram asāram

This 2008 YouTube video features a Digambara monk chanting the Mantram samsāram asāram, which is usually recited after the Namaskāra-mantra. The name of the mantra means The World of Rebirths has No Value. The slideshow provides the Sanskrit and transliterated phrases.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i3nf5IhzXo

Marianne North biography

This page on Answers.com gives detailed information about the life and career of Marianne North (1830–1890). A British painter famous for lifelike paintings of plants and flowers, North also painted landscapes during 13 years of global travel, spending 1877 to 1878 in India.

http://www.answers.com/topic/marianne-north

Meditating Jina and attendants

A stone sculpture of a Jina and his celestial attendants. Produced in southern India around 1000 CE, this figure sits in the lotus pose of deep meditation. The zoomable photograph is on the website of the Norton Simon Museum, in Pasadena, California.

http://www.nortonsimon.org/collections/browse_title.php?id=F.1978.26.S

Microcosmology: Atom In Jain Philosophy & Modern Science

The third edition of this book by Jethalal S. Zaveri and Muni Shri Mahendra Kumar discusses the relationships of Jain philosophy, modern physics and Western philosophy. The full text is available to read online on the HereNow4U website.

http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=cd10554

Miniature Jina shrine

The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California, provides an enlargeable photograph of a bronze Jina shrine. This portable shrine dates from the 15th century and features a Jina who lacks his identifying emblem. Sitting in meditation, he is surrounded by divine attendants and symbols of royalty.

http://searchcollection.asianart.org/

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Modern sūri-mantra-paṭa

A circular sūri-mantra-paṭa on the HereNow4U website. This modern paṭa on a tomato-red background has at its centre an image of Indrabhūti Gautama, head disciple of Mahāvīra, who is being worshipped by lay men. The 24 Jinas and other holy figures sit in concentric circles, separated by a ring of mantras. A pair of auspicious eyes, the hrīṃ mantra and the sun and moon sit above the paṭa.

http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=72972

Moksha (Liberation)

Jainbelief.com provides an overview of the Jain concept of emancipation, outlining the 15 types of liberated souls – siddhas – and the role of the Jinas in guiding human beings towards liberation.

http://www.jainbelief.com/PPOJ/19.htm

Mount Girnār

This set of photographs on Flickr by amaury_217 of the holy site of Mount Girnār was taken in April 2010.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amaury_217/sets/72157624360343342/with/4734492857/

Mukta-giri temple-city

The setting of the Digambara temple-city at Mukta-giri in Madhya Pradesh is a spectacular valley in the Saptura mountains. Dedicated to various Jinas, the 52 temples attract numerous pilgrims. This photograph on Flickr was taken in 2010.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kulyogs/5281816568/

Mukta-giri temples

The temple-city of Mukta-giri in Madhya Pradesh has over 50 temples, clustered in groups. This 2007 photo on Flickr shows some of the temple complexes surrounding the river, which are connected by bridges.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayamahesh/2817125088/

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